Ian Chillag

Ian Chillag appears in the following:

A Visit To The World's First Boozy Taco Bell

Thursday, September 24, 2015

"DO NOT LEAVE THE PREMISES WITH YOUR DRINK," says the woman behind the counter at the Taco Bell Cantina in Chicago. I can tell by the way she looks me in the eye that what she means is this: We finally have booze at Taco Bell. Don't be the guy ...

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Sandwich Monday: We're Full

Monday, May 04, 2015

In 2010, we started eating sandwiches. Five years later, we are officially full. From now on, Sandwich Monday is going to be an occasional feature here on The Salt, rather than a regular one.

There are many reasons, but mostly it's because Miles knows a guy who knows a guy ...

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Sandwich Monday: Deep-Fried Cheese Curds

Monday, April 27, 2015

Whenever people from the edges of the country come to visit me in the Midwest, I don't let them leave until they have tried deep-fried cheese curds.

If you're not familiar with them, cheese curds are a byproduct of the cheddar cheese-making process, and "deep frying" is a method by ...

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Sandwich Monday: Pizza-Flavored Energy Paste

Monday, April 06, 2015

Traditionally, the liquified foods marathoners choke down in the middle of a race have been limited to some pretty basic flavors: lemon-lime gel, vanilla goo, chocolate mystery substance.

No more! Clif has introduced pizza-flavored energy paste.

We tried it while competing together in an ultramarathon this weekend (this entire ...

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At The Free-Throw Line, One Taunt May Be Worth A Thousand Hecklers

Friday, April 03, 2015

This weekend, college basketball rivals will clash in the Final Four. If you want to hear about the actual games, maybe ask Frank Deford. We're more concerned with the eternal battle between the guy shooting the free throw, and the insane fan standing behind the basket trying to ...

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Tigons And Ligers And Boys, Oh My!

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Seven-year-old Allen has a problem many of us face: He would like to be half-man, half-cheetah, but he doesn't know where to begin. Does the technology exist to give him the spots, speed, adorable nose and tail missing from boring, old human beings?

Sort of, says Nicola Barber, a geneticist ...

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Sandwich Monday: Bone-In Pork Chop Sandwich

Monday, March 16, 2015

There are dangerous sandwiches out there: the Wendy's Sharpened Chicken Classic, the McRib that's always sending you emails with questionable attachments. But they pale in comparison to the famous pork chop sandwich from Jim's Original in Chicago: Jim leaves the bone in.

Eva: The bone also serves as a ...

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Sandwich Monday: Pizza-Flavored Salad Dressing

Monday, March 09, 2015

After years of doing Sandwich Monday, we've decided to try a salad. In order to make the transition easier for everyone, we're eating it with "Cheesy Pizza" Flavored Salad Dressing from Chef Kidd's "Funagrette."

That last paragraph is a lie. We're eating this because they sent us a box of ...

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Sandwich Monday: The Funnel Cake Corn Dog

Monday, March 02, 2015

When the corn dog was discovered in an Iowa cave in the 1950s, explorers dated it at roughly 40,000 years old. Its recipe has gone largely unchanged since then, though few makers use real glyptodon meat anymore.

Recently, though, the dog has had an evolutionary transformation. There's now a State ...

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Sandwich Monday: Little Caesars' Bacon-Wrapped Crust Pizza

Monday, February 23, 2015

Once, long ago, pizza was a wide, untouched landscape. Then we put toppings in the middle. But as overpopulation took hold, we were forced to colonize the last bits of protected land — building subterranean cheese tunnels in the crust. And now, finally, Little Caesars has covered the crust in ...

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Sandwich Monday: Girl Scout Cookie Coffeemate

Monday, January 26, 2015

Used to be, you had to briefly stop eating Girl Scout Cookies while you finished your morning cup of coffee. But no more. Coffeemate is now making Girl Scout Cookie-flavored creamer, so you can now ingest them 24 hours a day, so long as you can find a friend to ...

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Sandwich Monday: The White Castle Veggie Slider

Monday, January 12, 2015

White Castle is not a place you think of as a restaurant for vegetarians. In fact, early franchises built moats and had cauldrons of hot oil at the ready to keep vegetarians out. So, the new Veggie Slider comes as something of a surprise. It's a tiny veggie burger made ...

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Sandwich Monday: The Pretzel Dog

Monday, January 05, 2015

Auntie Anne's logo is a pretzel wearing a halo. This is probably supposed to connote a pretzel that's good for you. Or heavenly, maybe? But when you look at it long enough, it makes you think: Pretzels can die. And there's an afterlife for them.

Is pretzel heaven the same ...

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Sandwich Monday: The 'Shroom Burger From Shake Shack

Monday, December 22, 2014

If you haven't heard of Shake Shack, it's a hip, growing national chain where Americans go to stand in long lines. Also, it serves food.

We tried the 'Shroom Burger, a breaded and deep-fried cheese-stuffed portobello mushroom patty in a bun. It's topped with lettuce, tomato and the chain's ...

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Sandwich Monday: Doritos Loaded

Monday, December 08, 2014

Doritos are everywhere. They're in taco shells at Taco Bell, they're in pizza crusts in Australia and they're sneaking up behind you right now with murder in their eyes. 7-Eleven has introduced the Doritos Loaded, shorthand for "vaguely Doritos-shaped fried thing stuffed with cheese."

Robert: This is what ...

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Sandwich Monday: Taco Bell Dessert Nachos

Monday, December 01, 2014

Depending on where you are in the world, Taco Bell can be as many as 2 miles away. Fortunately the chain has started selling make-at-home kits, and today we're trying the Dessert Nacho Kit. It's a great chance to make your own cuisine, and you can keep the box around ...

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Sandwich Monday: Papa John's Frito Chili Pizza

Monday, November 17, 2014

The year is 2047. You're in a dining hall on the desolate comet on which we all now live. You look down at your food, sitting on your plate. The plate is, as always, a large cheese pizza. A painful memory flashes. You ask the child next to you, "Remember ...

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U.K.'s Anglican Church Will Enable Women To Become Bishops

Monday, November 17, 2014

The Church of England moved toward ordaining its first female bishops Monday, as its governing body voted to enable women to become bishops. The move comes two decades after the church first ordained women as priests, in 1994.

"Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the ...

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Sandwich Monday: The Dunkin' Donuts Cronut

Monday, November 10, 2014

The Cronut croissant-doughnut hybrid was the food phenomenon of 2013. There were long lines at the bakery where Cronuts were invented, and they were going for hundreds of dollars on the black market. They even inspired spinoffs like the doughscuit — a doughnut-biscuit hybrid — and the bronut, which ...

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Sandwich Monday: The Baco

Monday, November 03, 2014

For years, Bac-Os have been the cool friend salad gets to hang out with, so naturally, it's a beloved name in food. This week we try a different sort of Bacos — that's what Chicago's Saucy Porka restaurant calls its bao-taco hybrids.

Ian: This does pretty well even in ...

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