# Another example of a New Yorker thinking they are the center of the Universe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361 "2016-06-25T22:37:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/81 "2016-06-27T22:05:43Z")
In NJ and even parts of Manhattan, bagels and kaiser rolls are now frequently abominations, and “salt sticks” that even remotely resemble their heavenly 1960s-early 1970s versions are as rare as civil political discourse. There were still some wonderful “independent” bakeries on the Upper West Side until the early 1980s. Orwasher’s on the East Side of NYC makes a not-bad salt stick but it’s not an even close relative of what formerly went by this name. For some reason, the worst bialys are pretty close to the best ones, and even the supermarket freezer ones are decent enuf in a pinch. As much as I frequent Costco, their overinflated, Wonder Bread-ish bagels have to be the saddest in the Solar System. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/82 "2016-06-27T23:51:57Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > When I was a young teenager [Planet Rock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh1AypBaIEk) was inescapable. Go to a house party? Played at least twice. Go to Coney Island? Always in rotation on the Music Express. Radio airplay? For _years_. Today I look up Planet Rock and find that it was influential in both hip hop and electronica, but it never charted. NEVER CHARTED!!! It played forever all the time! It was as ubiquitous as Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off. Just played now “Planet Rock”. I can’t recall having heard that song before, but unlike others in this thread … I feel like I had been in enough environments (parties, clubs, etc.) in which I \*should \*have heard it. I was only in sixth grade when the song was new, though. I can easily say, however, that I have listened to tons and tons of artists who owe “Planet Rock” a huge debt. I’m looking at you Midnight Star, Kyper, and Egyptian Lover :dubious: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/83 "2016-06-27T23:54:28Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Depends on the store, I suppose. Are you in the US? Yes, in the U.S., in the New Orleans metro area. N.O. is a food town, and the local groceries carry pretty good store brands to accommodate their customers. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/84 "2016-06-28T01:08:07Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Butter is not plain. It’s a rich delicious food IMO. Testify. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/85 "2016-06-28T01:26:54Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Testify. Now if you wouldn’t mind using this wench to hoist me out of my chair to take my zocor it would be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/86 "2016-06-28T04:10:00Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Now if you wouldn’t mind using this wench to hoist me out of my chair to take my zocor it would be much appreciated. Which wench? [This wench](http://jkhgroup.com/tavernmaidenpluscc01704.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/87 "2016-06-28T05:25:49Z")
Kind of surprised that the “roll with butter” side issue has generated far more discussion and argument than the main question about the record “Planet Rock,” which is arguably the most influential dance record of the 1980s. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/88 "2016-06-28T13:50:13Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > Kind of surprised that the “roll with butter” side issue has generated far more discussion and argument than the main question about the record “Planet Rock,” which is arguably the most influential dance record of the 1980s. That’s why. The OP’s revelation about “Planet Rock” was just mistaken; it _did_ chart, people far beyond New York are familiar with it, and it has been acknowledged as a touchstone for years. Whereas the idea that rolls-with-butter are a respectable division of either breakfast or street food, largely is just a local quirk. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/89 "2016-06-28T17:50:12Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Yeah, Show me yer Milwaukee bialy, buster. > > Gyros – I’ve had better gyros in Chicago. In NY it’s usually called “souvlaki,” anyway. While they’re all the same thing (pressed chopped meat on a vertical revolving spit) it think the nomenclature depends on the ethnicity of the restaurateur. > > Greek: gyro > Lebanese or Egyptian: souvlaki > Turkish: doner > > In Western Europe you see mostly doner, because of all the Turks, and they put it on big soft rolls. In the U.S., the meat is stuffed into pita bread along with tomato, lettuce, and either tahini dressing or yogurt-cucumber dressing. Raw onions and hot sauce on request. No, gyros are made of chopped formed meat. Traditional gyro is part lamb, part beef. Spam on a spit, if you will. Souvlaki is whole muscle chunks of beef, chicken, pork, or lamb. I loathe lamb so gyros are out, but I love most souvlaki. Years ago, my friend Deb had moved from NYC to Austin. She had several friends down and we got together one Sunday for pot luck brunch. Many of the Texans were giving the smoked fish the side eye, while the New Yorkers were looking at our breakfast tacos with beans and jalapenos. “They eat THAT for breakfast???” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/90 "2016-06-28T20:24:00Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Not everyone shared your lifestyle, listened to your radio station or gave a damn about hip hop and electronica. I lived in New York for 25 years, from age 24-49, but don’t recall ever hearing Planet Rock, and I prefer a bagel or bialy with a \*schmear \*to a roll with butter. > > . Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/91 "2016-06-29T16:32:54Z")
Never heard or heard of the song. Only know of Afrika Bambaataa through association with John Lydon. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/92 "2016-06-29T20:19:03Z")
Kaiser roll? Down south they are referred to as sling blade rolls. Mmm hmm. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/93 "2016-06-30T00:42:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s not a dinner roll. It’s a [large roll with a harder crust and soft center](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/57/e7/7e/57e77e26a8243398fbb781ec2dbdf3e3.jpg) eaten for breakfast with a cup of regular (that is, with milk and sugar) coffee. And that’s _for_ breakfast, not _with_ breakfast. > > [Here.](http://spoilednyc.com/2015/02/26/9-quintessential-nyc-foods-youll-miss-like-crazy-ever-leave-city/) I am 61 years old. My grandparents and my parents ate “hard rolls” for breakfast all the time. We are all from Chicago, so, no, not a New York thing. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/94 "2016-06-30T00:50:26Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > There are pizzas with bread, tomato sauce, olive oil, and if there is any cheese it’s only the slightest sprinkling of parmesan. I get that in Italian bakeries run by actual immigrants. So maybe that’s what a pizza is in it’s original state, if it must be litigated. Frank Pepe, the famous New Haven pizza man, was lactose intolerant. When he made himself a pizza (an _abizz’_, in Neapolitan), it was as you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/95 "2016-06-30T01:19:48Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Frank Pepe, the famous New Haven pizza man, was lactose intolerant. When he made himself a pizza (an _abizz’_, in Neapolitan), it was as you describe. I don’t disagree with your conclusion: traditional Italian pizza is low-cheese, or your premise: lots of Italians are lacatose-intolerant. But I disagree with the connecting argument. Most cheese is low-lactose, and in particular buffalo mozzarella is virtually free from lactose. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/96 "2016-06-30T01:33:10Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > Kind of surprised that the “roll with butter” side issue has generated far more discussion and argument than the main question about the record “Planet Rock,” which is arguably the most influential dance record of the 1980s. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ll know to never mention hard rolls again. Or maybe I’ll use it in gun control, abortion, cat declawing and tipping threads. You know, to defuse them. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/97 "2016-06-30T02:17:54Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I’ll know to never mention hard rolls again. Or maybe I’ll use it in gun control, abortion, cat declawing and tipping threads. You know, to defuse them. You may have started something, but did give me a great idea for breakfasts this week. Not in New York, but still very good. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/98 "2016-06-30T02:19:39Z")
Your thread got me so excited about rolls with butter that I had them for breakfast twice since the weekend. I went to a Brooklyn bodega and asked for a roll. “Roll with butter?” “No, just the roll.” I wanted to take it home and spread it with good Irish butter instead of whatever shit they used. They charged me a dollar anyway. Got it home and buttered it up. Roll was stale. Was buying a few things in Whole Foods, and a gorgeous fresh-baked roll caught my eye. Bought it (dollar, again). Took it home and buttered it. Interior was all caky and crumbly, not like a real Newy York roll at all. Now I have to traverse the five boroughs to find a PROPER roll with butter. Maybe I can work it up into a piece for the NY Times food section and profit by it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/99 "2016-06-30T03:57:21Z")
It’s decided by consensus: Rolls with butter are more interesting than Planet Rock. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361/100 "2016-06-30T20:07:10Z")
Never heard it, never heard of it. 49, NC/TN US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-a-new-yorker-thinking-they-are-the-center-of-the-universe/758361.md?page=6)