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  • Post #61 - July 27th, 2008, 6:56 pm
    Post #61 - July 27th, 2008, 6:56 pm Post #61 - July 27th, 2008, 6:56 pm
    So this argument isn't so one sided I thought I'd chime in. Keep in mind I'm originally from NY. In NY people will order their hot dogs from the hot dog carts with mustard, ketchup, or mustard AND ketchup on their dog(s). Along with sweet onions and/or sauerkraut. There are times I like ketchup on my dogs. There are times I don't. I have gone to Gene & Judes many times and never seem to miss ketchup on my dog there. I often have ketchup on my fries. Sometimes I don't. I often like ranch dressing or ailoi. It depends on my mood and the fries. Imagine Belgian frites with no dipping sauce?? And what is ketchup but a dipping sauce, albeit a rather common and mundane one? The fries at Gene & Judes are such that I don't really miss ANY sauce. And I've been known to finish off a bag of McDonald's fries without ketchup on the way home in the car. But sitting at the table I'd usually dip them in some ketchup.

    So I'm am definitely in the PRO camp, which to me means if you like ketchup use it and enjoy it and everybody else can mind their own business. I know some people that bring a little thing of hot sauce with them everywhere, or fancy sea salt. Should they be told to refrain because of someone else's opinion?

    I think the ANTI ketchup people need to chill on the "Soup Nazi" vibe. No one is EVER going to make you put ketchup on your fries (or dog) at Gene & Judes so why be upset if they'd like to have some for themselves?

    And as some have pointed out ketchup wouldn't be so common across the country and the world, if people didn't like it. Alot. On alot of things. With hot dogs, burgers and fries being perhaps at the top of the list. So just because you don't want ketchup on your dogs, burgers or fries doesn't mean the rest of us who choose to (from time to time) are wrong or out of step. Perhaps you are....:) I'm sure Heinz thinks you are. :)

    --Dirk--
    Dirk van den Heuvel
  • Post #62 - July 27th, 2008, 8:18 pm
    Post #62 - July 27th, 2008, 8:18 pm Post #62 - July 27th, 2008, 8:18 pm
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    Marshall K wrote:If Gene & Judes, who appear to have been somewhat successful for some time, choose not to serve catsup so be it. If you don't like it don't go. I am confident they won't miss you. Besides their fries don't need catsup.

    Yes, if you bother to read upthread, you'll see that I already posted as much, several days ago.

    They probably won't miss me and I certainly don't miss them. :wink:

    =R=

    Sorry I must have missed that post. However now I am trying to figure out if Gene and Jude's is "concerned that someone might sneakily apply some of it onto their hotdog" or "are (and have always been) too damned cheap and indifferent to stock it" :P .

    On a personal note, I sometimes like catsup on my Fries. Mr. D's provides a nice squeeze bottle for use on what I consider to be the best Fries in the city. (when available a nice splash of Malt Vinegar also works for me) :| .
    "I drink to make other people more interesting."
    Ernest Hemingway
  • Post #63 - July 27th, 2008, 8:50 pm
    Post #63 - July 27th, 2008, 8:50 pm Post #63 - July 27th, 2008, 8:50 pm
    groovedirk wrote:So I'm am definitely in the PRO camp, which to me means if you like ketchup use it and enjoy it and everybody else can mind their own business. I know some people that bring a little thing of hot sauce with them everywhere, or fancy sea salt. Should they be told to refrain because of someone else's opinion?

    I think the ANTI ketchup people need to chill on the "Soup Nazi" vibe. No one is EVER going to make you put ketchup on your fries (or dog) at Gene & Judes so why be upset if they'd like to have some for themselves?


    I'm all for people putting what they want on their own food whether I think it's necessary or not. But if an establishment does not provide a condiment, don't whine about it. I wonder if anyone eating frites at Hopleaf has ever asked for ketchup instead of aioli and if they provided it?

    *****************
    On another note, let me ask, does anyone eat ketchup and barbeque sauce at the same meal? If my sandwich or entree has barbeque sauce, no ketchup for the fries -- the two seem to clash.
  • Post #64 - July 27th, 2008, 9:16 pm
    Post #64 - July 27th, 2008, 9:16 pm Post #64 - July 27th, 2008, 9:16 pm
    Not to start a new contentious tangent, but I think really good mayo on really great fries is infinitely finer a thing than ketchup on fries.

    However, ordinary mayo on ordinary (frozen) fries is gross. You really need the good stuff (of both) to make the combo work. Where no fry was ever lessened by any ketchup, and many mediocre ones improved at least to edibility.
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  • Post #65 - July 27th, 2008, 9:50 pm
    Post #65 - July 27th, 2008, 9:50 pm Post #65 - July 27th, 2008, 9:50 pm
    Mike G wrote:Not to start a new contentious tangent, but I think really good mayo on really great fries is infinitely finer a thing than ketchup on fries.


    I must admit, the first time I heard about mayo on fries, I thought Yuck. Hopleaf turned me around on that, though the richness of the mayo still seems a little out of sync with the fry; I prefer the acidity of a good catsup. To each his own, amen.
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #66 - July 27th, 2008, 10:01 pm
    Post #66 - July 27th, 2008, 10:01 pm Post #66 - July 27th, 2008, 10:01 pm
    On another note, let me ask, does anyone eat ketchup and barbeque sauce at the same meal? If my sandwich or entree has barbeque sauce, no ketchup for the fries -- the two seem to clash.


    Yes, I like to combine the two either on my Mcdonald's cheeseburgers or to dip my fries in. :D
  • Post #67 - July 27th, 2008, 10:28 pm
    Post #67 - July 27th, 2008, 10:28 pm Post #67 - July 27th, 2008, 10:28 pm
    Marshall K wrote:However now I am trying to figure out if Gene and Jude's is "concerned that someone might sneakily apply some of it onto their hotdog" or "are (and have always been) too damned cheap and indifferent to stock it" :P

    Yeah, sorry about that. I was on a roll . . . :oops:

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #68 - July 28th, 2008, 12:08 am
    Post #68 - July 28th, 2008, 12:08 am Post #68 - July 28th, 2008, 12:08 am
    Having unwittingly started this most recent corollary, let me add again that, while chastised appropriately for Chicagoland, I do reserve the right to enjoy that when in Munich and Frankfurt the default condiment for street-served Frankfurter sausage is a curry-laced ketchup (mustard and horseradish is for other wursts, including wienerwurst in Vienna, if you favor that derivation of the dog), and that tomato ketchup is estimated in several places (http://www.officialfrenchfries.com/, Hamburger University, the wikis) to be the most popular french fry condiment worldwide, edging vinegar, mayo-type sauces, gravy, and mustard.

    Let's at least be thankful for a moment that our New World tomato has won some global fans*, and that our free market (lowercase) allows for both the availability and right to enjoy whatever condiments we darn well please, citrone verveine avec eau d'Mike G included.

    * though it doesn't belong in Thai curries, dammit, neither does friggin' baby corn, chunks of raw green pepper, grumble, grumble
  • Post #69 - July 28th, 2008, 8:42 am
    Post #69 - July 28th, 2008, 8:42 am Post #69 - July 28th, 2008, 8:42 am
    Ketchup is one of very few foods in the world that stimulate all five types of taste buds: bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and umami. Ketchup is the true superfood. I unapologetically love ketchup. Mayo? Malt vinegar? How boringly one dimensional! Your potatoes deserve better.
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #70 - July 28th, 2008, 9:21 am
    Post #70 - July 28th, 2008, 9:21 am Post #70 - July 28th, 2008, 9:21 am
    Kennyz wrote:Ketchup is one of very few foods in the world that stimulate all five types of taste buds: bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and umami. Ketchup is the true superfood. I unapologetically love ketchup. Mayo? Malt vinegar? How boringly one dimensional! Your potatoes deserve better.


    With all that in the ketchup, why bother with the potato at all? Just eat a big bowl of ketchup!
    "Good stuff, Maynard." Dobie Gillis
  • Post #71 - July 28th, 2008, 9:48 am
    Post #71 - July 28th, 2008, 9:48 am Post #71 - July 28th, 2008, 9:48 am
    I'm not a fan of ketchup myself - but I was amazed at MAG's homemade ketchup, which was had all the flavors you listed and a lovely smokiness; I'm interested in making my own - though I may make plum ketchup, apparently the forbear to tomato ketchup. I do find the separation of sweet and savory argument to be a bit funny: think of all the places where this doesn't apply, from chicken crack to breakfast meats to cranberry sauce on your turkey. (However, my 2 cents - vinegar! The appropriate condiment for fries and other greasy foodstuffs is vinegar!!! :D ) De gustibus...

    Though, I just wanted to observe - this never-ending argument really has very little to do with flavor, it's about culture, regionality, and maybe a bit of xenophobia: part of what makes a Chicago-dog unique is the potential for fisticuffs regarding ketchup - i.e. you can put ketchup on it, but then it isn't a Chicago dog.
  • Post #72 - July 28th, 2008, 9:52 am
    Post #72 - July 28th, 2008, 9:52 am Post #72 - July 28th, 2008, 9:52 am
    cussing is no longer allowed on LTH?

    Anyway, catsup appeals to children because it's an absurdly processed sugar concoction with no flavor other than HFCS.

    Adults shouldn't eat it anymore than they should drink formula or use sippy cups. Of course, maybe some people also like bland, mushy, supermarket beefsteak tomatoes doused with 15 packets of Splenda?

    Catsup is an culinary abomination of worst kind - a dumbed down condiment for those who don't actually like the food they are eating. Putting on anything, much less a beautiful hand-cut french fry, is a crime on all that is decent in food. The only defense catsup-eaters have is the accusation of elitism. I'm okay with that. If elite is avoiding catsup, I'd like to run for chairman. I have more culinary respect for vegans than catsup eaters. And I don't respect vegans.
  • Post #73 - July 28th, 2008, 10:04 am
    Post #73 - July 28th, 2008, 10:04 am Post #73 - July 28th, 2008, 10:04 am
    So much anger.
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #74 - July 28th, 2008, 11:07 am
    Post #74 - July 28th, 2008, 11:07 am Post #74 - July 28th, 2008, 11:07 am
    David Hammond wrote:So much anger.

    We have pulled overheated posts from this thread in the last couple of days and it seems the tempest has overflowed the teapot. Time for a cooling off period.

    Thread locked/
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow

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