That's the good stuff
By which, per Kenny Chesney, I mean milk.
So there's a weird thing that happens when your first exposure to the world of fine dining is the Fox reality show Hell's Kitchen (we're talking elementary and middle school; I do not recommend letting your pre-teen watch Hell's Kitchen). The thing is that I didn't actually know what any of the stuff they were cooking tasted like. I think I'd maybe tried scallops, which the chefs routinely failed to execute, but the big Gordon Ramsay dishes — risotto, Beef Wellington, sticky toffee pudding? Not a chance.
This means on the random occasion that I can try something I saw first on Hell's Kitchen, I always do, just to fill in that little gap in my childhood reality TV comprehension. And when I finally made it to Superiority Burger this week, they were serving a sticky toffee pudding that rocketed me back to my fifth grade weekday afternoons. It was properly delicious, especially the cream cheese frosting, but more than that oddly cathartic. More recently, though, I've moved on to the Kitchen Nightmares reboot, and I definitely don't think I should try the food on there.
A signature dish just for you: today's grid, with link recs below!
Good links:
- 23-across: Ear Hustle is highly recommended!
- Confession time... I only learned about the Isle of Man (and its 40-across surroundings) because of Joe Locke
- 43-across's White House "Sunday Candy" is an old favorite
- Jimmy Awards performances are my guilty pleasure — including 45-across's
- The MTA's latest 61-across is more readable, but less spaghetti :(
- 2-down: If the Times stopped endorsing local candidates, should crossword blogs?