Pockets of Authenticity
Highways are overrated. Yes, they can whiz you around from point A to point B, but you miss everything in between. As I have been trying to learn more about the region I have called home for the better part of the last three years, I have avoided taking the highways as much as possible.
So several months ago I was traveling to our sister city to the west, Schenectady, and I took city streets to get there. Specifically I took Central Avenue, which turns into State Street, and also goes by the less charming name of Route 5.
As I was driving I passed a sign that said Flores Family Restaurant. And on the building behind the sign was another sign. That sign said Pupusas.
Just Cook Something: Kinda Thai Peanut Noodles
Around this time last year, I encouraged readers to Make Your Own Damn Sauce! Part of the idea was to give people an easy recipe, get them into the kitchen, and build confidence that they can cook.
In part because I don’t want to forget some of the goals set forth in the first year of the FUSSYlittleBLOG, and in part because it is consistent with Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, today I’ve got another easy and unfussy recipe.
If you can boil water you can make this, although it may require a trip to an Asian market to get one critical ingredient. But if that is too daunting you can always buy it online.
FUSSYlittleBLOG 2
I’m hoping there are a few of you out there who are geeky 1980s cult horror movie fans. One of my favorite films from this era is Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2.
Long long before Mr. Raimi was famous for directing the grotesquely lucrative Spider-Man franchise, he made his mark with a small and inexpensive horror film called The Evil Dead. Which, by the way, proved to be stunningly brilliant.
When he raised the money to make a sequel, Evil Dead 2, the movie was surprisingly similar to the first. Of course with a higher budget came higher production values. And the second time around the tone of the film turned from bleakly dark to darkly comic. There is some argument as to whether this was truly a sequel or a remake, but regardless it is indisputably one of the best films of its kind.
I say this because the FUSSYlittleBLOG is going into its second year. And characteristically, I have been giving this milestone a lot of thought. Officially the second year of the FLB began yesterday, May 1, because it was this day in 2009 that the blog went live.
Well, I have a plan for year two, and I thought I would share it with you.
Restaurant Week Recap
Officially, Downtown Albany’s restaurant week is still going strong. If you can get a table at a joint with a decent menu, you can still enjoy the three-course prix fixe for $20.10 at participating restaurants.
But it is done for me. I was able to get out and try two of the restaurants. One I had eaten at a few months ago, and the other I was visiting for the first time. One I thought was pretty good, the other left a lot to be desired.
Last week, I gave a rundown of the menus and was largely uninspired. But there were three menus that stood out above the rest. Now it was just about deciding which two I would try.
Is It Safe?
Yes, it’s safe. It’s very safe. It’s so safe you wouldn’t believe it.
No. It’s not safe, it’s…very dangerous, be careful.
– Thomas ‘Babe’ Levy, under duress
Recently James, began a comment with the following statement:
As usual, I will continue my crusade against unnecessary food paranoia here on the FLB.
I appreciate James and his comments on such subjects as GMOs, HFCS, and his further thoughts on soy processing. I understand how someone can come to the FLB read a few posts and think that I was concerned with food safety.
The truth, as it usually is, is just a bit more nuanced.
Ask the Profussor – Playing Catch Up
Hopefully this will be the last time ever I need to write two different Ask the Profussor posts in one week. But the backlog of questions piled up so high, Mrs. Fussy advised that it would be imprudent to try and tackle them all in one mega-post.
I think she was right.
The good thing about simply answering questions is that it is preventing me from getting persnickety about my less-than-thrilling restaurant week meal at Café Capriccio. But hopefully I will get to one more restaurant before the week is over, and I’ll be able to post a roundup of my experiences and thoughts on the event.
So without further ado, on to the questions.
Albanians Demand Bad Pizza
First, forget the headline. It’s inflammatory, and it is a gross exaggeration. What I’m going to talk about isn’t bad pizza, but rather potentially brilliant pizza that has been hobbled by our friends and neighbors.
Things get really exciting over here when owners of local restaurants start participating in the conversation. And last week I got another comment from Lorenzo, the owner of Paesan’s pizza, that I really thought deserved everyone’s full attention.
It is an amazing story. I was shocked and saddened, but at the same time hopeful after reading it.
Here it is:
When my brothers and I first came up to Albany in 1994 we served pizza that way, no screens no popping bubbles and a little cornmeal on the bottom to slide of the peel into the oven. I should have recorded some of the complaints we got for not having a round pizza or a customer saying they got a slice with very little cheese on it due to a bubble and wanting a discount or a new pizza. As we grew our business we had no choice but to have our product be uniform from store to store and stop some of the complaints.
I wish that Lorenzo had held onto some of the complaints too, because I would go and visit each one of those people and give them a piece of my mind.
But this story does have an up side.
Give It Away
I wish I were a gardener. I wish I wanted to garden. It seems like a great idea. It sounds like a lot of work, but nothing unmanageable. And maybe someday I will. Until that day, I’ll be happy with subscribing to a regional CSA, and look forward to the abundance of the harvest without getting my hands dirty or fretting over seeds and seedlings.
Which brings me to my current problem.
I’m sitting on a few things that I imagine people might want. And some of those things are certified organic seeds for bell peppers and beefsteak tomatoes. Now, the packets say these are toolkits, and suggest I can, “Plant, add water, & watch ‘em grow!” Luckily, I know that it is not that easy, so I’m not even going to try. Instead I’m going to give them to you.
There are a few other things to give away too.
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