"Even caramel sundaes is gettin' touched": Snacks inspired by hip-hop rhymes

When hip-hop makes you hungry, that's probably not your subconscious speaking to you. It's Rakim in your headphones talking about fish, which is his favorite dish but without any money it's still a wish. Or LL Cool J with his thing for milky cereal, baby. In case a fine verse should ever get your appetite going, The A.V. Club hunted down some of hip-hop's more amusing food- and drink-related rhymes, then found the local dishes to go with them.

A Tribe Called Quest, "Rap Promoter"
The rhyme: "I want chicken, and orange juice, 'cause that's what's on my rider / And my occasional potato by Ore-Ida."

Q-Tip is calling out the specifications of his rider, intent on avoiding a "wack show" on the Van Halen-esque theory that close attention to the food provisions in the rider will mean professionalism in other aspects of show business—payment and tight stage management. In Milwaukee, fried chicken doesn't get much more professional than the deep-fried birds at Gold Rush Chicken (2625 W. North Ave., 414-933-1717; 3500 S. Howell Ave., 414-481-4010), which are flaky on the outside and tender on the inside (just like Q-Tip). 

Digital Underground, "Food Fight"
The rhyme: "Flame broil base, my pickle make ya wiggle / You're busted, my mustard, will wax your whole plate." Also, “I'll hit cha in the neck with a cheeseburger.”

Shock G and crew insist that "you've got to bring food to a food fight," and the narrative of this song (which includes fresh cantaloupes, ham hocks, and a bacon-and-egg sandwich) keeps coming back to the food-fight weapon of choice, cheeseburgers. The famously flame-broiled burgers at Burger King (various locations) might be what Shock G is on about here in his metaphorical assertion of food-flinging prowess; the burger chain was also name-checked roughly contemporaneously by De La Soul in the refreshingly sideways narrative of "Bitties In The BK Lounge." But in case something more substantial ("fat like hippopotamus") is appealing, it's hard to imagine the zany Shock G finding fault with the celebrated burgers at Sobelman's Pub N Grill (1900 W. St. Paul Ave., 414-931-1919). Not only do the fresh-baked country butter rolls make for a good throwing grip, it'll also splatter a fair amount of bacon, jalopenos, and other tasty ingredients on impact.

Raekwon The Chef, "Ice Cream"
The rhyme: "French-vanilla, butter-pecan, chocolate deluxe / Even caramel sundaes is gettin' touched."

Taken on its face, this song initially appears to be a charming number about the joys of ice cream. (“Hey mom, can I have some money? The ice cream man is coming!”) Milwaukee is a custard town, so hopefully a trip to Kopp's Frozen Custard (various locations) can fill everything on Raekwon's order. Later verses, however, make it clear that ice cream may be a metaphorical stand-in for something Raekwon's mom might not be as happy with.

Gucci Mane, “Wasted”
The rhyme: "I'm so wasted / She's so wasted / Shout the bartender send 20 more cases"

Twenty cases of hip-hop favorite Cristal will run you about $150,000, so let's hope the goofy Gucci is really talking about Milwaukee's Best, which will only set a wannabe back $240—which, even for 30 12-oz. cans per case, still sounds excessive.