# When I eat \_\_\_\_ , I have to eat \_\_\_\_ as a side dish **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761 "2005-08-05T19:10:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/21 "2005-08-05T22:34:37Z")
I won’t bother eating an omelette unless I have pancakes, french toast, or a waffle to go with it. It’s completely pointless without. Hashbrowns or potatoes are optional, however. Yes, I _do_ enjoy a hearty breakfast – why do you ask? 😃 Venturing to Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles and having a chicken omelette with their sumptuous waffles is about the best thing that could ever have happened to humanity. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/22 "2005-08-05T23:03:33Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > Steak must be eaten with a baked potato and broccoli. I suppose I could eat it differently at a restaurant. But at home, I won’t make steak without baked potato and brussels sprouts. The sprouts are briefly steamed, then quickly sauteed in the steak grease with some butter, lemon, garlic, onion, hot pepper and maybe a little water to make a nice gravy that gets drizzled over everything. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/23 "2005-08-05T23:20:05Z")
Thanksgiving meal must _minimally_ consist of the following, besides the big-ass 25 lb. turkey, or Thanksgiving: 1) My family, near and far for companionship and ambiance 2) Giblet Gravy 3) Stuffing (preferably oyster) 4) White Rice 5) Whipped Sweet Potatoes 6) Three Cheese Macaroni 7) Baby Peas 8) String Beans With Smoked Turkey 9) Cranberry Sauce 10) Orange Pekoe Sweet Iced Tea and 11) Buttered Dinner rolls (Optional) Three Bean Salad and Pecan Pie a la mode. I’m so spoiled. Seriously. If even one of the “sides” I listed (especially the family) is missing, I’m actually deeply disappointed. I don’t even EAT cranberry sauce – I just want to see it on the table! I’ve had almost no variation on this annual meal for twenty-plus years, and I’m not about to change now. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/24 "2005-08-05T23:31:35Z")
The ONLY way to eat blackeyed peas is with southern style (none of that cake-like yankee stuff – cornbread should NOT be SWEET, dammit!) cornbread. The BEST way to eat blackeyed peas with cornbread is this: Take a wedge of hot, fresh-from the skillet cornbread. Crumble it up, saving bits of the crunchy crust to eat on the side. (I love the crunchy part of cornbread crust.) Spoon blackeyed peas (cooked with fatback, preferably) over the pile of crumbled cornbread. Spoon on some of the pea juice to make the cornbread juicy. Lordamercy, I’m making myself hungry. Can you tell I was born a southern (US) girl?? ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/25 "2005-08-05T23:38:08Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever had a grilled cheese sandwich in my life without a bowl of canned tomato soup. It just seems pointless. I’ve had tomato soup without the sandwich, but I wouldn’t have the sandwich without the soup. ---
**Author:** ![Meaty\_Beaty\_Big\_and\_Bouncy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Meaty\_Beaty\_Big\_and\_Bouncy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meaty_Beaty_Big_and_Bouncy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/26 "2005-08-05T23:50:29Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Other combos : > > Bean soup and cornbread > > Pot roast with potatoes and carrots cooked with it > > spaghetti and garlic bread > > Chili and peanut butter sandwich Great Northern beans must have ham and corn bread Cut cornbread in half and butter it,place it in the bottom of a large bowl. Cover it with ham and beans add diced onion and Frank’s hot sauce (optional) Enjoy! I’ve heard tales of people who put crackers in chili, but I think thats an urban legend. Only a heathen would think of eating chili with any thing else than peanut butter sandwich 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/27 "2005-08-05T23:52:29Z")
Potato salad and baked beans. when no one else is around: chocolate cake, chicken gravy and sliced bananas ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/28 "2005-08-06T00:12:22Z")
Microwave popcorn requires a glass of Diet Coke. For some reason, those two seem to be the best food-match I’ve ever come across. If it’s Kettle Corn, I can go without the Coke, but regular popcorn needs a bit of sweetness from the coke, which also keeps the mouth from drying out. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/29 "2005-08-06T00:48:57Z")
> [@Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy](#): > > Great Northern beans must have ham and corn bread > Cut cornbread in half and butter it,place it in the bottom of a large bowl. Cover it with ham and beans add diced onion and Frank’s hot sauce (optional) > Enjoy! > > I’ve heard tales of people who put crackers in chili, but I think thats an urban legend. Only a heathen would think of eating chili with any thing else than peanut butter sandwich 😃 Meaty , I think I love you . That is pretty much EXACTLY how I eat my beans & cornbread , minus the hot sauce . And yes , I have heard rumors of this eating crackers in chili \>shudders\< . No , it MUST be eaten with a peanut butter sandwich . It MUST , I tell you ! Anna ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/30 "2005-08-06T03:44:53Z")
Waffles. And waffle like breakfasts; Pancakes, French Toast, etc… These dishes require sausage links or patties. No exceptions! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/31 "2005-08-06T04:21:24Z")
Baked ham must be accompanied by scalloped potatoes and green beans. If it is not, it is ruined and will never make a good match in society and will end its days dependent upon the mercy of Tupperware. Chili, which I eat only once a year, must also be served with oyster soup. The meal is not complete until somebody has been chased around the kiddie table and forced to eat an oyster. The other sidedish for this meal is ham sandwiches on buttered buns. And chili _is_ eaten with crackers! ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/32 "2005-08-06T14:54:27Z")
To me, naked mac+cheses is revolting. It reminds me of Catholic School Friday hot lunches and Catholic School in general, which I found to be very unpleasant. Thus, mac+cheese must always have meat and marinara on it to disguise its Catholic School disgusting-ness. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/33 "2005-08-06T15:02:52Z")
So you went from Catholic School M&C to Boyscout Chilimac. I’m not sure that’s much of an improvement. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/34 "2005-08-06T15:13:45Z")
My beans, whether they be black-eyed peas, black beans, October peas or crowder peas, _must_ be served over a steaming spoonful of rice. Seriously, I won’t eat them without rice. I don’t know what all this cornbread business is. Also, they _cannot_ be cooked without some sort of smoked meat–turkey in a pinch, but I prefer pork. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/35 "2005-08-06T15:53:15Z")
A hot dog may only be consumed if there is a Coke to go with it. One day, while feeling bold and ambitious – perhaps even _zesty_ – I attempted to consume a hot dog with a selection from my plentiful reserve of Mountain Dew. My reasoning for this was simple: it’s _Mountain Dew_. Burgers and fries? Mountain Dew. Candy bar? Mountain Dew. Pork chops and applesauce? Mountain Dew. Hamburger Helper? Mountain Dew. Filet mignon and asparagus with bearnaise? Mountain Dew. Cheerios, and you’re out of milk? Mountain Dew. Hot dog, and you’re out of Coke? Don’t eat the hot dog. Various other Indisputable Facts: if you’re watching baseball on T.V. as you eat the hotdog, the hotdog tastes better. If you’re actually at the ballpark, the hotdog tastes just as great, and the Coke tastes fantastic. Of course, then you need peanuts, and the whole thing gets even more complicated… ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/36 "2005-08-06T18:20:25Z")
Chinese food, no matter what the entree is, requires a side of fried rice. My meal just is not complete without it. A hamburger without fries is almost impossible for me, though potato chips are an acceptable substitute when I join my family for backyard barebecues. Pancakes, French toast and waffles: Must have butter and syrup, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Chili is not chili if you don’t have saltine crackers to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/37 "2005-08-06T19:11:05Z")
If I eat plain hamburger patties, I MUST eat them with frozen peas and mashed potatoes. Robin ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/38 "2005-08-06T19:46:14Z")
If I have pancakes, I MUST have bacon. And although I am not one for The Spicy, I cannot eat egg rolls without the fiery Chinese mustard. (Although, after one fateful experience, I always make sure I have a full glass of something within reach before I slather on the mustard. And yes, it must be slathered. If you’re not going to sear your sinuses at the least, why bother at all?) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/39 "2005-08-06T21:04:57Z")
I’ve been all growed up for ages, but I still like the cereal I ate as a kid. Cap’n Crunch, Sugar Crisp (now they call it _Golden_ Crisp), Raisin Bran, etc. When I eat cereal, it must be accompanied by toast, preferably with peanut butter on it. Out of bread? Forget cereal. Bagels must have cream cheese. Maybe whipped cream cheese. Sometimes, onion and chive cream cheese. But none of this fruity, swirled strawberry or some such cream cheese substance. Just cheese-flavored. No jam or jelly, no peanut butter. Whether the bagels are out-of-the-bag or toasted, there must be cream cheese. I second garlic bread with spaghetti; and potatoes, carrots and onions done with the roast beef; and butter and syrup with pancakes or waffles. If I’m having a tomato sandwich, it has to be toasted, have lettuce on top and have Miracle Whip on the top slice. This is the only use I can think of for Miracle Whip, outside of the binder for potato salad. I hardly ever eat macaroni and cheese anymore. But if I do, it has to have a can of stewed or diced tomatoes mixed in. I’m not even interested in eating it without the tomatoes. But the other necessary thing is to have wieners, boiled, slit down the middle with strips of cheese placed there, then spoon the mac/cheese/tomatoes on top. It reminds me of when I was poor, but it still tastes every bit as good. ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761/40 "2005-08-06T21:07:02Z")
Must always have olives (green) when using salami in any dish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-eat-____-i-have-to-eat-____-as-a-side-dish/315761.md?page=3)