Baltimore Book Festival

I haven't been posting very much lately. I have been quite busy (life gets in the way, you know), and my modem almost blew up, so a replacement is on its way. For now, I'm just standing in the nporthwest corner of my living room, tapping into someone else's unsecured wireless. But I do hope to be at the Bawlmer Book Festival this weekend. Several food-related authors / Food Network personalities will be there, such as the following (all will appear at the Food for Thought stage unless otherwise noted):

• George Duran, host of Secret Life Of... and Ham on the Street, touting his new book Take This Dish and Twist It (Sunday @ 2:30, to 5:00)
  
• The original Next Food Network Chefs, those Hearty Boys - Dan Smith & Steve McDonagh. What happened to them, anyway? (Saturday @ 5:30, to 7:00)
  
• Jeff Henderson, who discovered his passion for cooking while behind bars, and is now hosting the Head Chef Project, a Food Network show that looks much more interesting and worthwhile than silly fluff like, oh, I dunno, Semi-Homemade? Paula's Party? Anything with Guy Fieri? The book du jour is Chef Jeff Cooks (Sunday @ 5:30, to 7:00)
• Martin Yan - not a FN personality, but he predates it and is one of the tried and true PBS chefs - Yan Can Cook is right up there with The French Chef, The Frugal Gourmet and so on. His new book is Martin Yan's China. (Saturday @ 1:00, to 2:30)
  
• and one of the original food bloggers, Adam "Amateur Gourmet" Roberts (Saturday @ 4, to 5:30). I will at least be there for that one.
  

Not exactly food-related, but since she's named for a food, she deserves a mention: Sweet Potato Queen "Boss Queen" Jill Conner Browne will also be at the festival promoting her book The Sweet Potato Queens' Guide to Raising Children for Fun and Profit (Sunday @ 5:30 to 7:00 in the Literary Salon). And speaking of sweet potatoes: did you know there's a Sweet Potato Festival in Shrewsbury, PA, this weekend, too?

If you are a foodie author that I missed, feel free to plug yourself in the Comments section. Happy book hunting, y'all!

UPDATE (9/27) - I did get down to the Book Festival, but with much torrential rain that soaked me down to my socks - I even went into the Walters just to see if they sold any overpriced rain ponchos in their gift shop (no, though a small umbrella costs $24.95). I ran into Julie (Kitchenography) and Elizabeth (Strawberries in Paris) at Adam Roberts' book reading/cooking demonstration - his first. Adam made a delicious tomato sauce with penne pasta, which we in the audience got to taste, and he described the way to make perfect roasted chicken. He also encouraged budding gourmets to try and don't be afraid to fail in the kitchen (he gave some high-larious examples of some of his own past failures). Afterwards, the three of us got to meet Adam, who is a very nice guy. We were able to give him and his partner Craig some recommendations on some good places for crabs, dinner and brunch. Plus, Adam signed my thoroughly drenched copy of his book How to Shop, Chop and Table-Hop Like a Pro (damn rain). So Adam, I hope you Craig enjoy the rest of your night and day in Baltimore, and that you liked our recommendations!

Also: Adam's fellow NYC-blogger Emily Farris, author of the Casserole Crazy blog, is at the Food for Thought tent on Sunday at the same time - 4 PM. I had to admit, I don't make a lot of casseroles. Maybe Emily's book and blog will give me some more inspiration? I'll have to check it out.

Festivals of Baltimore: Baltimore Powwow

I had a lot of work to do for work this weekend, but I found a few hours to stop by Patterson Park for the Baltimore Powwow, held by the Baltimore American Indian Center. I went thinking I would just buy some frybread and that's it. I got that and so much more.

I didn't buy any stuff per se. Oh, I wanted to. My God, I wanted to! Everything from beautifully crafted Native American crafts to dream catcher-shaped crapola to witty red, white and blue bumper stickers such as "My heroes kill cowboys" with a line drawing of a Native American man were all just whispering "Buuuuy meeeee!" Sadly, I only had enough money for food. Actually, I wanted to save my money, though the food cost so much that I just couldn't get out with much, if at all.

Before I headed over to the dance space, I started scoping out the food booths. The BAIC booth didn't seem to be selling fry bread, though it was selling fish, Indian tacos (okay, those are made of fry bread; I should have asked) and hush puppies.

Said hush puppies

I ordered a bowl of the latter for $3. They were not very crunchy, so I was dissatisfied at first. But they really grew on me: very soft and light and not too oily at all. Lots of them for only $3. Very tasty, even cute (cherry tomato-sized). I polished them off while watching the dance competition, starting with the fancy shawl youth competitors, then the traditional youths and the very adorable tiny tots. One man, who was probably going to compete in a later dance since he was all decked out to do so, went into the dance space, holding a drum mallet in his infant son's hand while the two of them beat a small drum. All the while a drum circle kept going in the background. I stayed to watch one more dance, this one an invitation to all competitors, young and old, male and female, into the space. It was very cool to watch, very powerful and beautiful, and so much fun to watch. But the best part, of course, was that the dancers seemed to enjoy the competition perhaps more than we in the audience did.

But my search for food drove me back towards the Pulaski Monument and the shops and stands nearby. My next stop was next to the BAIC booth, a truck with the seemingly derogatory but quite clever name of the Frybread Queen, who (I think) came from Andrews AFB. Their food was a wee bit pricier, and their proceeds didn't all go to the BAIC. They had fry bread alright, with cinnamon & sugar for $4. Their Indian taco was similarly priced, for $8. But instead, I got the "man burger": 1/2 lb of buffalo, with tomato, chopped onion, shredded lettuce and shredded cheese, in a piece of fry bread.

It'samaaaaaaaaaaanburger! Withamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanlemonade!

It was OK, but you can't really taste the fry bread too much. That and the buffalo wasn't as juicy as I'm used to. Plus, the meat was hidden under all this shredded lettuce and raw onion and tomato. No sauces on the fry bread or the buffalo burger. After all those hush puppies I could hardly even start it, much less finish it. Still, I'd take this over a burger almost any day. It's still sitting in my fridge, waiting to be finished. Maybe it'll be lunch tomorrow. Not saying I didn't like it. But there was already so much in my fridge already that I had to finish first. So lunch, finally.

Other photos -

Cree proverb on the side, er, back of the Frybread Queen truck. Again, that's the name of the business.

I have never seen this innovative contraption at an outdoor summer festival before this one. It sprays a fine mist of water up in front of a simple floor fan, which then blows the water at you. It felt so good that I stood in front of this one for a while, until the next person came by to use it.

This is what it did to my camera for the next few minutes.

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Label of the Week: Maryland Products with Pride

I don't know when or if I'll make it up to the State Fair. The very least I can do is put on display posts about stuff from Maryland. So that's my featured Label of the Week. Also this weekend: the Baltimore Powwow in Patterson Park, sponsored by the Baltimore American Indian Center open to all, featuring dance competitions and food vendors selling Native American food and not. The one I went to a few years ago had people coming from as far as Alabama, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

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Festivals of Baltimore: Festafrica

I'm glad I was in town this year for Festafrica, Baltimore's yearly celebration of African cultures and the African immigrant community. I'm usually out of town - at least I was the past two years. This year it moved to Patterson Park, and parking was so scarce I had to park on the exact opposite side of the park from the festival. Not that I mind the walk.

Admission for Festafrica was $5, and since I deliberately left my ATM card and all but $20 in cash at home, I had $15 to get me through the festival. Enough, I reasoned, to sample a few foods and maybe buy a souvenir.

Oh, how silly I was to think that!

Compared to other area festivals, Festafrica is relatively modest - though about as big as most festivals held in Patterson Park. And that is despite the two competing stages of music on either side of the festival. Many vendors sold beautiful African and African-American art, including a handful of Kenyan-American "Barack Obama for President" paintings. As for the food booths, these were a bit lower key than most food booths at Baltimore's ethnic festivals. While a handful had official signs advertising their wares, most just had a piece of paper taped to the front of the wooden kiosk with the name of the vendor scribbled on it in marker. Doesn't mean the food isn't still good, of course.

I did the rounds around the Pulaski Monument, mind-boggled at the prices for food, which typically ran around $10 to $12 per plate. Buying just one thing meant I could try nothing else, so I had to hunt for cheap things where I could. But with little exception, most everything I could eat was about $10, so I went ahead and made my first selection. This was a choice between the following:

• a $12 plate of plantain, fish or goat ($10 with chicken) and my choice of plain or jollof rice at the booth of Olangela's Authentic African Kitchen (Is this the same Olangela's?); or
• the three suya plate for $10, courtesy of the Suya Stop.

A nice couple tried to help me figure out what to choose, but to no avail, since one got the suya and the other got the chicken and jollof rice platter. And, of course, each was duly impressed with his or her meal. I finally went on impulse and went with the suya, a Nigerian shish kebab of beef, chicken or some other meat, covered in a spicy peanut rub. The gentleman at the kiosk gave me a plate of three hot, steaming suyas with some chopped-up raw onion.


As far as kebabs go, I really like the suya. The meat is nice and thin, and not at all gristly or even very fatty. Plus, the flavors of the peanut rub - some of just sloughed off onto the plate - were sweet and spicy (picante) at the same time. I would eat this again.


If I don't make it myself, at least I can get it at Olangela's in Waverly, or Peju's in Woodlawn (The latter was recommended to me by one foodie at the Great Tastes exhibition at the beginning of the year, but since I am incompetent with all directions, I have yet to find it).

Since I still had $5 burning a hole in my pocket I went in search of something cheaper. Between a man selling fresh roasted corn, and a yoga and meditation booth (?), I found the Divine Kitchen's booth, selling a cornucopia of Nigerian and West African dishes. Among the standard dishes such as jollof rice ($10), fried fish ($10), grilled chicken (dang, is everything $10) was something I could afford: the moi moi (steamed black eyed pea cake) for $2.50. A Nigerian dish usually wrapped in banana leaves, mine came in a little empanada-shaped aluminum foil pouch. Handy if you can't find banana leaves.


It had a nice, savory, beany flavor, with the consistency of a light but thick bread pudding (if anything can be light and thick at the same time). After having the suya (and eating before I came, so really I was quite full), I knew I wouldn't finish this, so I carried it waaaaaaaaay back to my car. Maybe it'll be breakfast tomorrow.

Other photos:

The concourse facing the African arts. The main stage is out of the range of this photo, to our right. Note the Pulaski Monument on the left side of the photo to orient yourself.

The stage toward the back - the main stage - featured several groups. Here is the Kenyan group Jabali Afrika.

Even as I contemplated the Suya Spot, I was swooning over Olangela's myriad offerings.

When I left, I had to go completely around the festival. On the way, I heard some drumming and was able to get one last photo.

Polish Festival kicking off Bawlmer's Festival Season

They're baaaaa-aaaaack...

Holy kielbasa, Batman! I didn't even realize this but the Showcase of Nations Ethnic Festivals is starting up this weekend, May 30 though June 1. Check out the city's website (newly fab'd up for the Dixon administration) for the list. This doesn't even count the county festivals and neighborhood celebrations - HonFest, for example, or the Book Festival or Baltimore Gay Pride and Black Gay Pride. This year I'm probably going to make the effort to hit the festivals I missed last year, less so the ones I did hit (forthwith, a recap of what I experienced of last year's festival season - for the older ones, just hit "Older Posts").

And then there's the magic of Artscape. Yes I'm going, and I'll see you there. If you go, that is.

It must be festival season...

I tried to stop by the Charles Theatre yesterday evening to buy tickets to a movie for this evening for the Maryland Film Festival. Silly me, thinking there might actually be parking within walking distance. I thought I might try to drive through Mount Vernon until I saw all the booths lining the streets, and just gave up. I didn't even realize that there were so many things happening this weekend alone. Good luck driving around in the city today:

• The 10th Annual Maryland Film Festival, through Sunday at the Charles, UB and MICA.
• Flowermart 2008!!! Until 8pm yesterday and today. Unless you're Doctor Who, better scratch yesterday off your plans and just try to check it out today.
• The Baltimore Visionary Arts Museum's Kinetic Sculpture Race is going on in Patterson Park today.
• I can't even get around Towson today, because of the Towsontown Spring Festival, going on until Sunday.

Also in town is that big-tech Walking with Dinosaurs show at the Baltimore (sorry: First Mariner Bank) Arena until Sunday, The Color Purple at the Hippodrome for the next few weeks (prompting Oprah to come back to WJZ via satellite for a brief interview with her buddy Richard Sher*), and too much more for me to mention.

One last thing to note by the way. If you are hungry at the Flower Mart or even the Film Fest, you can get some delicious home cooked Greek food at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation from 5 to 8 tonight for just $10 ($6 for children). I mention it not because I am a parishioner (this Catholic boy hasn't been inside an Orthodox church since the Greek Festival last year). I mention it because it's open to the public. So hey, give some money to the church and get some delicious food in the process!

As for those tickets, I'll try again tonight.

*If you're reading from outside the Baltimore viewing area, I'm not kidding about this. I was watching Oprah as a child on my grandmother's TV screen here in Baltimore when she was just one half of People Are Talking with Richard Sher.

UPDATE - Here, have a look: Oprah and Richard with their psychic friend James Randi, on People Are Talking, sometime in 1980.