Both of these statements are full of truth.

In general, I'm not a fan of cooked vegetables other than potatoes. Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, all so much tastier raw. Even moreso with a little dip, usually ranch but not always.

Red Robins A.1. Peppercorn Burger is awesome.

All burgers need to be served on an onion bun.

I like ranch with a little french tossed in for color.

Huh. That's ... weird. Frankly, I don't spend any more time looking at my food than absolutely necessary. It's there to be eaten. A quick once-over to make sure nothing is obviously wrong with it, then down the hatch it goes. Smell, flavor, and texture are all that are relevant.

Besides, French dressing is terrible. If you need some european dressing, get italian. Much tastier.

I think she meant adding a little 'color' to the flavor.

If she actually meant color as in aesthetically, I agree that's weird.

I like broccoli properly steamed. Unfortunately, unless you do it yourself, anywhere you order cooked broccoli is likely to serve you a soggy, boiled mess.

Broccoli holds a special place in my heart. It's a vegetable that can feel pain.

Sorry to disappoint Triggerhappy, but that's an urban myth.

That said, Broccoli is my favorite vegetable.

Broccoli, you just got knocked down several pegs.

I am in 95.7% agreement with that statement.

To a degree, I can understand why someone would want to alter the appearance of food. For example: dying assorted candies makes it easy to determine the difference between one flavor and another prior to inserting said candy in one's mouth. There is a practical application in there.

When the alterations become merely decorative, however, I begin to question the act. While it looks cool when Ace of Cakes bakes a model of the Millennium Falcon, that's quite a waste of money on something that won't be around for long.

Of course, those decorations are merely puzzling. It becomes borderline offensive when someone makes modern art out of cooking ingredients. I do not mean cool-looking food that you can eat like from Ace of Cakes, but food-like substance that exists for the sole purpose of being "pretty." Those people actually manage to make food look less appetizing than the ingredients they used (some of which may or may not have been edible). Quite often, the idea that someone might want to eat the artwork does not factor into the recipe. Even when it is edible, you can't tell because of the pretentiousness of food's appearance.

And that's why I like Good Eats. Aside from the fact that it's the culinary equivalent to Beakman's World or Bill Nye the Science Guy, the food is meant to be prepared by amateurs then eaten. It's entertaining AND practical.

Ok, so MSPaint Adventures is the greatest thing ever. Thanks Zylo for pointing that out in his 32 bit world forum game.