“If you can’t see water, don’t order fish”
'If you can't see water, don't order fish" means that fish won't be fresh if you're not near the source. For example, Florida might be a better state to eat seafood in…
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“Never eat Chinese food in Oklahoma”
New York (NY) Times restaurant critic Bryan Miller wrote a list of "Rules of the Road" in his July 16, 1983 column. One rule was: "The Chinese Law: Never eat Chinese food in…
“Never eat at a place called Mom’s”
In the early-mid 1900s, many restaurants advertised "real home cooking" and were called "Mom's." Nelson Algren's novel A Walk on the Wild Side (1956) stated three…
“Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!”
"Waiter! There's a fly in my soup!" is an old joke, with many punchlines. The joke is first cited in 1872 and was frequently told in the 1880s. In the late 1888s, the slang phrase…
“A man walks into a bar…” (bar jokes)
Bar jokes have existed probably as long as bars have existed. In the 1950s, the jokes began with animals (such as a dog or a kangaroo) coming into a bar and asking for a drink. By the 1970s, the…
Burrito
Entry in progress -- B.P. WIkipedia: BurritoA burrito (IPA: /bəˈriːto/), or taco de harina, is a type of food found in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. It consists of a flour tortilla wrapped or…
Slow Food
"Slow food" is a term meant to counter "fast food." The slow food movement was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in the mid-1980s, after protests were made over the opening of a…
Fast Food (Fast Food Restaurant)
"Fast food" is a quickly prepared meal at a "fast food restaurant" -- such as a hamburger ("fast food") at McDonald's (a "fast food restaurant"). The…
Pot Roast (Yankee Pot Roast)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Pot roast (beef)Pot roast is a braised beef dish. Pot roast is typically made by browning a roast-sized piece of beef (often taken from the tougher chuck cut)…
Cheese (“Cheese it—the cops!”)
"Cheese it!" was a popular expression in the 19th century, usually a warning from one person to another to stop their current activity because a policeman was approaching ('Cheese it…
Big Cheese
"Big cheese" was a popular slang term in the 1900s, almost two decades before the "Big Apple" became popular in the 1920s. "Big cheese" is cited in print from at least…
“Roll up the sidewalks at night”
New York City is known as the "city that never sleeps" because of its nightlife. The opposite of that is a small town that "rolls up the sidewalks" at about 7 p.m. The term…
“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back” (sidewalk saying)
There are various superstitions about where to step while walking on the sidewalk. "Step on a crack, break your mother's back" dates to at least 1905. "Step on a nail, put your…
Staten Island Ferry (cocktail)
A Staten Island Ferry cocktail is cited on Wikipedia/Wikitender as consisting of rum and pineapple -- a piña colada without the coconut cream (that is not native to Staten Island, New York). The…
“One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor!”
A popular T-shirt ode to drinking tequila is: "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, FLOOR!" The saying dates to 1995. The tequila saying is taken from the simple counting game:…
“On the wagon” (“Off the wagon”)
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Free Dictionaryoff the wagon Slang No longer abstaining from alcoholic beverages.on the wagon Slang Abstaining from alcoholic beverages. Merriam-Webster Dictionaryoff…
Agita (Agida; Acida)
"Agita" achieved its greatest fame as a song title in the Woody Allen film Broadway Danny Rose (1984). The movie featured the Carnegie Deli and the "Agita" song mentioned…
OAMC (Once-A-Month Cooking)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Once-a-month cooking The concept of once-a-month cooking (OAMC) is to spend a set time cooking, be it a day or two, but with an end result of having enough…
Cook-Off (Cookoff)
A "cook-off" is a cooking competition. Cook-offs often limit themselves to a particular food, such as "chili cook-offs." The term "cook-off" began in 1936 at the…
Bake-Off
The first Pillsbury "Bake-Off" (then officially titled the "Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest") took place in 1949 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The name…