Everything you think you know is false

Recently I saw a post here where someone trotted out the old trope about Bill Clinton and Big Macs (Max edited it away before long, I think because it was unfair to cows.) Many people know that the story is just false, and that it has its roots in a campaign-trail strategy of stopping for coffee in a McDonalds to meet and greet the rabble.

What you probably don't know is that not only is it not true that Bill suffered from recurrent Big Mac Attacks, but that it is impossible for him to have eaten any Macs at all!

The Food section in today's Washington Post has an article about this fellow who's been the dessert chef in the White House kitchen for over 20 years. One of the many interesting tidbits in the article: that William Jefferson himself is allergic to wheat and dairy, among other things.

Now, I imagine you could order a Big Mac without the cheese. But without the bun, it's just a big old mess. So this explain why you've seen him eat ribs and hush puppies, but no Big Macs.

I think I know that everything I think I know is false.
Now does that mean that everything I think I know is right or what???

You got me completely and utterly confused here

Didn't know Ol'e Billy "the cigarsmoking Kid" Clinton has a dairy alergy.
Almost makes me have sympathy with him (and for that I will have sympathy with him). My sister suffers from it and it's not pretty.

If I'm supposed to know that everything I know is false, then that means that I also know that this knowlege is also false. Or is it false that I think its false? Oh no! Now I know nothing!

Funny that, because I'm allergic to wheat and I had a Big Mac just this past Sunday. I'm paying for it now, but for that few minutes I enjoyed sweet, sweet special sauce. Maybe everything YOU think YOU know is false (at least as far as food allergies is concerned)!

"Weird" Al had a song on one of his albums years ago titled "Everything You Know is Wrong". I'm beginning to think he's right...

Originally posted by Joe Ess:
Maybe everything YOU think YOU know is false (at least as far as food allergies is concerned)!

There's a lot of variation in severity, I know. My daughter has two friends (one from her preschool, one from her Kindergarten) with dairy alleries, and both of them are almost impossibly bad. The little girl in preschool once needed an emergency shot of ephedrine because another child was drinking milk from a straw, and when the straw came out of his mouth, a few drops splashed on her arm.

Anyway, even if you can tolerate an occasional Big Mac, the allergy will keep you from being an addict.
[ June 03, 2004: Message edited by: Ernest Friedman-Hill ]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:

There's a lot of variation in severity, I know. My daughter has two friends (one from her preschool, one from her Kindergarten) with dairy alleries, and both of them are almost impossibly bad. The little girl in preschool once needed an emergency shot of ephedrine because another child was drinking milk from a straw, and when the straw came out of his mouth, a few drops splashed on her arm.

Anyway, even if you can tolerate an occasional Big Mac, the allergy will keep you from being an addict.

[ June 03, 2004: Message edited by: Ernest Friedman-Hill ]

Ive got a peanut allergy, had a serious attack about three years ago and was hospitalized. It aint nice, I gotta watch when Im eating curry... which is also my favourite dish :-(

Oh no, I'm having flashbacks to HIS 2210, sitting in that auditorium trying not to doze as the Professor belted out his best rendition of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Perhaps it wasn't a Big Mac at all, but the shadow of a Big Mac....

I can't imagine life without cheese!

"Mmmmm, cheddar!"
[ June 03, 2004: Message edited by: Bear Bibeault ]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:

Anyway, even if you can tolerate an occasional Big Mac, the allergy will keep you from being an addict.

I think that's how I got the allergy in the first place!

As for living a life without cheese, imagine no bread or pasta, most cereals and fast food. No Milky Ways (gooey nugat == wheat gluten) and on and on. It's a major lifestyle change.

I had no idea there was wheat in a Big Mac. It would explain the consistency of the patty to some degree. I'd still like to know what the bun is made of. Anyone?

Remember when McDonald's was hoping everyone would believe there's dairy products in their shakes?

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
One of the many interesting tidbits in the article: that William Jefferson himself is allergic to wheat and dairy, among other things.

That, of course, depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.

-J-

Originally posted by Michael Ernest:

Remember when McDonald's was hoping everyone would believe there's dairy products in their shakes?

I do remember the very persistent rumors that the actual meat patties where made of earthworms.

Remember when McDonald's was hoping everyone would believe there's dairy products in their shakes?

You mean microscopic plastic beads aren't considered dairy?

I don't remember which of my numerous food-snob aquaintances said this: "The continued existance of McDonald's shows that world isn't ready for real food".
[ June 03, 2004: Message edited by: Bear Bibeault ]

I assume everyone is anxious to see the new film, "Supersize Me": http://www.supersizeme.com/

While my wife was ill and having her brain surgery last year, I started eating at McDonald's compulsively (it was my comfort food). I put on over 15 pounds in less than three months. I will never touch their "food" again.

I took the day off to run some errands, and somehow ended up getting the 'big breakfast' this morning: I still feel nauseous.

M

It amazes me why so many people still eat the rubbish that the burger giants churn out. I'd far rather go to my local Turkish burger shop and buy a burger twice the size for half the amount. Not only would it actually be real meat, but I'd be able to see it getting cooked and know that some bored teenager hasn't just bunged it together without paying much attention to cleanliness.

Actually, thinking about it, I'd rather not have a burger at all, and choose something a bit more healthy.

Part of the reason why I don't go into these kinds of places any more is that I used to work in one myself (I won't say which, but suffice it to say that they considered themselves the royalty of burger chains) when I was at school. Once you've actually seen what they do to make the burgers, then it kind of puts you off. That and the fact that one manager told me that it costs them about 7p to make a burger and then they can sell it for �2.99. Once whilst working there I picked up a bag of frozen burgers and it split, dropping them all over the floor into a pile of swept up crud. The manager told me to just stick them back in the freezer and not to worry about them being dirty.

Even ignoring things like that, even the most properly made burger is made in a less than appetising way - cooked for just 1 minute from frozen and then kept (in its bun) in a steam box. Its supposed to be only kept there for 20 mins, but in practice it could be kept there for an hour or so on a quiet evening. When asked for, the now soggy burger, is taken out of the steam box and microwaved to heat it up again. The toppings are supposed to be added in after the microwaving (microwaving mayo is against health and safety rules), but fairly often people forget and microwave it anyway. Besides, if a customer complains about a burger being cold, its just microwaved some more with all the toppings in side it.

This is just the burgers - the chips are made from flour and flavourings. The worst of them all is the mayo and salad - health and safety rules said that all salad and mayo should be labelled with a date saying when it is put in the kitchen fridge. After a day it should be thrown away. My job every time I started my shift was to take off all the labels and put new ones on with the current date, meaning the salad and mayo could be kept in the fridge for several days.
[ June 04, 2004: Message edited by: Joe King ]

Maybe not typical, but sadly the McD and BK in town are the best of the fastfood/burger shops we have here.

All the others, while maybe having better meat and potatoes, typically use very old fat, less hygiene, etc. etc..

OK, I am a self-professed food snob (see recent blog entry in The Bear Den) but you haven't had a burger until you grind your own. "What?!?" I hear you say, "are you nuts??? Not only do you expect me to cook my own burger, but to actually grind the meat myself? That's just crazy talk!"

But it's not. And it's worth every second of the effort. Trust me.

My epiphany came after the 'Burger Eposide' of Good Eats (a show I know at least a few of you also appreciate) where host Alton Brown bade his viewers to give self-grinding a try. I did. And haven't bought pre-ground meat since.

By the way, my favorite cut for burgers? Brisket, believe it or not. I am in Texas after all.

Bear, where in Texas? Are you familiar with the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, about 100 miles east of El Paso?