One of the things I rarely get to do on business trips is eat out. That’s because most of my meals are part of the conferences I attend, and those that aren’t usually involve a telephone and my hotel room.
Don’t get me wrong: I’ve actually had some really good food during these trips. But I really love when my schedule affords me the opportunity to get out of the hotel and find a restaurant slightly off the beaten path.
Posted in Restaurants, Travel
Tagged Aigre Doux, bakery, braised oxtail ravioli, Chicago, fish on Monday, French, grilled pork chop, hamachi avocado, restaurant
That headline’s more than a mite misleading.
See, when it comes to deep-dish Chicago pizza, “little” and “slices” don’t really fit the equation. A “fat wedge,” yes. A “mountainous piece,” sure. But a little slice? Nuh-uh, that ain’t Chicago.
Especially when you order a personal pizza at the original deep-dish pizzeria, Uno. In this case, the 2-inch tall pizza is dislodged from its pan before it even makes it to the table. And slicing the thing? Not going to happen.
But let’s back up a minute. Why was I in Chicago and why did I pick Uno over the plethora of “original” deep-dish pizza joints scattered around the Windy City? The easy explanation is 1) work and 2) Uno was only a few blocks from my hotel. When it comes to seeing the sites on a business trip, I’m nothing if not lazy.
Because of the popularity of the place and its inverse relationship to the amount of seating inside, you make your order (at least anything pizza-related) when you put down your name. Since the pizza takes 45 minutes to make and the wait is usually under that, it means less time at the table watching the early birds already devouring their meals.
I ordered my personal pie with mushrooms, spinach and sausage, which seemed like the right combo… despite how much the menu pushed pepperoni on everything.
As it has probably been written elsewhere and in far greater detail, the Chicago pie switches the traditional sauce/cheese relationship, relegating the cheese to a crust-sealer position on the bottom. This definitely makes sense on paper, but I also can’t argue with the taste. Once I finally breached the outer wall of the crust (which is an extreme sport all in itself), the stew of cheese, sauce and toppings could not be contained.
The best analogy I can give about eating this thing was that it was like eating soup out of a bread bowl, except with a super-hearty soup and an impervious-to-moisture and not-very-bowl-shaped bowl.
It was a thing of beauty, this deep-dish pizza. And one that my belly will remember fondly.
Obviously, this post is insanely late. I think we made this visit in early October and you’ve already seen some of the fruits of our labor. (I’m a little rusty with the writing, so please forgive the puns.)
Anyway, Applewood Orchards & Winery was absolutely packed the Saturday we went way back when. It took us close to three hours to get there, thanks to some competition to take advantage of a beautiful day and the back-up caused by the nearby Sugarloaf Fall Festival (which looked like a ton of fun but just wasn’t in the cards for us).
Before setting out into the orchard, we binged on some freshly made doughnuts and apple cider for a late lunch. We also partook (is that a word?) of the fine array of wines available at the on-premise winery. With our bellies satiated and a good buzz on, we took to the trees, opting to skip the hayride express to the pumpkin patch.
Our bag was almost half full with McIntoshes, before we realized that there were other varieties down near the pumpkins. While the wife sleuthed for our jack ‘o lantern-to-be, I hit more apple trees, attempting to add some diversity to our homogeneous bag. I grabbed some Courtlands, a few Macouns, Empires and Honey Crisps, and even a handful of Red and Golden Delicious (although these were small and probably could have used a few more days on the trees).
Meanwhile, my spouse picked a hell of a pumpkin.
Our arms full, and our legs tired, we proceeded to the check out. The whole deal cost $20, which was an absolute steal for a wonderful afternoon outside and some truly excellent produce.
And if you want to see what happened next with this pumpkin, turn the page …
Although everything was beautiful, the highlight of a recent wedding I attended was the endless amount of cookies. I can count at least 12 varieties in this picture alone, but there had to be more than 20 kinds continuously replenished at the dessert table all night.
It was truly a legendary feat by the mother and aunt of the bride, who must have been baking cookies for nearly a month. The only problem: sickness induced by washing down too many of these treats with open-bar alcohol. Ughhhhhhh.
A couple of my favorites were:
The Mouse
The Hamburger
Posted in Baking, Curiosities, Dessert, Events, Travel
Tagged hamburger cookie, mouse cookie, wedding cookies
It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve finally updated the list of my favorite Philadelphia restaurants.
Since I’m bad at decisions and love alliteration, ten has become fifteen. And why “final?” Well, that’s another story entirely.
The short version is that I’ve moved out of Philadelphia. Maybe I’ll get to the long version eventually, but for now, I will be bringing you the latest food news, restaurant reviews and random opinions from beautiful northern New Jersey.
I still have a few more Philly stories to push out before I switch over completely. I hope you enjoy the new list and these last Philly posts as much as I loved living and eating in the City of Brotherly Love.
Posted in Announcements, Philadelphia, Travel
Tagged 15, moving, Philadelphia, top 10 restaurants, updated
Let’s ignore the fact that it’s been more than a month since the wife and I returned from the Florida Keys. When I look at these pictures, I’m already back there.
We had a ton of great food during our time on the islands and as you might expect, most of it was happily swimming along less than 24 hours previous.
The Island Fish Company
Just down the street from our vacation rental was an awesome little place unimaginatively named the Island Fish Co. We were treated to a great little table on the water (bayside) and basked in the quintessential Keys meal.
I had one of the specials: freshly caught hogfish with tomato, asparagus and a tangy bechamel sauce (pictured above). Even more delicious was my wife’s fish-of-the-day choice: simply prepared grilled mako shark (to your right).
Both came with yellow rice and mixed veggies. Both were perfectly prepared. And both were so tasty that I forgot to mention our appetizer: crab cakes.
While I didn’t get a good picture of them, I can still remember every moist, flavorful morsel. You’d think I’d never had a good crab cake before. And I would probably admit you’re right.
I don’t count myself as a crab cake connoisseur, mostly because I’ve had some dry, tasteless cakes in my time. But this one appetizer saved the whole dish for me. I will be having crab cakes again, but only near a coast.
Southernmost Beach Cafe
A few days later, we found ourselves in the land of beach bums, wild roosters and drunk tourists: Key West.
Right next to the Southernmost House (where we met up with friends and lounged by the pool for a day – highly recommended), is the Southernmost Hotel. And part of the Southernmost Hotel is the Southernmost Beach Cafe.
There’s nothing like a fresh fish sandwich. And when you’re in the Keys in the spring and summer, there’s a good chance that the fish in the middle is mahi (a.k.a. mahi-mahi and dolphin).
The Cafe grilled the fish simply, slapped it down on a fresh bun slathered with a mayo-based pink spread, and added some perfectly crisp fries. You can’t get much better than that.
My wife, however, would beg to differ. Although she ordered the same fish, it was placed in a more healthy environment – among the greens of a fresh salad.
Among the ingredients in attendance were apples, grapes, croutons, a tangy vinaigrette and plenty of lightly fried mahi goodness. It was one of the few lunches where we were simultaneously satisfied by our own food and jealous of each other’s.
Good stuff.
Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Restaurant and Brewery
Maybe it was post-sunset ennui or the less-than-diligent service. Or maybe it was just too difficult to follow the perfect lunch. Whatever this issue, Kelly’s Caribbean just didn’t strike the right chord.
One excuse I can’t use was the “dining room.” Set among beautiful flora and fauna, the outdoor garden dining area was an amazing way to eat al fresco.
We started with shrimp cocktail, mostly as an excuse to try the famously well-advertised Key West “pinks.” They certainly were enormous, but unfortunately, fairly tasteless. They were also too chewy, leaving my wife to deny her third shrimp. Not a great sign.
To combat fish fatigue, I went with jerk chicken (darkly photographed below). Although it came with a tasty mango chunk sauce, the dish was only decent. My wife also ordered a chicken dish, although I can’t remember a thing about it. Also not a great sign.
The food may have been forgettable, but the interminable wait for the check (after only one cup of coffee and one slice of key lime pie) was the stuff of legend. We beat a hasty exit shortly after finding the waitress gabbing it up on a cell phone near the kitchen.
We were done with Key West. And it, apparently, was done with us.
The geniuses at the Key West Key Lime Pie Company came up with this beauty of a frozen treat and it’s the best thing since key lime pie on a plate.
Honestly, I’m not sure how you could go wrong with this process. Covering already delicious desserts in chocolate and freezing them on a stick just seems like the right thing to do.
Posted in Dessert, To Go, Travel
Tagged Florida Keys, frozen treat, key lime pie, pie on a stick
I was all ready to write this post a week ago, but then my wife graduated vet school, my computer went bust, and projects piled up at work. My sincerest apologies for the two week absence of your Man Eat Food fix.
Anyway, I have a huuuuuuuuuuge back list of stuff I need to get to, including a whopping FIVE restaurant reviews and assorted other goodies.
For now, I’m going to run down a few neat things from the Florida Keys. They are not all food related, but they’re fun. Or, they were fun to me when I was down there.
Bahia Honda Beach
The Keys are not known for their beaches, but this one, where I took a picture of the “broken” bridge, is known as one of the best. In fact, it was recognized as the “Best Beach in America” at some point in the 90s. The water was a steady 80 degrees and always that perfect aquamarine color.
Crane Point Museum and Nature Center
It was scorching when we walked around this nature preserve, which included a small museum and bird sanctuary. The hut at right was built by the land’s original occupant who used to collect natural sea sponges and sell them at the market in Key West. I’m not sure how he survived the summers without air conditioning.
Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory
Probably one of the coolest places we visited. It’s literally a butterfly “factory” housed in a small greenhouse. Thanks to the abundance of the colorful butterflies, birds, and fish, it feels like you’ve just entered Narnia, or some other enchanted land.
Hemingway House
Most people come here for the literary history, but we were all about the cats. An inbred deformity cause them have more toes than usual (as you can see by the slumbering cat at right). These “polydactyls” are quite funny looking, but completely harmless. There are dozens of them running free over the property and even a graveyard for former feline tenants.
Sunset Celebration
There are fire eaters, human statues, and all manner of other performers leading up to the spectacular sunset on Key West. This family of English contortionists were probably the most crowd pleasing of the acts.
And I’ll leave you with the most ridiculous sight from our vacation: overfed tarpon gathering at the docks like pigeons around stale bread.
Fat fish: only in America.
Posted in Announcements, Roundups, Travel
Tagged Bahia Honda beach, butterflies, contortionists, Crane Point, Florida Keys, Heminway House, pelicans, sunset, tarpon, vacation
That’s not true; it’s really just a pile of excuses.
But rather than bore you with those, check out some of the stuff I’ve been up to while not writing about food:
The New York Comic Con
Yes, I have been known to let my geek flag fly on occasion (or many occasions), but I’ve never done the whole costume thing like the above collection of Batman misfits. Ever notice that no matter how good the costumes are, there’s always something off? Mr. Freeze is fairly imaginative – hockey gear and all – but the Penguin (and I can’t believe I’m saying this about a convention attendee) is too tall and not nearly pudgy enough.
For the Least Believable Character/Body Type Combo award, it’s a tie between him and the 5′ 2″ skinny dude I saw slathered up in green body paint as the Incredible Hulk. How about tackling characters more your respective sizes, guys?
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
I hadn’t been to the circus in a good twenty years, but we scored free tickets thanks to my wife’s chance encounter with a sick tiger at vet school. How’s that for a perk?
The big-top event was naturally geared toward kids, but there were a few huh?-inducing adult moments. First, for one routine, the house band did an instrumental version of “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy. Now, I’m sure the kids didn’t get the reference (and the title was never mentioned), but everyone in my generation looked at each other and cringed at the subtle inappropriateness of the song selection.
Even wackier were some of the costumes and moves perpetrated by the circus “dancers.” At one point, there were a dozen of these cheerleader-like ladies, clad in black leather, fishnet stockings, and handle bars jutting out from their hips (you read that right), gyrating to the music.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. The kids may have been focused on the ringmaster/clown war in the middle of the arena, but the adults were treated to red-light-district-worthy strip show in the shadows. Kinda creepy.
The Future
One of life’s so-called transitional periods has heavily intruded on my blogging schedule recently and will keep posts at a minimum for the next month or so.
In the meantime, feel free to offer guesses on how I received this oh-so-painful blister on my finger.
I’ll give you a hint: it happened in the kitchen.
Posted in Announcements, Philadelphia, Travel
Tagged blister, circus, clowns, dancers, excuses, food blog, new york comic con, the prodigy, tiger
Wow, take a gander at this monstrosity. Only in Japan, a land virtually untouched by obesity, can the marketing wizards at Pizza Hut peddle a 646 calorie per slice (per slice!!!) food to kids without the least demonstration of conscience or remorse.
According to Gizmodo, Pizza Hut’s “exclusive” Double Roll pie includes bacon-wrapped wieners, mini hamburgers, pepperoni, three kinds of cheeses, and a few veggies.
And because that’s not hurl-inducing enough, how about adding a little ketchup and maple syrup? Because, ya know, that other stuff just doesn’t have the thick, viscous quality that’s driving all the kids nuts these days.
Honestly, when food becomes this kitschy, it’s more sad than cute.
Thanks to Meghan for the heads-up on this article.
Update 5/9/08
More crazy Asian pizza crusts here!
Posted in Curiosities, To Go, Travel
Tagged double roll, japan, ketchup, maple syrup, pepperoni, pizza, pizza hut
