favorite junk food and wine pairings?

[jcoz23]

I remember reading an article somewhere about junk food and wine pairings... A few were matches I have tried, like California Chardonnay with buttered popcorn and Australian Shiraz with hot dogs. Others I had not heard of, like Spanish red Rioja with cheese curls. What is your favorite junk food/wine pairing???

[gatun]

Spagetti-O's (with the meat ball's) and a nice California Cab

[AnneInMpls]

Hee, hee, hee! Curse you for mentioning my bête noir (Spaghetti-O's) - now I need to try pairing them with wine.

But Spaghetti-O's taste so sweet to me that I think I would go with a non-dry white wine - something like Bonny Doon's Pacific Rim Riesling. Then again, I always get the version without the meatballs, which makes a big difference. (I'm sure those meatballs pair beautifully with a Cab.)

Anne

[cleopatra999]

After reading this post I went out and bought a bunch of junk food to to with our champagne on new years eve. what a huge success, I liked the champagne better with the food then alone, my favorite was the chex party mix. Thanks for opening my eyes to this combo! btw, does the junk food work as well with any bubbles? or is it specifically champagne?

[moh]

You know, I had a thought about this. I think we've all been trained to like fizzy drinks with junk food. We are a soft drink culture after all. So it is natural that a bubbly drink like Champagne would be a natural fit for junk food. Now I don't want anyone saying I am equating Champagne with ginger ale. But I think there is a cultural precedent for this combination.

[maria lorraine]

In regards to chips, crackers, snack foods, I've found that Champagne with some degree of toastiness, sometimes called brioche, matches well with those items. There is commonality in both -- something toasted, some caramelization of starches.

Moh, of course there is cultural precedent -- it's the reason Coca-Cola goes so well with potato chips and pretzels is the same reason -- effervescence.

[tom porc]

No food snobs here as the 39 responses testify.

[Munchkin]

Golden Kaan Reserve Selection Shiraz with garlic Pretzel Crisps dipped in Sabra's Supremely Spicy Hummus.

[AnneInMpls]

Me, I love garlic hummos with California Chardonnay, but I'll have to try it with Shiraz and pretzels. Yum!

Anne

[anewton]

Grilled cheese with riesling or gewurztraminer.

Frozen pizza with inexpensive Aussie shiraz.

Take out sushi with a bright, acidic New Zealand sauvignon blanc.

[sharonm]

Gruner Veltliner and fried chicken
Rose and popcorn
Prosecco and potato chips
Aglianico and anything with barbecue sauce (not junk food but delicious)

[tatertotsrock]

Mmmm, sharonm,
I love Gruner Veltliner with some good greasey bits...It's the perfect white for crossing the bridge between light apps into a big, dreamy dish of braised short ribs.
I can only imagine how great that would go with some crispy fried chicken skin!!!

The day after Thanksgiving, I baked a chicken...the day after that, I pulled all the skin off the chicken and re-baked it in a pyrex dish till it was the perfect little chicken-chicharrone...mmm...I served it with some mashed potatos and polished of 1/2 a bottle of Sancere...great combo!
I will for sure grab a bottle of GV next time I do that.
Thanks for the suggestion!

[tatertotsrock]

Bigs in a Blanket
with
Sparkling Malvasia
(just enjoyed this combo at our friends 50th bd)

Kimchee Potato Chips
with
Moscatto D'asti or Prosecco
(favorite camping snack time snack)

Cab
with
Bacon and popcorn popped in the bacon grease

[goodhealthgourmet]

"popcorn popped in the bacon grease"

tater, you're my hero :)

[jcoz23]

Mine too!!!

[tatertotsrock]

Thank you goodhealthgourmet and jcoz23,
but I must admit, all the credit goes to my good friend Samantha...she had gotten me the Bacon of the Month Club as a gift and she wanted to open a nice bottle of Cab but we didn't have anything in the house...but then I said "what about the bacon?" and she said "perfect let's open the wine and start frying"...then, while we were frying we realized we needed a vehicle for the bacon...she said "let's make popcorn witht he drippings!!!"
How could I resist.
Well, as it turned out, it was a perfect meal.
We finished the bottle, finished the bacon, and all the popcorn while watching some great T-VO-ed trash television...what a great evening!
Mmmm.
Tonight, it's watching screeners of Into the Wild and whatever else arrived in the mail, homemade pizza, and a bottle of Carlos Basso "Dos Fincas" from Argentina...(55%cab-45% merlot)...I think it will be just right.

[chris the bartender]

Brownies and barolo for me. Also Spicy nachos and a german riesling.

[goodhealthgourmet]

tawny port with chocolate ice cream

[ibstatguy]

now don't try to tell me that you didn't see my post before you made yours!! LOL

[goodhealthgourmet]

i actually enjoyed a 20-year-old port with fantastic homemade chocolate ice cream at one of my favorite restaurants just a few weeks ago...but yes, it was your post that reminded me to mention it in this thread...hey, i give credit where due!

[ibstatguy]

vanilla ice cream with sherry is one

[Vinny Barbaresco]

Champagne and Popeye's fried chicken

[olasek]

>> and Australian Shiraz with hot dogs

Some Australian Shiraz are exceptionally fine wines (Two Hands comes to my mind). I would never waste such a wine on a hot dog.

[diablo]

Merlot and cheap boxed chocolates

Chardonnay and Wise brand white cheddar popcorn

[Zucumber84]

malbec and grilled cheese

[chriscatva]

Ooh, I like the sound of this :-). I love Malbec and I love grilled cheese -- will have to give it a try.

[moh]

for fun you should try both a Malbec and the Columbia Crest Merlot and compare. I know Merlot isn't "popular"anymore, but it did go great with grilled cheese!

[AnneInMpls]

This is a really fun thread! I'm a long-time fan of Champagne with anything salty. Now, I can't wait to try some lime tortilla chips with Pinot Grigio.

For more ideas, see this earlier thread:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/430840

Anne

[jcoz23]

Thanks! I tried to do a search before I started this one, but I searched "junk food" not "fast food" so nothing came up...That's a great thread, too! Love the suggestions for Prosecco with Fritos and Pinot Noir with a Cuban sandwich...

[OliveBelle]

I read this somewhere and it worked- marshmallows and ice wine.

[wally]

Potato chips, tzatziki and champagne and of course hot dogs and champagne.

[epsi1on]

going with the Champagne trend, Champagne with Fried Chicken. Also Chianti with Pizza (though that's almost how it's supposed to be if you ask me.. haha).

[wally]

Cerdon du Bugey with salmon tacos.

[burlgurl]

Tostitos Lime Tortilla chips and a chilled Pinot Grigio

[stellamystar]

Burlgurl - that sounds fantastic! mmm......

[fussycouple]

Twinkies with chardonnay, preferably a golden buttery one.

[whiner]

Champagne with pepperoni pizza
Nero d'Avola with sausage pizza
Just about anything with any sort of pizza

Cabs with hamburgers

Champagne with nachos

Champagne with french fries

Rose or Champagne with schwarma, gyros, falafel

Champagne with hot dogs

(are you noticing a pattern?)

[moh]

Champagne goes with everything! I love champagne!!!

I don't know if this qualifies as junk food, but.... went camping with friends, we brought aged cheddar cheese, and made grilled cheese over an open fire.We drank the Coumbia Crest Merlot with this. You can't imagine how well these two paired up! One of the most astonishing synergistic combinations i have ever had...

[goodhealthgourmet]

kraft singles would be junk food. aged cheddar is too good to qualify...particularly because i assume you also used decent bread, and not wonder bread....?

[moh]

Cant argue about the cheddar, but we did use sliced white bread...

[maria lorraine]

Champagne and onion rings, freshly made.
Champagne and Ruffles potato chips with onion dip
(or the gourmet version: with sour cream and caviar [even the cheap stuff])
Champagne and fried chicken
Champagne and salami
Champagne and salty nuts
Champagne and Triscuits
Champagne and any crunchy cracker or chip or Chex Mix kind of thing
Champagne and McDonald's French Fries -- tell the counter you want fries without salt b/c that means they'll fry them fresh, then what you do is sneakily grab a couple of packets of salt. Terrible, I know, but it's all for flavor and giggles.
Champagne and deep-fried mushrooms
Champagne and just about anything deep-fried

But that's because Champagne loves the whole fat and sodium thing,
the definitive components of junk food.

[chriscatva]

Well, the other day I drank two glasses of Tannat with a bunch of homemade Chex Mix (I made this to take to a wine potluck last weekend -- had some left over). I really liked the combination. The spiciness of the Tannat seemed to mesh well with the seasoning of the Chex Mix, but it enhanced it rather than overshadowing it.

[bubbles4me]

Del Taco French Fries and Champagne
Chex Mix and Champagne
Jack In The Box Breakfast Sandwiches (served all day...God I love that) and Champagne
Kettle Chips, lightly salted with...Champagne

[jcoz23]

Okay, I have to ask since I love Del Taco fries... Which champagne?

[bubbles4me]

Most the time it is either Agrapart Blanc de Blancs or Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs but if I am feeling like being really decadent I get a large order, (the giant cup) and drink Camille Saves Carte d'Or and call it dinner!

[perk]

I like your style, bubbles.