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@Pointy I'm serious.

Apple cider: We're cool. I've got no problems with you. You are a welcome addition to almost any dish.

Raisins: Why ruin perfectly good grapes? Seriously.

Re: "chefs" I believe the comment was to indicate that OP does not believe the people appearing on Food Network qualify as actual chefs.

I thought the new rule was that only spice combinations counted as condiments, not individual spices. I can't imagine there are more than a few people on a board like this that don't have at least a shelf full of herbs and spices.

Credit for everything. Don't really ever carry cash unless I'm going somewhere I know only takes cash. Makes keeping track of spending easier, plus I don't have to worry about losing anything (a lost credit card is a phone call away from being canceled, and if there are fraudulent charges, the company is going to work to protect its own money).

I know that my credit score is quite high from a recent mortgage re-fi (hooray for dropping down to a 15 year), as is my wife's. We are constantly getting 0% credit card offers in the mail, so take that for what you will.

It's likely that it doesn't matter if you use your card unless it is a strange and sudden departure from normal spending patterns.

There's also a Blue Plate Cafe just off Court Square downtown, but I think it's only open at lunch. Can't say I'm familiar with any 5 cent burgers, but they do have pretty tasty all-you-can-eat catfish on Fridays and Saturdays (maybe just at night, though).

I would actually skip Corky's unless you want to go just to go. There are plenty of other places to get better BBQ (The BBQ Shop on Madison is great, Cozy Corner on Auction is, as well. Even more "fast food" type places like Central BBQ or Topps BBQ are nice and tasty.) though you can't really go wrong with what you get anywhere.

I will second the fried pickle suggestion, though.

If you want really good fancy food, I would suggest Restaurant Iris.

If you want Vietnamese food I would suggest either Saigon Le or Lotus (which I think is better, but dinner can be an all night affair).

If you want surprisingly good bar-type food, definitely hit up Bardog.

There are plenty of good, authentic Mexican restaurants on Summer Avenue, but the locations are not always ideal.

If you drink beer, you should definitely go to Boscos (they brew their own - and if you see any Ghost River beer served at other places you should order it). You can also go to The Flying Saucer (they just have tons of beer).

I have tons more suggestions, but I'm going to go ahead and stop now. Feel free to post again if you want more or if you have questions about particular places/cuisines.

I think it's awesome that you're hooking SEers up with a spot to eat for BBQ Fest. It's a great time every year, but it's a lot harder to enjoy if you're "out in the cold" just smelling all the good food.

Sadly I am out of town for the festivities this year, but I hope this sort of generosity to the community continues on in the future!

I have caught some giant catfish using cheese as bait. The stinkier or more disgusting, the better (catfish are bottom feeders and eat lots of decaying things). Just plain Velveeta or cheddar will do fine, though.

On an island... kinda. Really more of a peninsula, but people who name things around here aren't exactly up on proper geographical nomenclature. In Memphis, Tennessee.

There is/was a great little bar up where I went to school in the middle of nowhere Minnesota that had bison burgers and ostrich burgers. The bison was good, but let me tell you the ostrich was out of this world. One of the very best burgers I have ever had, hands down. I'm a believer!

If you wouldn't mind the texture, you could try smoshing up the beans a bit. Exposing more surface area to liquid would speed up the softening process, as would breaking through the bean "skins."

Gyros are delicious. That could be at the top. Also up there would be any sort of fresh squid dishes and that silly flaming cheese you can get at some Greek restaurants (no clue if it's authentic or not, but it's fun and tasty).

Because I had never made anything like them before, I wanted a simple filling to test out the pies with. I just used a box of chocolate pudding mix and followed the directions for pudding pie filling (less milk than regular pudding). I found that using one scoop from a tablespoon (not measuring spoon, actual table spoon) was too much filling for the small pies, and just slightly too little for my larger, improved pies. I would imagine that the same would hold true for jam. Just be sure that you don't get too close to the edges if you smear it around.