Snacking State-by-State: Wisconsin II - Fried Cheese, Please (or "Reason #453 Why Americans Are Fat")

Wisconsin is Cheese Country, dontcha know?  The state's first cottage industry factory was set up in the 1840's by Anne Pickett - the first of now countless cheese factories in the Badger State.  Okay, not exactly countless: today, milk from 12,000 dairy farms and over 1 and a quarter million cows lead to an annual cheese supply of 2.6 billion pounds of cheese - over a quarter of all cheese produced in the United States [Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board 2012].  While the rest of us have definitely eaten Wisconsin cheese in our lifetimes, we probably haven't eaten straight-up cheese curds - not from Wisconsin, not from anywhere.  The folks in Wisconsin eat these things, apparently, with great frequency.

Official Name: State of Wisconsin
State Nickname: The Badger State
Admission to the US: May 29, 1848 (30th)
Capital: Madison (2nd largest)
Other Important Cities: Milwaukee (largest), Green Bay (3rd largest), Kenosha (4th largest), Racine (5th largest)
Region: Midwest, Upper Midwest, Great Lakes; East North Central (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Wild Rice
Bordered by: Minnesota (west); Lake Superior (northwest); Michigan (upper panhandle) (northeast); Lake Michigan (east); Illinois (south); Iowa (southwest)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: badger (animal, though these aren't typically eaten anymore); corn (grain); dairy cow (domesticated animal); honeybee (insect, for the honey); milk (beverage); muskellunge, or "muskie" (fish); sugar maple (tree, for the maple sap); white-tailed deer (wildlife animal)
Some Famous and Typical Foods: typical Midwestern cuisine; German, Central European and Scandinavian foods; dairy, especially cheese and fried cheese curds; Wisconsin-style fish boil (usually done on a massive scale for many people); beer brats (bratwurst cooked in beer and grilled, usually on a "Sheboygan roll", a typical bratwurst roll from Midwest); beer, beer and more beer

Since I've never been to Wisconsin, one would expect that I have never eaten this comfort food that is pretty much confined to Wisconsin and (likely) the states surrounding it.  You would, however, be wrong.  I have had these things once before, at the Museum of American History in Washington, DC.  Big surprise there: their cafeteria, for what it's worth, was serving stereotypical dishes from different parts of the country: North Carolina BBQ, New York cheesecake, and wouldn't you know it, Wisconsin fried cheese curds.  I had never heard of such a thing, so I had to order this.  A medium-sized steaming bowl for about $5 (these are museum cafeteria prices after all) was too much for me to finish.  Hell, it was too much for me to even make a dent into!  And it's nothing complicated or exotic: it's just breaded fried cheese.  

The curds are just the hard parts of the soured milk, often fried (in the Midwest) or eaten over poutine (in Canada) and is sometimes referred to as "squeaky cheese".  And until I started this project, I had no idea you could buy them in the store.  I've never really seen them.  Then again, I never saw pork roll here either but people swear it's been sold in Baltimore for a while (must be all those New Jerseyites).

Ex-pat Wisconsinites will be happy to know that you can indeed buy cheese curds in the larger supermarkets here.  I found mine at Wegman's.  What Wisconsinites will not be happy about is that our locally available squeaky cheese comes not from Wisconsin but from New York.

And a million Cheeseheads boo and hiss, dontcha know?

Seriously, I normally try to buy the ingredients for these posts from the actual states in question, or at least something from that part of the world.  For New York, I sought out actual u-bet chocolate syrup for a chocolate egg cream.  For Vermont, I got actual Vermont cheddar to make muffins.  Idaho?  Real Idaho huckleberries (too expensive for me to do that again).  Alaska?  Real Alaska salmon (frozen, inexpensively, through Trader Joe's).  Virginia?  Virginia peanuts and ham and Chincoteague oysters (not that these last few things are that difficult for someone in Maryland to obtain).  But cheese curds from Wisconsin just weren't happenin', sadly, so I had to go with the next best thing.

The Recipe: Fried Cheese Curds

The recipe I used comes from the EatCurds.com website [date unknown], which also has extensive links on where to find cheese curds in Wisconsin, a fascinating biography of the humble cheese curd, and even an entertaining FAQ about whether or not the squeaking of the curd means it hurts when you eat it.  (Huh?)  I'll say one thing: if biting it hurts. I can't imagine how much worse being dipped in egg batter and fried at 375°F must feel.

Assemble the following:

* cheese curds (otherwise you can't make fried cheese curds.  All I could find were Yancey's Fancy New York artisan cheddar cheese curds, for about $4.50 for the bag at Wegman's)
* eggs (had them)
* baking powder (same)
* flour (hat that too)
* milk (bought some fresh at Giant)
* salt (had this)
* oil for frying (peanut oil in this case, which has a fairly high smoke temperature.  I ran out of the rice bran oil from H Mart, which is comparable in smoke temp)

Put your dry ingredients in a bowl.

Whisk them together with your eggs and milk.

Meanwhile, heat your oil in a skillet or deep fat fryer to about 375°.

Now is the time to coat your cheese curds in your batter.  Make sure they are fully coated.

Drop t hem in the hot oil for a few minutes.  Some will leak if they are not completely covered. Not fun.

I left mine in for about three to four minutes.

Drain on a paper towel.

I can't say I am a "fried things" person.  I like fried foods but usually in the form of chicken or shrimp or other things you typically fry all over the country.  These cheese curds were hot and not nearly as gooey as I had assumed they would be (though I remember the ones at the museum not being gooey either).  If you need to reheat these, for the love of God do not do it in the microwave.  Reheat them in an oven set too about 200° - 250° for about 15 minutes.  They are crispy with a nice firm cheese center.  I'm not sure what to dip these in.  I used whole seed brown mustard.

Sources:

Beer Institute.  "State Per Capita Consumption 2003 to 2011" (PDF available).  Copyright 2012, All rights reserved.

Bostwick, William & Jessi Rymill.  Beer Craft: A Simple Guide to Making Great Beer.  Rodale: New York, 2011.

Bratwurst Pages.  "Classic Wisconsin Beer Brats".  Bratwurst Pages, 2003.  Copyright 2002, 2003 Bratwurst Pages, All rights reserved.

Croswell, Jonathan.  "How to Cook a Bratwurst in the Oven".  Livestrong, 2011.  Copyright 2011, 2012, All rights reserved.

Door County Today (YouTube channel: DoorCounty Today).  "History of the Door County Fish Boil".  Posted March 15, 2012.

Fisher, Joe and Dennis.  "Wild, Wild Rice!"  Brew Your Own, October 2000.

Fulton, April.  "Will Beer And Brats Break Through Wisconsin's Partisan Divide?"  The Salt: What's on Your Plate.  Posted June 12, 2012.  Copyright 2012 National Public Radio, All rights reserved.

Midwest Living.  "Wisconsin Fish Boil".  Midwest Living, 2012.  Copyright 2012 Meredith Corporation, All rights reserved.

Mr. Beer.  "Instructions, Premium/Deluxe Editions".  Copyright 2011 Catalina Products LLC, All rights reserved.

Spencer, James, and Steve Wilkes (YouTube channel: basicbrewing). "Basic Brewing Video - Doctoring Mr. Beer - January 7, 2012".  Posted January 7, 2012.

Splendid Table.  "Episode 487: The Japanese Grill", July 30, 2011, Segment 21:46 – 28:35 (William Bostwick talks home brewing).  Copyright 2011, 2012 American Public Media, All rights reserved.

Vics, Drew (YouTube channel: Cryptobrewology).  "Brewing Mr. Beer American Devil IPA".  Posted January 25, 2010.
Wisconsin Brewer's Guild.  "Wisconsin Brewer's Guild".  Copyright 2009-2012, All rights reserved.

Wisconsin Historical Society.  "Dictionary of Wisconsin History: Pabst Blue Ribbon beer advertisement, 1940 (WHi-56371)".  Copyright 1996-2012, All rights reserved.

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.  "Cookin' Up Wisconsin Curds".  Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, 2012.  Copyright 2012, All rights reserved.

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.  "History of Wisconsin Cheese".  Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, 2012.  Copyright 2012, All rights reserved.
Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Wisconsin" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Wisconsin".

Snacking State-by-State: New York V - The Sauce Beneath My Wings

One of the classic American snack foods is the famous Buffalo wing.  These days you can get them in all manner for forms: one favorite sports bar of mine in DC serves several varieties, including Jerk Chicken, BBQ and I could swear they used to serve them Carolina-style.  But the classic Buffalo wing is also on the menu, and it is indeed from the City of Good Neighbors.

Official Name: State of New York
State Nicknames: The Empire State
Admission to the US: July 26, 1788 (#11)
Capital: Albany (6th largest)
Other Important Cities: New York City (largest in the state, largest in the nation!), Buffalo (2nd largest), Rochester (3rd largest), Syracuse (5th largest) 
Region: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic; Mid-Atlantic (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Maple Syrup; Wild Rice; Clambake
Bordered by: Québec (Canada) (north), Lake Ontario (northwest), Ontario (Canada) & Lake Erie (west), Pennsylvania (south and southwest), New Jersey (south), Connecticut & Long Island Sound (southeast), Massachusetts & Vermont (east)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: apple (fruit), milk (beverage), sugar maple (tree - for the maple syrup), rose (flower - they are edible, you know), trout (fish), apple muffin (muffin), bay scallop (shell), beaver (mammal, though outside of "Bizarre Foods" you won't see many people eating these)
Some Famous and Typical Foods: In New York City, anything and everything - it is one of the most multicultural and diverse cities in the United States, and is a culinary capital of the nation; typical NYC foods include: Waldorf salad, bagels & bialys, corned beef and pastrami, chocolate egg creams, hot dogs, New York pizza, General Tso's chicken, Baked Alaska (invented in New York City), and so on; New York cheesecake; "garbage plate" (Rochester only); Buffalo wings (Buffalo of course); apples and maple syrup, and of course, more apples


The Buffalo wing has its origins at Buffalo's Anchor Bar, where in 1964 bar owner Teressa Bellissimo created them.  From there the creation story gets a little murky - either she created the Buffalo wing sauce out of a need to use up a massive extra shipment of chicken wings, or her son Dominic and his friends specifically requested them [Anchor Bar 2008; Suddath 2009].  Regardless, the Buffalo wing spread throughout the Northeast and from there the country, becoming one of the most common snack foods this or that side of a Super Bowl (I also stuffed myself with too many of them after more than a few soccer games this past summer in the league I was playing in.  Urp).

What I didn't realize was how uncomplicated it is to make them.

The Recipe: Buffalo Wings

The recipe I used is, apparently, the Anchor Bar's original - at least, so says John Mitzewich of About.com (whose know how also helped me a great deal in making sushi rice back when I was looking at California).  I used a third of the recipe.

* chicken wings (bought 12 of them on sale for about $3.80 at Harris Teeter.  You will need to separate the wings, but little did I know that they came pre-separated! There's one step I can skip)
* oil, salt and flour (had them all - you will coat the wings with this before putting them in the oven)

For the sauce, you will need:

* vinegar
* cayenne pepper
* garlic powder
* more salt
* Tabasco sauce
* Worcestershire sauce
* Louisiana hot sauce in addition to the Tabasco (preferably Frank's, so says the recipe - a bottle of this costs about $3 at Giant.  There were a few varieties of Frank's.  I just went ahead and got the one that specifically said "Red Hot Wings")
* butter

Ta-da! Already disjointed.  If not, break apart the flat and wing parts of the wing.

Put oil and salt in a bowl, and coat the wings in it.

Next, put the flour in a large zip top bag.  Put the wings in the bag, zip it up, and shake until thoroughly coated

It's shake and bake, and I helped!

Put aluminum foil on a baking or cookie sheet and coat it with oil.  Man, I wish I had bought those pastry brushes sooner.

Now you're ready to bake the chicken wings.

Bake the wings at 425°F for 40 minutes, turning halfway through.

While the wings are in the oven, throw the rest of the ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer.

Once brought to a simmer, turn off the heat and cover.

Remember to turn those wings.

When the wings are done, coat them with the sauce.

Oh, this is soooooo not healthy to eat.  But I'm not eating this all the time. So it's okay, right?  Traditionally, these are always eaten with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, which makes them even less healthy.  But the celery at least gives it the air of "healthiness".  They sure are messy, too.

- - - - -

We're done with the Empire State.  Next we race down I-95 to the home of several of the nation's favorite styles of BBQ (certainly the most nearby to us).  It's the nation's leading producer of pimento cheese and the home of Pepsi-Cola: we're on our way to North Carolina.

Sources:


Anchor Bar.  "The Original Buffalo Wings Story".  Published 2008.  Copyright 2008 The Anchor Bar.  All rights reserved.


Beekman 1802 (Josh Kilmer-Purcell & Brent Ridge).  "December 12" (Maureen Lodes' Apple Cake).  Posted on the "Sharon Springs Heirloom Recipe Advent Calendar" page, Beekman 1802 website.  Copyright 2011, 2012 Beekman1802.com. All rights reserved.


Beekman 1802 (Josh Kilmer-Purcell & Brent Ridge).  "Sharon Springs Heirloom Recipe Advent Calendar" page, Beekman 1802 website.  Copyright 2011, 2012 Beekman1802.com. All rights reserved.


Bon Appétit.  "Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup".  Posted on the Epicurious website, December 1998.  Copyright 1998, 2012 Epicurious.  All rights reserved.  


Center for Jewish History.  "Jews In America: Our Story".  Copyright 2005 Center for Jewish History.  All rights reserved.


Mannur, Anita.  "Indian Food in the US: 1909-1921".  Published on the South Asian American Digital Archive website October 18, 2011.  Copyright 2008-2012, South Asian American Digital Archive.  All rights reserved.


Mitzewich, John.  "Authentic Anchor Bar Buffalo Chicken Wings".  Published on About.com, date unknown. Copyright 2012 About.com.  All rights reserved.

Roberts, Adam (Amateur Gourmet).  "Fall Out Of Fall With A Matzah Ball".  Posted November 21, 2006.  Copyright 2004-2012 Adam Roberts.  All rights reserved.


Sahni, Julie.  Classic Indian Cooking.  William Morrow & Company: New York, 1980.


Sheraton, Mimi.  "Introduction: A Table Before Me".  In The New York Times Jewish Cookbook, edited by Linda Amster.  St. Martin's Press: New York, 2003.


Stradley, Linda.  "New York Egg Cream - How To Make An Egg Cream".  Published on What's Cooking America (WhatsCookingAmerica.net) 2004.  Copyright 2004, 2012 What's Cooking America.  All rights reserved.


Suddath, Claire.  "A Brief History of Buffalo Wings".  Published on the Time Magazine website (Time.com), September 3, 2009.


Sussman, Lance J.  "Jewish History Resources: New York Jewish History".  Posted on the New York State Archives website, date unknown.  Copyright 2012 New York State Archives.  All rights reserved.

Stallworth, Lyn, and Rod Kennedy Jr. The Brooklyn Cookbook.  From the Knopf Cooks American series.  Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1991. 


Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "New York" and "Demographics of New York City" pages and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "New York".

Seaweed Snacks???

I gotta say I am loving those seaweed snacks.  Annie Chun's apparently makes one version, and Trader Joe's wasabi-flavored ones (see a rave from Trader Joe's Rants and Raves, a TJ's fan blog) is where I am getting my current supply.  They charge $1 for one small package.  Of course, I've been seeking recipes online so I can make them at home.  It's not that difficult: just take sheets of nori, brush them with sesame oil and sprinkle with sea salt and if you want some black sesame seeds, put them in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes at 250°F and you're done.  A wasabi version is at TheKitchn website.

Because there's a very big football game today

I am very specifically not interested in this year's Super Bowl - and yes, that's because there are no Ravens in it. But many Bawlamorons will indeed be watching (and likely rooting for those Packers - the enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes?) Try not to gain too much weight during this game today, when the Super Bowl hits the big X-L-V. This video from CBS last year gives some tips, courtesy of the folks at Men's Health, on how to not put on too much weight today. Of course, nothing specific to this year's winners. Cheese would be the obvious choice for Packers snackers. As for Pittsburgh? Well, there are all those zombie movies, so...

Harris Teeter is going to bankrupt me if I'm not careful

Oh, Harris Teeter, that gorgeous, gleaming North Carolina-based supermarket chain, how you entice me with your delicious cheeses and dessert items. Ever since I picked up some extra work in Howard County this semester, I have made it a habit to swing by the Columbia Harris Teeter location after work on Fridays.

I would move into this place if I could.

I know: yes, it is just a supermarket. But there's something about going for the first time into a supermarket chain that you've never entered or seen before. I felt the same way the first time I ever entered a Wegman's (sometime in 2006), a Whole Foods (that would be 2004) or a Trader Joe's (waaaaaay back in '97 after moving to SoCal, back when the East Coast was largely TJ's-free).

This is a massive supermarket, and really, you could just never leave this place if you could get away with it. Just as with Wegman's, which carries a plethora of Northeastern items we can't find too easily in Maryland, Harris Teeter does the same thing for us coming from the other direction: a variety of Southern and specifically Southeastern brands we don't often find here. This includes not only big brands of everything from fry mixes and varieties of cornmeal to the whole Dixie Crystals product line, but also smaller, independent brands. Thanks to my newly-found willingness to try the free samples when offered instead of running in the opposite direction, a new favorite of mine is Augusta's Pimento Cheese. Based out of Charlotte, Augusta's Creations specializes in sinful and delicious pimento cheese (check out their online store). Oh dear! It comes in regular and jalapeño. I like hotter. Guess what is in my fridge right now. Go on.

I also must confess an addiction to their bakery section, not far from their section of cheeses chock full of free samples, and next to their deli which is always streaming with people getting sandwiches (unless they opt for the Asian food bar, which even has dim sum). I have become particularly addicted to Harris Teeter's petit fours (12 for $5). I often get a half dozen and devour them in the car before I even get home. If you let them warm up to room temperature, they are luscious. I have tried petit fours from a few area supermarkets. Supermarkets where I have seen petit fours include the Fresh Market, Wegman's and Harris Teeter, and HT's really are at least a half-cut above. Fresh Market's are tasty also. I can take or leave Wegman's petit fours. Not a big fan. I'll spend my money at Wegman's on their delicious $6 mini white cakes with vanilla buttercream frosting instead.

I was first motivated to go there when I found out that they carried a particular favorite brand of mustard that few others in the area carry. I thought it would be much cheaper to buy Raye's Mustard right off the shelf than mail ordering a jar all the way from Maine (Yes, a proudly Yankee mustard available only in a Tarheel supermarket chain. Go fig). I couldn't find the specific Raye's Mustard that I wanted, but it didn't matter really. I was already hypnotized by all the other stuff they had. By the way, you should see their wall of mustards. It's impressive. I just wish that, among all the boxes of Morton's Salt products and all the containers of kosher salt that they actually carried Morton's Kosher Salt, which was conspicuously absent (perhaps they were just out that day). A negligible criticism for a supermarket I'm liking more and more with each visit.

Conan. Cheetos. Art.

Now if they only had some Old Bay to go along with it.



From Eclectic Asylum Art.

Moon Pie vs Whoopie Pie: The Taste Test

Last weekend I bought a relatively new product in the Giant Foods universe: a whoopie pie. I had never seen one at Giant until September. I never bothered to try one of theirs, but whoopie pies and Baltimore have had an extremely brief courtship (unless they've been around all along and only now has someone let me in on the joke). I am starting to like these things: soft mound of cake on top of another one, with a sweet, lardy frosting in the middle that is clearly on the buttercream side of the buttercream-Bettercreme spectrum, thankfully as far away from "Bettercreme" as you could hope for. Man, I hate that stuff.

Not long before this, I decided to put to test which was better, the moon pie or the whoopie pie. Although moon pies can be found all over the country (to my knowledge), they originate in Chattanooga and are common throughout the South. The relative shape is the only thing it really shares in common with the whoopie pie, made up of very different components: two soft graham craker cookies (more if you have the double decker variety) sandwiching a thick layer of marshmallow, and dipped in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or banana (the banana tastes like death. It's not a favorite). Whoopie pies are specifically found in New England and the Pennsylvania Dutch communities, but are spreading to other parts of the country. Still they proudly remain a quintessentially Yankee dessert. Until recently, Maryland was solidly part of the "Moon Pie Belt." I grew up with moon pies. I had never heard of whoopie pies until a few years ago, and had never even seen much less eaten one until this summer. Before that, I thought it was just some sort of moon pie. But whoopie pies are becoming much more common in Maryland, and so the time is now right to test one against the other.

So, I bought a chocolate cake whoopie pie from Whole Foods (I like Trader Joe's better but you can only buy six at a time) and a chocolate-covered moon pie from Mars. [UPDATE 3/8/2013: The moon pie and whoopie pie pictured below are not the ones used in the experiment.]

Moon pie vs whoopie pie: the taste test -

I quartered each pie, and taste tested a 1/4 moon pie vs a 1/4 whoopie pie.

Moon pie -

The moon pie was, as usual, a bit crumbly, though the flavor of the graham cracker crust and the surrounding robe of chocolate made up for that. As I realized, one of the best things about a moon pie is the contrast in textures between the brittle soft crumbliness of the graham crackers and the thick soft sponginess of the marshmallow (wow, that sounds pretentious). That, for me, is my favorite part of the moon pie. It's not the most natural thing you can find in the stores - the high fructose corn syrup is a good reason to not eat too many of them. Perhaps there's a way to make a healthier version, if there is such a thing as a "healthy" moon pie?
 
Whoopie pie -

Whole Foods' spongy whoopie is only one of three different types of whoopie pie I have eaten - the other being the thick and cakey devil's food Trader Joe's brand and the soft, "average and dependable just like everything else their bakery makes" kind from Giant. Each type tastes and feels fundamentally different from the others. Although Whole Foods' pie is probably the healthiest (or least unhealthy) of the three, it doesn't fare well in my opinion against the moon pie. While the creme filling of each kind is wonderful, the cake part of the Whole Foods variety leaves a funny taste in my mouth, and actually manages to make a typically messy dessert even messier. It so thoroughly coats the fingers that I found myself eating the Whole Foods' whoopie pie with a fork. The moon pie doesn't do that.

Verdict - Although I am really loving these whoopie pies, I liked the moon pie just a little better. Granted, it might be different had I used a Trader Joe's or even a Giant Foods whoopie pie, both of which I liked a lot better than the Whole Foods kind. I'm still not sure which tastes closer to the traditional whoopie pie as most New Englanders and Amish know them. As for the marshmallowy chewiness of the moon pie, it does hold up well against the Whole Foods whoopie pie. Perhaps the moon pie would not do too well against the TJ or Giant ones, but that's for another taste test.

So the final verdict: moon pie by a nose, though that totally hinges on the type of whoopie pie it is compared against.

Things You Can't Un-See: Soy Joy*

I am screaming inside:



* Yes, I got the "Things You Can't Un-See" title from the always-hilarious Web Soup on G4TV.

Old Bay Boiled Peanuts

I finally got around to boiling some peanuts. There are a lot of recipes on the internet. One called for boiling them for two to three hours. That got me a salty, wet and slightly crunchy peanut. Didn't work. Instead, this crock pot method from About.com's "Southern Food" section worked much better: take 1.5 quart of green (that is, not roasted but raw) peanuts - in the shell people, for Godsakes! - and add 1.5 quart water and 1/2 c salt, and cook on HIGH for 7 hours.

My problem: I only had 1/2 lb, which amounted to around 4 cups - or 1 quart. No problem: it turned out fine. But for this, I wanted to make it more Maryland-like. Seeing as how boiled peanuts aren't really found much in Maryland (are they in Virginia?) the only way to do that would be to add some Chesapeake Bay Seasoning. I poured a few tablespoons of Old Bay into the mix, stirred it and turned it on.

These things really are good hot or cold. Contrary to what one commenter said in an earlier post, most suggestions I've seen do not suggest eating the shell. Even so, it's pretty damn chewy and fibrous, so it's not going to be easy for me to eat. But the peanuts were nice, salty and soft as boiled peanuts ought to be. And they had that hint of Old Bay.



I tried half a pound in a pot on my stove. The

Georgia on My GPS Part 1: Traffic, Traffic Everywhere!

It's almost 11 PM. When I left Baltimore this morning I had expected to be outside Savannah by now, visiting my sister. Instead I am in a motel room in Manning, South Carolina - $45 after tax, but it has free wireless AND continental breakfast (I'll tell y'all about the breakfast tomorrow). I'm too tired right now to discuss much, but I will throw up a few bullets and a few pix of the road trip thus far.

• The BIG issue today: traffic. Lots of it. So much in fact that I spent about 1 1/2 to 2 hours moving veeeeeeeery slooooooooowly down the 95 if not just sitting there in traffic. That was fun. As I just "Tweeted" I was stuck in traffic jams five different times. Four of those traffic jams were in North Carolina. Most were between the Virginia border and Raleigh. Just to send me off, the DOT had a special traffic jam waiting for us right at the border with South Carolina! Honestly I don't know how North Carolinians put up with this.
• Throughout the stretch of I-95 in North Carolina, there was no traffic info on the AM dial (a luxury I took for granted but never used back home). But once you reach Fayetteville, you can hear lots of tourist info! For example, they have a museum simulator. Apparently, it simulates a visit to the museum. Who woulda thunk it?
  
• I saw license plates from 41 different places - 38 states plus the District, Ontario and Québec.
  
• I am just a few exits south of a "Maryland Fried Chicken" restaurant, though I understand that it's not actually Maryland Fried Chicken as is traditionally made in Maryland.

Of course, I had to eat while I was traveling. Apart from that Rice Krispie Treat I bought at a 7-Eleven somewhere in College Park, I had a few memorable eating experiences. Why they were memorable is a story unto itself.

Using the excellent book Drive I-95 by Stan Posner and Sandra Phillips-Posner (excellent except that it inexplicably stops a few exits into Florida and never explains why), I found the Good Earth Peanut Company in Skippers, just north of the VA-NC border. It's not a little store or anything - it's a Love's with a McDonald's attached. But there is a dedicated shelf of nuts - pecans, peanuts, pistachios, covered in butter or toffee or chocolate, etc. I bought a simple tub of butter covered peanuts ($3), and they were easily the best thing I ate all day. Not as good but still not bad was the chicken teriyaki I got at the Ichiban Express across the border in Roanoke Rapids, NC. For $7, I got slightly dry bits of chicken covered in a sweet teriyaki sauce, paired with very filling and moist enough fried rice, and a stir fry of zucchini and onions. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but I would eat it again.

The chicken teriyaki

My last meal was at the fabled, and amazingly weird, South of the Border in Dillon, SC. Legendary for all those crossing the NC-SC border, it's a kitschy piece of Americana that is a wee bit dated (just like much of Ocean City, but I digress). A trip to South of the Border would itself be a day-long trip (or at least a few hours), aided by the on-the-premises motor lodge. I just went into their "International Store" to buy some refrigerator magnets. It's just something you've gotta see. Maybe I should've eaten at the Sombrero Room, because the hot dog and "Mexi-Fries" I had at that building with the large burger at the entrance were not appetizing, especially at $6. The ice cream next door - also on site at SotB - looked more so. Don't use the restrooms at SotB if you can help it.

Yum.

Other photos:

I haven't been here for a very, very long time...

It's either your best dream come true or your worst nightmare: the KFC in Roanoke Rapids does have an all you can eat buffet, folks.


Oh yay, another traffic jam!!! This one lasted about 45 minutes.

WTF!?!?

And night falls on South of the Border

Calfiornia 2009: Notes from the Road, Part 2

It dawned on me today that it has been a full five years since I moved back to Baltimore from the Inland Empire. This made my travels today a bit more melancholy than I had expected. But as we say on the East Coast, I had an overall good day yesterday.

• My tour of my favorite fast food joints kicked off in San Bernardino, outside of the local Cal State campus, with Del Taco, which is much much better than Taco Hell Bell (I'm not alone in that opinion). I got a very simple, not as cheap as I remembered Del Carbón taco for $1.49. It is just about the least fast-foodie thing I have ever gotten at a fast food restaurant (yes, including the crap that McDonald's passes off as "healthy").

Mmmm. Taco.

• After my aforementioned experience with Fresh and Easy, I had a filling lunch and then headed towards Riverside. After visiting some professors at UCR I headed over to one of my earliest haunts, the lush Canyon Crest Town Center. I was surprised to see many of the same businesses there that had been there when I left in '04. Most were then when I moved out in '97, including old faves like Papi's Tacos al Carbón and Miyako, which gave me some of of my first tastes of Japanese food. Ooh, and Miyako is back to its 2004 prices, apparently.

See?

• Jammin' Bread, located in Canyon Crest Town Center, holds a special significance for me. At one point, I went after a Ph.D. at UCR (yes, more grad school). It was here, after much hemming, hawing and soul searching, that I decided I needed to stop with my MA. Beyond that, Jammin' Bread makes a mean loaf of bread, and they make their own bread, cookies, brownies, cakes, croissants, even English muffins. I ordered the softest, spongiest walnut brownie (I usually hate walnuts in brownies but I hardly tasted it in this one) for $2.50. I also got a cup of iced tea. They asked if I wanted it regular or in several other varieties. I said "regular," and then asked if it was sweetened. She said no - it was regular. D'oh!

Picturesque, innit?

• I remember when they zhuzh'd up the Ralph's (California's version of Giant). Basically, they Whole Foods-ified it and sold slightly fancier things. One less fancy thing was a bag of Beer Chips. These chips are a little sweet and actually taste a little like beer. I am intrigued.
  

Beer and Chips...

• I got a chance to go back to UCR and watch their Javanese gamelan orchestra practice for their big concert on the 5th of June (of course, after I leave). Before that, I drove around to see what haunts were still around. I saw Indian and Mexican markets, Arabic, Italian and Vietnamese restaurants, and several Starbucks that were there when I last left. Another familiar place was the sort-of UCR-affiliated Getaway Café, where many grads, undergrads and even the occasional prof or two go for some wings or beer. I got a (somewhat overpriced) $4.25 pint of Inland Empire Brewing Company's somewhat hoppy, somewhat peppery India Pale Ale. It was pretty tasty, but not for $4.25.
• After passing by the "East Coast Bagel" restaurant, I realized something that I had forgotten after leaving SoCal: to many in California, everything on the Atlantic Coast is just "The East." There is no elusive "New England" or exotic "South," no "Upstate," "Mid-Atlantic" or "Low Country." Nope. It's all just one big lump of East Coast-iness. Funny. Too funny.
  
• Did I mention the delicious dinner I had at Thai Place with my hosts? Best tom kha kai I've had in ages.
  

It sounds odd but it's actually pretty good...

Starved for a quick snack? Do what I did: take vanilla wafers and scoop them into some low-fat whipped cream cheese. Sounds odd, yes, but it tastes surprisingly good. I used Trader Joe's "Ultimate" Vanilla Wafers, which taste so much different from the Nabisco Nillas. I wonder how a banana pudding would taste with those?

My first photo of the second 1,000 posts. Pardon the mess. It's been a very busy month.

Satellite of Love n' Popcorn

Just a classic MST3K clip. Not hatin' on Orville and his grandson, but don't they do a spot-on job?



And while we're talking popcorn: anybody remember this creepy mistake of an ad?

From the "People can still afford to go to the movies?" Department

The latest tidbit to warn us about what we're eating at the movie theatre comes to us from Men's Health (via Yahoo!). It warns about six nasty things that will put on the pounds and take years off your life at the movies. These are no-brainers, of course. A large popcorn - what's that going for these days, seven, eight dollars? - will add almost 1,300 calories to your waistline - less if you share, even less if you don't drench it in "butter". That's why I don't eat popcorn at the movies anymore. Well, that and the cost of the popcorn. Well, that, that and the cost of the movie. Okay - that, that, and the other thing, plus the cost of gas.

Best to just go to Tapas Teatro and then see whatever's playing at The Charles (if anything good is playing, that is). Just to note: the Charles and the Senator (okay, Senator and Rotunda) have the cheapest small popcorns of any movie theatre in the area, $3 at the Charles and only half a dollar more at the Senator and Rotunda.

Exit 23B: MD-25 (Falls Road)

I made my most recent beltway stop before I hit New York the week before last. I just have not had the time to write about it! In retrospect, there was a lot I still need to see off of the Falls Road exit off the beltway. This stop takes you to Greenspring Station. I think it really does hold true: one never truly gets to know his hometown until he leaves it. In the few years I lived in California, I would explore things when I came back to visit that I never had even heard of. Then I moved back, and went right back into "Eh, I'll get around to seeing it sometime" mode. Had it not been for this weblog, I still would be stuck in that mode. It's really forced me to explore this city and state in ways I did only on occasion.

I say that because I had no idea that Greenspring Station even existed. And why would I? I never get up to that part of Falls Road. Sure I understand it's kind of new, but still, no clue over here. It's one of those upper-middle-class sort of places where it's not quite easy to find something affordable to eat. I was about ready to smack this one guy I passed by - he was telling someone, a security guard I think, how he usually takes a limo from the airport or something. Something that caught me off guard, as a wee bit pretentious.

Likewise, my first impression of Greenspring Station - after that it was there in the first place (!) - was that it was a little expensive. It's a fun little place for shopping, tailoring (women only), eating, even going to the doctor. Just expect to lay down some moolah. I set out to not lay down too much. My target lunch: $10 or less.

It's strange, but as nice a place as this is, one would think they'd have a web site or something. No. The powers-that-be didn't seem to have that kind of foresight. So I won't be able to give a play-by-play of all the places I saw. I just don't remember them all. That's all the more reason for y'all to go see it for yourselves. But a few of the ones that I do remember include:

• a little liquor - er, wine - store-slash-deli that I didn't get to. It's a place to keep in mind for later.
• likewise, a little specialty store that sells specialty nuts and things. Again, check it out later.
• a new steak house opening up in Greenspring Station. Because doofus forgot to take a photo of it, I can't remember its name either.

I did stop in the Stone Mill Bakery (map) to see what they had to offer. Cozy yet not cramped or even that small, Stone Mill is divided up into two sections, a smaller, comfier "ready-to-eat" side and a larger, brighter bakery and deli counter side. Each side, however, serves all the same menu items. I thought I'd step up and order something, and looked at the menu. I had no idea that a Reuben could cost $10.50. In fact, most of the dishes - okay, all of the dishes - were a little pricier than I was looking for. It looks like a nice place to eat, but it will have to wait.

I next found the Poulet Gourmet Catering and Restaurant (map). I thought it was a chain - it's a small one - but I'd never been in so I took this opportunity. Wow, it does have lots of different things in it. It's like a rotisserie/combination pit beef/"ready-to-eat" sandwich shop/Boston Market gone Cajun/creperie/ice cream parlor. In fact, the City Paper calls Poulet's ice cream the best in the city for 2005 (eat that, Cold Stone).

With so many choices, Mr. Indecisive was in trouble. What to get? Out of all the things I saw, their wall of sweet and savory crepes looked particularly interesting. Each is named after a different local Catholic or other private high school - there's the Notre Dame, the Gilman, the Loyola (Dons, not Greyhounds), the Boys' Latin, etc. The Loyola particularly caught my eye, because its description basically reveals a "Reuben crepe": corned beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and cole slaw all melted together into a delicious savory crepe ($7). So I ordered that, along with a large homemade chocolate truffle ($1). I ate the truffle in the car, which was a mistake - chocolate truffles should be eaten at room temperature, not fresh out of the fridge.

The Reuben crepe was probably better in conception than execution. For one, it was kind of messy, with Russian dressing all streaming out. This is not a crepe you can pick up. Not that I was going to, but try it and you will get covered in Russian dressing (you have been warned). It was also pretty difficult to cut apart. I blame this not so much on the knife as on the brand of corned beef. It was plasticky in its texture, difficult to chew or even cut, and not terribly exciting in its flavor. Note to Poulet: choose a new brand of corned beef. This one is not very good. The Loyola crepe also doesn't hold up too well on reheating, becoming even more of a big, Russian dressing-soaked mess after a few days in the fridge. I might try this on my own, if I could only make crepes very well at all (note to self: invest in a crepe maker - and a food processor, because you need a new one). I would definitely go back to Poulet, as there is just too much there to not try. But if you're looking for gourmet crepes, steer clear of Loyola.

Places I visited:

Poulet (rotisserie / deli / crepes / ice cream / catering) - 2436 W. Joppa Road (Green Spring Station), Lutherville, MD 21093; Phone: (410) 339-3900

• Would I eat there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Sure, at least to try some of the other stuff

Places to look up later:

Stone Mill Bakery (bakery / deli / cafe) - 10751 Falls Rd (Green Spring Station), Lutherville, MD 21093; Phone: (410) 821-1358

Deep fried things that were never meant to be deep fried... in Brooklyn? New York!?

Just reading some of the comments over at the Amateur Gourmet's website on a decadent deep fried Twix bar that Adam recently had at the Chip Shop in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, NY, in his own backyard (heads up, Charm City Cupcake). I thought it was just a Southern thing! Looking at the comments to his post, pretty much every place mentioned is below the Mason-Dixon Line - Atlanta, Dallas, Branson (Missouri), Baltimore. Who knew New York City would host deep fried snack foods?

But of course: you can find everything in New York. And you don't even have to go to Queens to do it!

Yes, it's true, their evil goodness has reached all over America. Here's the Gourmet's reaction, in his own words:

OH MY LORD...

But that's not all:

...you have no idea what you're in for when it comes to a deep fried candy bar. It's not just sick, sweet decadence: it's much more than that. The chocolate and caramel MELT within the crispy batter so that it becomes almost unrecognizable in its goodness, like a whole new category of sweets you never knew existed. Words fail me now. All I can say, is if you've never had a deep fried candy bar you really should. I plan to have one every day until I die which, if I really have one every day, may happen sooner rather than later. You're all invited to say "Ni" at my funeral.

Okay, man: Ni! Ni! Ni!

Doritos that taste like French onion soup burgers

From Alex at the Technology & MSG blog. Apparently, these Doritos taste exactly like the burgers that are mixed with Lipton's French soup onion mix!

On the Road #1: Avoid Orbitz If You Can

Just a few short notes before I start roaming about town:

I was not disappointed by Amtrak’s service – though I had envisioned horrific things happening – super delays among the worst of them. But for my purposes at least, Amtrak was a very efficient, if expensive, way to travel. And I didn’t even have to deal with New York traffic!

I did have to deal with New York foot traffic, and a thousand people who felt obliged to just stand around in New York Penn Station not moving while I barreled toward them. The subway was far less of a nightmare than it was in November. I took the #3 train to 96^th, and then to my hotel. Now, because I had made two different reservations on two different days – cheaper than paying an extra $25 fee to Orbitz (notice I am not linking; you will soon see why) to extend my time, I booked a second night through Hotels.com – I was not quite sure how that would show up in the system. Turns out my Orbitz-booked room was not even in the Continental Hostel’s reservation system, but the Hotels.com one was. Well, that’s the last time I use Orbitz. They’ve been a pain before – why do I keep goin’ back when they do me wrong?

Fortunately, the hostel was able to accommodate me – I did pay for the room after all – and without extra cost. I might have to change rooms in the morning, but at least I have something.

Don’t reserve a hotel room through Orbitz, people. In fact, don’t reserve anything through them. They just mess up your reservation sometimes.

Back to the train ride: the snacks on the train were, well, underwhelming – though not the prices. For $6.75 I got a bottle of Heineken and a container of yogurt. All their sandwiches were out except for microwaveable cheeseburgers and two bratwurst. Maybe it would’ve been better had I not eaten at all, which I really didn’t need to in the first place!

Well off I go! Today I try to find cheap eats before my big night out – I’m going to see Company, in a similar staging as another recently-staged Sondheim classic, Sweeney Todd, where all the actors and actresses double as the orchestra. Cool. I found this book in the library published by Frommer’s – NYC Free & Dirt Cheap. It will be my Bible – Qu’ran, Bhagavad Gita, Book of Mormon, whatever you wanna call it – for the next 48 hours.

Come On Ride The Train...

Well, I'm getting ready to head out to NYC today. And this time, I am taking Amtrak. I calculated that, after gas, tolls and parking, it's actually about the same cost to drive up as it is to take Amtrak's otherwise high-priced trains. In fact, I get more for my money if I spend an extra day - at $50 to park per day in New York (that's on cheap end), it's not cheap to park up there. And it is convenient to just hop on public transportation and wind up in a major world city. One coworker who is originally from Queens tells me it's the only way to go between Baltimore and New York - he does it all the time.

And the best part of this Amtrak stuff? I do not have to drive into the city. I don't know if Mayor Bloomberg's toll on entering Manhattan has gone into effect yet (they have a similar system to reduce congestion in London and San Fran), but it is not fun to drive in Manhattan or Brooklyn - less so Manhattan. No disrespect to any readers from the Big Apple, but you have to be aggressive in a way you just don't here. For example, if I am trying to change a lane, here (for that matter, in Cali, too) I wait for an opening in traffic and then change lanes. But in New York you cannot get away with that - you have to push your way into traffic. And it's not being overly aggressive, because you are expected to do this, too. The first time I drove up I learned this the hard way, but I adapted. And I didn't enjoy it.

Also, not doing Acela - it shaves 15 minutes off of a 150 minute ride for $50 extra each way. I'd just as soon save the $100 and take the "slow" train.

There are some advantages of taking the train over the plane, too. Even though it's more expensive, you can exchange tickets with little if any penalty - I changed my return ticket twice and had to pay nothing more than the difference. Planes are definitely cheaper, but only if you buy well in advance. If you try to fly a few days before, you will pay an arm and a leg to fly. With Amtrak, you only pay an arm - but never a leg. Maybe an arm and a toe or two if you wait (one ticket was $14 more two days after I bought it - glad I bought it when I did). Unless it's the Acela Express. The security measures worry me - I'm not sure if there are any. I don't know, I'm the kind of person that feels safer if everyone has to go through the metal detector.

Two more advantages of the train: you can use your cell phone and other electronics for the duration of the ride (not so on a plane, where your phone must be off and electronics must be shut down at the start and end of the flight); and they have snack cars! I'll tell you about the snacks on the Amtrak. They sometimes have pizza, from what I hear. I just hope this isn't your typical elementary school cafeteria menu. Only with alcohol. Ooh! Do they have beer?