Live data from Hacker News

For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

kottke.org

131–140 of 177 posts

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sanders never killed anyone either. He was involved in a shootout where the other guy shot and killed the gas station manager, Sanders' involvement was shooting said guy who lived and later went to jail as a result of killing the manager.

ahh my bad, all these years I was wrong- I see now that The Colonel rode up with two of his armed employees and got one of them killed and his competitor (Stewart) jailed who died by gunshot about 2 years later. Some say the cop that shot him was payed off with white buckets full of cash. Soon after the Colonel's gas station started selling white buckets full of addictive fried chicken infused with herb and spice and…

It's Kentucky in the early 1930s, driving up unarmed would be noteworthy in itself. It's tempting to make the story more interesting but is "local gas station owners get into a gunfight and one goes on to make KFC" not interesting enough without feeling the need to turn it into a blockbuster plot about a fast food gangster?

I hadn't heard Claudia was Stewart's daughter-in-law before though. I mean I'd believe it, if you've never been there Corbin isn't a particularly large town, but I also can't find any actual reference to it either.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#132
post #26

The first and second times I visited KFC in the US I was shocked there were no vegetables in their sandwiches. Other than the corn, and coleslaw, no lettuce or other ingredients in the sandwiches. In europe, and China and any other country I’ve seen KFC they have amazing Zinger sandwiches with lattice and sauces and grea flavor. We make it a point to never go to KFC in the US.

One thing I find utterly depressing is how literally every American fast food chain has infinitely better quality and taste in their overseas locations. Evidently they save their absolute worst products for their home market.

I think in-n-out is pretty good. It seems when the founders died, the formula wasn't changed afaict.

That said, they haven't spread far from their original locations.

I also remember going to five guys and there was something on the wall about the ingredients never frozen. Five guys is lots more expensive though.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I find utterly depressing is how literally every American fast food chain has infinitely better quality and taste in their overseas locations. Evidently they save their absolute worst products for their home market.

well the flip side take is that other countries put a premium on the american brands we consider trashy

sometimes. I remember trying a pizza from an US chain in mexico and it wasn't like the US version (not as good).

Of course it was fast food pizza, so you get what you get.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ahh my bad, all these years I was wrong- I see now that The Colonel rode up with two of his armed employees and got one of them killed and his competitor (Stewart) jailed who died by gunshot about 2 years later. Some say the cop that shot him was payed off with white buckets full of cash. Soon after the Colonel's gas station started selling white buckets full of addictive fried chicken infused with herb and spice and…

It's Kentucky in the early 1930s, driving up unarmed would be noteworthy in itself. It's tempting to make the story more interesting but is "local gas station owners get into a gunfight and one goes on to make KFC" not interesting enough without feeling the need to turn it into a blockbuster plot about a fast food gangster? I hadn't heard Claudia was Stewart's daughter-in-law before though. I mean I'd believe it, if…

the other details are also relatively true. The Colonels employees were armed and yelled at Stewart. Stewart was killed by a cop and rumors say he was paid to inflict retribution. Sanders married Claudia, who was Stewarts-daughter's-husband's-sister (Ona May Stewart married one of Claudia's brothers) and Sanders later co-owned a business with Stewarts daughter , Ona May. Straight shooter quote is true. KFC was born in the gas station near where it all shot off. Many do not know- To become a Kentucky Colonel, the Governor of Kentucky needs to sign off on it. They have a handshake and a song.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#135
post #26

The first and second times I visited KFC in the US I was shocked there were no vegetables in their sandwiches. Other than the corn, and coleslaw, no lettuce or other ingredients in the sandwiches. In europe, and China and any other country I’ve seen KFC they have amazing Zinger sandwiches with lattice and sauces and grea flavor. We make it a point to never go to KFC in the US.

One thing I find utterly depressing is how literally every American fast food chain has infinitely better quality and taste in their overseas locations. Evidently they save their absolute worst products for their home market.

Other countries often have much stronger regulations about what is considered to be "food".

For example, McDonalds often has to use actual beef in their overseas hamburgers as opposed to the "beef sludge" that they use in the ones in the US. McDonalds in Italy served a hamburger like I remember from back when I was a child.

This is not universal, however. Hamburgers in the UK seem to be uniquely terrible, for example.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#136

Here's the recipe for the Colonel's original herbs and spices seasoning: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/08/19/kfc-recipe-reveale...

I cook versions of this on the regular. I say versions, because simply having The Official Recipe is only half the battle. The actual flavours and strengths of the individual herbs and spices can vary a lot by brand, and by country, and by source, and other factors.

My main takeaway (PNI!) is that the white pepper and the smoked paprika together are the heart of the KFC flavour. The rest just augment, refine the flavour. And of course, the salt and/or MSG go a long way.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#137
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I find utterly depressing is how literally every American fast food chain has infinitely better quality and taste in their overseas locations. Evidently they save their absolute worst products for their home market.

Other countries often have much stronger regulations about what is considered to be "food". For example, McDonalds often has to use actual beef in their overseas hamburgers as opposed to the "beef sludge" that they use in the ones in the US. McDonalds in Italy served a hamburger like I remember from back when I was a child. This is not universal, however. Hamburgers in the UK seem to be uniquely terrible, for example…

> McDonalds in Italy served a hamburger like I remember from back when I was a child.

Also they sometimes have really good espresso bars right there in the restaurant.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's Kentucky in the early 1930s, driving up unarmed would be noteworthy in itself. It's tempting to make the story more interesting but is "local gas station owners get into a gunfight and one goes on to make KFC" not interesting enough without feeling the need to turn it into a blockbuster plot about a fast food gangster? I hadn't heard Claudia was Stewart's daughter-in-law before though. I mean I'd believe it, if…

the other details are also relatively true. The Colonels employees were armed and yelled at Stewart. Stewart was killed by a cop and rumors say he was paid to inflict retribution. Sanders married Claudia, who was Stewarts-daughter's-husband's-sister (Ona May Stewart married one of Claudia's brothers) and Sanders later co-owned a business with Stewarts daughter , Ona May. Straight shooter quote is true. KFC was born i…

Relatively true in that most of these things are somewhere between a slightly off base and completely false. E.g. Ona May said "I always knew I could count on him" but "a straight shooter" was written in 2022 as an article ending pun for https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/kfc-colonel-sanders-shoot-..., not part of the Ona May's quote. The book referenced is actually a decent read.

Another interesting note on Kentucky Colonels is the title largely turned into a joke due to being over assigned for political preference, e.g. Sanders ended up getting his during such a wave in the 30s. There have been about 350,000 assignments and the governor no longer even bothers trying to hand sign them anymore. One guy I know got the title for filing a patent that hasn't even been commercially used.

Re: For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad (1976)

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ingredients: Monosodium Glutamate, White and Black Pepper, Fine Flake Salt, Sage, Coriander, and other natural spices" So if the first listed ingredient represents the most abundant ingredient... Also, such a cop out that the FDA has allowed "other natural spices" to be a legit listing. Supposedly to protect corporate secrets blah blah. What if someone is allergic to one of those "natural spices". Either we're for a…

> So if the first listed ingredient represents the most abundant ingredient... It's seasoning, so it doesn't seem surprising at all that MSG would be pretty high on the list. Do you think that's bad?

Some people still hang on to the flawed science and xenophobic belief that MSG is bad.
Post reply on HN