Oh my gosh.

How long does it take to grill a shrimp really?

People who want instant food need to go to a buffet restaurant.

Shrimp cooks quicker than eggs. On a hot grill, maybe one minute a side total, not more. No thoughtful cook would deep-fry "grilled" shrimp, the "reason" is nothing but an excuse. Sounds like the guy doesn't know how to do anything with food except to deep-fry it. Reason enough to stop going to the place.

Bacon-wrapped shrimp is anything but a healthy choice, no matter what.

Thank you Elmer for pointing out the obvious.

Perhaps the cook is deep frying it in order to get the bacon crispy. I made bacon shrimp skewers a few days ago and the bacon takes longer to cook than the shrimp. Well, I suppose it's cooked, but the fat isn't rendered unless the bacon is grilled past the time the shrimp are finished.

Regardless, if they are deep frying it, they need to update their menu to reflect that change in cooking methods.

On a side note, I'm very happy to see nutritional information on more and more menus. I was out to lunch with a friend and we were going to order salads until we noticed that the calorie count for salads ranged from 1000 - 1500 calories due mainly to what the salads are topped with is my guess. That may also count salad dressing which I always ask for on the side - if so that would eliminated around 200 calories, but that is still a lot for a salad. A grilled steak (chicken breast would have been even less) and veggies came in at around 400 calories so we both opted for that instead.

I said to my friend something along the lines of "gee, you think you're doing a good, healthy thing by ordering a salad and it's almost an entire day's calorie count". By providing the nutritional information, it allows consumers to make better informed choices.

I think the cook is par boiling the shrimp so he has a large back up of "almost ready" shrimp when the restaurant gets busy. That's one of the surest ways to make it tough and chewy...and relatively tasteless. I can almost assure you that the shrimp is not being deep fried. IMO the manager is lying to you. The precooked process is not a good practice and might even cause harmful bacteria to enter the shrimp if its not refrigerated correctly. I'd pass that place by the next time you're looking for a nice meal out...and count your blessings that a bad meal is all that you got these past two times.

You may think I was pointing out the obvious but maybe not, it was you who said bacon wrapped shrimp is a healthy choice.

"Trying to eat healthier, I always order grilled shrimp kabob. Okay... it's bacon wrapped grilled shrimp, but it's GRILLED."

Perhaps I should have added DISCLAIMER

Recently my DH ordered seafood in an east coast restaurant, believing it to be freshly prepared and it was clearly something purchased from a food service and microwaved. Just awful. Should we ask if the dish was cooked in advance, locally caught or previously frozen?

A lot of the Mexican restaurants in my area buy premade food from services and add an extra tbsp of cumin to make it "their own". People dont object b/c they love seeing their food coming towards their table 10 min. after ordering. Fast food at a sit down restaurant, that's all.

problem with "bacon wrapped" about anything is difference in cooking times. think safe to say many/most want their bacon relatively crispy. in order to get crispy bacon, you end up cooking the shrimp to death. you could par-cook bacon, wrap at last minute and then grill. takes TIME & man-power... face it, that means $$$!

If you've ever watched kitchen nightmares, you'll see how many restaurants -- granted these are all failing restaurants -- will swear to him that their food is fresh even while he's standing there holding a bag full of frozen stuff. It's amazing. The better restaurants will always accommodate your dietary needs. The other ones, not so much.

You're describing the difference between a kitchen run by a chef and one run by a cook. Even many who have trained to be chefs don't have the chops (bad pun) or the brains and creativity to function as one AND run the kitchen in a business-like manner.

I have seen restaurants that will drop a steak in a deep fryer to get it done faster. Most likely they ARE frying it to get the bacon to cook faster and crisp up. Another restaurant will drop breakfast sausage and bacon into the deep fryer to get them to brown faster during a breakfast rush. I found out when I asked why there was a slick of oil on my plate....ewww LOL!

Dances.

Rarely does ANY 'bacon-wrapped' dish come out well.

Bacon-wrapped egg might be nice.

o j

Mmmmmmmmmm...bacon!

Now that summer tomatoes have arrived there is definitely a crispy (but not deep fried) BLT in my future!

Large sea scallops, wrapped in a half piece of bacon, dipped in a teriyaki concoction and put under the broiler.....yummy.

Pudgeder...I understood what you were saying, trouble is some people only see in black and white. Or perhaps they just grasp at anything in order to get the attention as in **notice me**

rhizo, you've reminded me of one of my favorite appetizers. Half a water chestnut wrapped in half a piece of bacon and dipped in a soy/brown sugar sauce before broiling in the oven. Those are always a hit!

"Pudgeder...I understood what you were saying"

Aren't you the person who once said you didn't think people read ingredients lists on prepared foods to make healthy choices and avoid unhealthful products?

"Half a water chestnut wrapped in half a piece of bacon and dipped in a soy/brown sugar sauce before broiling in the oven"

Add a piece of chicken liver to the bundle and call it "rumaki". I don't know if it was created by Trader Vic's but they served it, back in the bygone days of tiki bars that served ersatz ethic food and perhaps gave a push start to the Asian Fusion genre. It's delicious.

I love bacon but eat it rarely and sparingly.

I'll pass on the rumaki - chicken livers are gross.

Wasn't me that said anything about reading lists on prepared foods. Nope.

I thought it was you who commented with some surprise to learn that many people try to be consistent in making healthy food choices, the label reference was part of someone else's words that you were speaking of. If I have it wrong, what was it you said in that conversation?

Paula Deen recipe, a very yummy appetizer: Cut chicken breast into small chunks and wrap each piece with 1/2 strip bacon. Stir together 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp. chili powder and a small dash of cayenne pepper. Toss chicken/bacon in mixture and bake until crispy.

Most bacon-wrapped dishes suffer from the fact that the bacon and what it is wrapped around will cook differently, leading to crispy bacon and over cooked stuffing or slimy bacon and properly done innards. I learned that long ago.

Bacon - gak. Sorry, just my opinion. I'd love the shrimp, the scallops, the chicken, the chicken liver, etc. as noted in this thread. But skip the bacon. I don't like it at all.

OP, I get what you're saying, too. And I sympathize with you. Deep fried when it says "grilled"? Nope, just nope.

I don't care for bacon wrapped seafood. I do like a slice of of bacon wrapped around a filet mignon since it is such a lean cut and can use the fat and moisture. I'm not a fan of the cut since it lacks its own flavor. But that is why it needs bacon, butter or both.

Now a deep fried bacon wrapped hot dog is the bomb. Nothing like grabbing a Mexican street dog on a hot summer night.

I'll make an exception to my rule and have one of those Mexican dogs, thanks very much!

Mmmmmmmm...a hot dog and bacon. I'm in!

hot dog, split not quite thru. fill that crevice with as much cheddar as you can fit... little logs work better than shredded... and tastes better, too. wrap with strip(s) of bacon that's about half way done. try to cover cheese as much as possible with bacon before securing with tooth picks. onto hot grill, cheese side up. turn over for about the last 30 seconds... so ya don't lose the cheese. et voila... you have a "Texas Tommy"... camping/scouting grub... develops a special je ne sais quoi if accidentally dropped on the ground but returned to grill before too many people notice!!

Also best if slightly charred on the outside.

I don't like bacon on hamburgers or hot dogs, it confuses the flavor (to me).

If you're talking hot dogs, this LA kid says you can't do better than a chili dog from Pink's in Hollywood. Second choice is the same from Tommy's near downtown, though Tommy's is better known for chili burgers. Pink's seems to have a number of other locations, as does Tommy's. I can't say anything about them, I suspect they're licensees or franchises. I go to the originals when I can and I find them unchanged over the many decades I've been going (since the 60s).

"Pudgeder...I understood what you were saying,.."

I, too, had no difficulty understanding. I wonder if Mr. Fudd [If I have it wrong, what was it you said in that conversation?] is now going to ask me a question about what I wrote in a thread from over a month ago. lol

Elmer can you post a link to the conversation your talking about as I don't remember it.

gyr, the comment stuck out because it seemed out of step with the times. So many people watch what they eat these days and try to be mindful of the better food choices.

Hoffy is Pink's main supplier of hot dogs. Their products are found in the Bay Area Walmarts but I haven't seen the natural casing version locally. The closest all beef dog in a natural casing I've found is Saag's.

Thanks watchme! I went to the Hoffy site and saw the photo of Pink's. All these years of being a customer and I never knew that. We don't usually go to Walmart but I'll go in next time I'm near one and see what I can find.

I think the chili is made by XLNT, I don't know if it's the regular product or a special process for them. I also don't know if that's available outside of SoCal.

Where is the Saag product sold?

Mr. Fudd, it seemed to me that it was quite funny for you to ask "...what was it you said in that conversation?" after mamapinky posted she hadn't posted about the reading of labels.

So I tried to find the thread/posts in question. The only cross I found didn't have mamapinky commenting about the post concerning the reading of labels by people trying to eat healthy. So, not surprisingly, I struck out being able to figure out whatever comment stuck out to you.

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Hot dogs are way too bland. Sausages are the way to go. We've become fans of Electric City Butcher's Spicy Sicilians. They make them in house, so even the herbs and spices used taste fresh.

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The original post got me to thinking about some of the local places that have had food suddenly taste different than when previously purchased. Twice, or a really awful once, and they loose me as a customer. Some were obvious changes in cooking. But for others, my original thoughts were a change in supplier products. Now I wonder if more had changes in cooking practices than I had originally thought.

Since I really don't remember the conversation about food/labels/eating right, but it stuck out to you Elmer please direct me to that post. How long ago was this? Not to mention how is this related to me telling the OP here that I understood what she was saying. I don't remember and I'm confused.