Top Ten Food and Drink Combinations

I thought I'd do a different type of blog post and talk about food.  Who doesn't love eating food?  Who also doesn't love drinking some of their favorite drinks?  I'm going to rank the top 10 food and drink combinations.  Some food and drinks just go so well together, like peanut butter and jelly.  I'm not going to include food items more than once (with a different drink), but I will include a drink more than once.  Also, these are my preference, and they are ranked by how well they pair together.

10. Protein Bar and Energy Drink
This one isn't so much for the taste combination as it is the effects of the combination of the food and drink.  But they do typically taste well together.  If you're working hard through the day, there's not really a combination that'll pick you up better than this combination.  The protein bar will fuel your muscles and give you the carbs and calories needed, and the energy drink will give you the energy you need from the caffeine.  Generally, if you have this around early-midday, it'll last you until the end of the day.  I don't recommend having this every day, but if you're feeling completely devoid of energy, it should be all right to have this combination every once in a while.  I used to have it fairly often on my first break when I worked retail, and boy did it help.

9. Barbecue and Iced Tea
This one isn't higher mainly because the "Barbecue" moniker is vague and some barbecue items don't pair as well as others with iced tea, but it's still hard to go wrong with having iced tea and any barbecue item.  Whether it be ribs, hotdog/hamburger, or chicken, it's hard to go wrong with a good ice cold iced tea.  And of course, this combination works best (some would say only) in the summer.

8. Pasta (Spaghetti) and White Wine
This is one of my girlfriend's favorite combinations, and I'd have to agree.  There's just something about the sauce and meat paired with the sweet crispness of a glass of white wine.  You have to be careful, though, because you can't use the wine as a hydration source from eating pasta as you'll get tipsy very quickly.  I'd recommend adding some water (sparkling, possibly).

7. Sandwich & Chips and Soda
The all-American lunch, I call it.  You get a sandwich, preferably with your choice of deli meat and other fixings, some chips, and a soda of your choice.  It just reminds me of when I would have that for lunch as a kid (especially camping).  There's also a reason this is the most popular meal at Subway.  Nothing better washes down a sandwich and chips than soda.  

6. Breakfast Foods and Coffee or OJ
If you're having a combination of any of bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, pancakes/waffles for breakfast, both coffee and orange juice pair extremely well with those food items.  It seems weird since the tastes of coffee and orange juice are so different, but both complement the saltiness and savoriness of the aforementioned foods very well.  

5. Steak and Red Wine
Now if you want to feel classy, have a steak dinner with a nice glass of red wine.  For maximum effect, however, you have to pair the right cut of steak with the right wine.  Most winemakers will have pairing suggestions, whether it be on their bottle or website.  Sometimes a good bottle of wine goes better with a nice pork loin or seafood, but whatever it is, if you pair it up correctly, you're definitely in for a great food/drink combination.

4. Tacos and Margaritas (Or lemonade)
If you're having a taco night with friends and they consume alcohol, you've gotta make margaritas.  They're both part of Mexican-American cuisine, and for good reason.  The citrus pairs well against the spices and savoriness of tacos.  For those who don't drink, I recommend lemonade, which pairs very well with Mexican food/tacos as well.

3. Baked Good(s) and (Iced) Coffee
These baked goods could be a muffin, croissant, danish, donut, cinnamon roll, you name it.  Any of those pair so well with a good cup of coffee, whether it be hot or iced, although I prefer iced.  There's a reason a lot of us choose to start off our day this way.  Although it may not be the healthiest, the caffeine from the coffee paired with the sugar rush from the baked good is enough to get most people going.  For the Europeans or people who don't like coffee, tea works almost as well.  

2. Pizza and Beer/Soda
I couldn't decide between beer or soda, so I decided on both.  For a casual night or even a chill party, you can't go wrong with pizza and soda.  And honestly, after a long day of work, not much beets a pizza and beer.  The pizza satisfies your comfort while the beer takes the edge off.

1. Cookies and Milk
The classic, how can you beat it?  The answer is, you can't.  Milk cuts away with the sweetness of the chocolate and sugar so well; it's just hard to explain.  Obviously, the best cookie to have with milk is either a chocolate chip or an Oreo (depending on your preference), but even sugar cookies work well, too.  I'd also recommend brownies and even graham crackers with milk.