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I'll get the dinner party conversation started! For my favorite pub food, I'm going to have to go with a beloved classic - mozzarella sticks. (Or fried cheese in any form really, from Greek saganaki to cheese croquettes.)

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How did I know you'd say that???

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You know me well.

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Oh my god, these are one of my all time faves too! Sometimes in high school, if I was really feeling down, I would drive out to the Grizzly Bar in Roscoe, MT (like 30 miles from our house), put Tennessee Flattop Box by Roseanne Cash on the jukebox, and order a plate all for myself.

As for modern times, I will never turn down a fried pickle.

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Now I'm craving a fried pickle!

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My addiction also started in high school. There was a great bar in Spokane called "The Onion" that had the best fried mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce. They did trivia nights once a week and my mom's team of co-workers would let me join their team (mostly because I was a total Jeopardy kid and their team usually won when I was allowed to play).

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I was born in Helena!

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A fellow Montanan? Amazing!

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There are so many to choose from, but I'd have to say that whenever there are chicharrones or pork cracklings of any kind, I'm all over it! Especially when they're hot with a squeeze of lime.

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And I knew you would say this! Remember that gastropub in Bellingham with the cones full of chicharrones? You ordered them every time.

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What can I say, I'm a creature of habit!

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I am fascinated by both of your artist choices this week. Thank you for bringing such amazing artists to my and your many listeners attention.

Pub food favorite -- Classic fish & chips.

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Fish and chips was my second choice! So glad you enjoyed the artists this week. Both are indeed deserving of more attention. (Check out their respective websites for more!)

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Love a good fish & chips, especially so in the UK!

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Definitely fish & chips. I used to go out to Ye Olde King's Head, in Santa Monica.

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I used to go there too! Loved that place! It's still there too.

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I'm very happy it survived. They became the standard by which I judged F&C's. Another good place was in Studio City, The Robin Hood Inn. Nice alternate to a shlep out to Santa Monica.

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I loved that place too! My uncle lived in Studio City and we used to go there for F&C's as well!

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Wow! Also was The Fox & Hound Pub, on Ventura Blvd. in Stud City. But, their F&C's didn't quite match up to the two previously mentioned. So glad you found the Robin Hood.

Now I'm getting hungry and I have to run to the market.

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That is fascinating about Patty Smith! Il also want to hear more about where are you currently living.

You move relatively frequently and it’s fascinating to hear about your journeys in your own voices! I loved your last podcast about your farewell dinner in Tirana!

I know this is not the theme of your podcasts. I would love to hear more!

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Thank you, Cheryl! We'll definitely be talking more about Skopje, it's a very laid-back, easy city with a ton of restaurants serving great food. So glad you are enjoying the podcasts, thank you!

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Favorite bar chow? Bitterballen :-)

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Bitterballen! Yum! I haven't eaten those in ages. I never see them anywhere (we're in the Mediterranean, so that isn't so strange), so I guess I'll have to try to make them myself. Thanks for the great bar chow recommendation!

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Oh! Other bar food - pastéis de bacalhau. I'm not a big salted cod fan in general, but I could eat these by the dozen!

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Ditto! I love pastéis de bacalhau!

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Yes! I fell in love with these when we first went to Lisbon. There was a beachfront place on the Tagus that sold cheap beer, pig's ear sandwiches and scrumptious pastéis de bacalhau. Little plastic chairs overlooking the river. A little slice of heaven!

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I’m sorry...pig’s ear sandwiches?! Is that a euphemism? Is it really a pig ear between two pieces of bread? Or perhaps the ears ARE the bread? Im probably late to the pig ear party, but it might take a minute to put my mind back together...

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Love this comment! My mind was blown too. I'd honestly never tasted one before. Normally the pig-based Portuguese sandwiches I'd seen up to that point were Sande de Leitão, which are like a pulled pork sandwich made with suckling pig (so delicious). But there was one place that did a version made with meat from pig's ears. In a bun. And they were amazing!

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We have those Croquetas de Bacalao here in Barcelona, Spain and they are dangerously addicting. I love cod, but I agree that the salt thing can be a bit much. I soak mine for an hour before cooking.

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I do love the cod....I’ll have to remember the long soak the next time I’m over that way...

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It's recommended here, although it's not followed. I'm really excited to meet a fellow Montanan here!!! How strange. Goes without saying what a small world we live in.

Yes, David Lynch country, as I refer to it- so people who know who he is get some vague idea about how weirdly creative and socially awkward I can be.

My great grandanus, we called her, used to manage or own an RB Fish & Chips place in Helena. It had a drive-thru. One night some teens in a car threw some firecrackers in there and blew out her hearing, permanently. She (notice how I segue non-chalantly out of the tragedy) invented a type of tartar sauce that only she had the recipe for, which invited many to order. She passed away with that recipe and a fortune that the rest of the family, most of whom I am not acquainted, seem to know nothing of it's whereabouts. Some say she buried it. As far as my mother & I could figure out, it was basically the standard tarter sauce (not the old original British kind) mixed with tomato paste. It may have had dill in it, but as a kid, I remember the salt & sweet, tangy aspect. She may have added a tad of malt vinegar.

I just can't seem to lose the taste of Burgerville USA burger sauce since I was a kid. Thats a really good recipe! They'll ship it to you out of Oregon.

Here I am typing away . . .

I'm happy you're here with us! Cheers to THAT!

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It IS Lynch country! I may or may not have been in the apartment his family lived in above the Wilma Theatre in Missoula--at least the folks who lived there fervently believed that it was. I hope so--it was appropriately kooky.

And I LOVE this story. As Ryan & Ryan know, I love me some family lore. Ryan E's and my great grandpa had a diner down in Hardin, MT. (Here's to hailing from Montana restauranteurs to boot!) My grandma told me that he would greet everyone who came in--families, cops, little old ladies--with a hearty "Sto diaolo!"--Greek for "Go to hell!" That still just cracks me up. Little scamp.

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Fave pub food is definitely mozzarella sticks or chicken tenders. I could eat my body weight in them.

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Those chicken fingers we had for dinner here were pretty damn good, I must say!

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I have to catch up. I was in a funk last week, over the weekend and so I put on Temptation Chaino and it perked me right up. I liked the unanticipated "fruitiness" of the exotica music and it's a great backdrop to have playing at home while dressing up the mundane. Thanks for that suggestion BHB's!

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Glad you liked it! It's great cooking music!

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