Passover, Easter, and Dyngus
Passover starts tonight and I’ll be headed out momentarily to visit my mother for seder. I asked what we could bring, and she assigned me hard boiled eggs, the roasted shank bone, and the roasted egg.
Hard boiled eggs kill me, which could be why they have become my responsibility. Years and years ago, Raf famously refused a hard boiled egg because it had a ring of green around its yolk. At the time I thought that was the fussiest, most precious thing I had ever seen. Now I’m afraid I’ve become what I once denigrated.
My hard boiled egg fail last night was pretty epic. I was trying out a slightly different technique, and I guess when the recipe said “simmer” it was looking for more of a lively simmer than a low simmer. Oops.
The second attempt went much better. Or at least I think it did. And thanks to my failure, I got to enjoy a bunch of perfectly soft boiled eggs. Damn, those were good. But Passover isn’t the only celebration this weekend that has something to do with eggs.
Big Beer Blowout
It’s only Thursday. But dammit, I remember when the weekend used to start on Thursday night. It doesn’t seem like that long ago. However, when I stop to do the math, we’re talking decades. With an “s”.
Whatever, I’m young at heart.
Monday begins Albany Craft Beer Week! Now, there are some people who say there are too many beer weeks in the Capital Region. And they may have a point. But if you live in Albany, are you really going to drive up to Saratoga Springs or Troy to participate in their beer weeks? Maybe. But the further you have to drive, the less you’ll get to fully participate in these event.
Our area has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great places to drink craft beer. But Albany itself has such a high concentration of beer bars and retail outlets, we deserve our own beer week. And seriously, you should check out the full line up of events here, because they include a tap takeover by Hill Farmstead, a meet the brewer night with the maker of one of my favorite beers, and another brilliant beer dinner planned by one of my favorite chefs.
While there’s a lot of fun scheduled between Monday and Friday to celebrate craft beer, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about the grand finale on Saturday, April 7. That would be the Albany Craft Beer Festival at the Armory.
I feel like I need a beer sherpa to help me navigate through the beer list, which is either a beer lover’s dream or total nightmare.
Angry About Sandwiches
So what did you do last night?
Me? I got angry at the internet. And not for any of the stuff that’s happening in the world one should probably get angry about. My anger was focused on sandwiches.
Well, really it was directed at Chowhound, because who could be angry at sandwiches. Sandwiches are wonderful. So when I somehow stumbled onto a Chowhound post about The Most Delicious Sandwich Recipes of All Time, I had to take a look.
What I saw was a disgrace. Let me count the ways.
Physical Distance vs. Emotional Distance
Hopefully you were able to take advantage of Yelp Restaurant Week, because now it’s over.
Saratoga Springs had just come off a restaurant week, Colonie was running its restaurant week promotion at the same time, and Lark Street Restaurant Week is right around the corner. As a result, most of the participants for the Yelp promotion were in Schenectady and Troy.
In an attempt to eat at as many places as possible, I put a lot of miles on the car. Not to mention a lot of calories in my body. As fun as it was to save 30% off my food bill at local restaurants, I’m glad it’s over.
Now I can go back to eating at home. To celebrate, yesterday I made a double batch of Cuban black beans. That’s four pounds of dried beans. Now we have quarts and quarts of the stuff. The kids are thrilled. And even though Passover is looming at the end of this week, since we now eat kitniyot, beans and rice might get us through the holiday. More on that later.
Whenever I go through some kind of trial by eating, I typically come out with a learning or two. The one I want to share today is about perceptions versus reality.
The Princess & The Chicken Wing
Little Miss Fussy has never been a “princess”. But it’s amazing how strangers will address young girls. Even as a baby, I remember there was a nurse who called her “princess”.
If that’s your thing, I’m not judging. But it’s just not ours.
Just this past weekend at the Jewish Food Festival, one local jeweler donated a girl’s birthday party to the silent auction. It included jewelry making, 7-Up sipping, and pizza eating. But one of the big draws was that the birthday girl would be able to wear a $25,000 diamond tiara during the party. But when I asked LMF if she would be interested in such an event, she turned it down.
The idea of wearing something whose worth was equivalent to a new car on top of her head would have been too stressful too allow her to enjoy herself. She’s got a good head on those shoulders.
And it’s been a pleasure to teach her things as she’s grown up, not just about inequality, gender, and society, but also about food, pleasure, and regional customs.
Queens Day
One of these days I’m going to have to slow my roll. I’m coming off of the Tour de Slice, an epic dinner at Shu, and the Jewish Food Festival. So, starting last Sunday night I’ve been eating very small portions of food.
Yesterday’s breakfast was a couple tablespoons of greek yogurt, with a hint of granola sprinkled on top of it. Lunch was a couple of pieces of whole grain toast, topped with an avocado. I had maybe a third cup of kimchi on the side.
For those concerned, I’m not starving myself. I’m just still full.
But full only goes so far when I’m confronted with an entire room packed with deliciousness. You see, last night was the second annual Queens Day in Albany. It’s when the borough comes up to Albany, meets their legislators, and feeds them tasty foods and drinks from the most diverse place in the country.
If I told you about everything I ate, we would be here all day. Instead, here were the highlights.
Return of the King
The Tour de Slice: Schenectady was this past weekend. Every time we go out for one of these eating tours, I’m always surprised and delighted to find there are people who want to come along. Not all tours are as popular as others.
There was the Tour de Italian Sub on one of the hottest days of the year. I may have only received three completed score sheets from that one. The high water mark was our second annual Tour de Cider Donuts where 24 people came out on a cold and rainy fall morning. How many people would come out for New York Style pizza slices?
In the end I came away with 22 completed scoresheets. That’s a significant crowd. What’s even more significant was the margin of victory. It was Pizza King, by a mile. Just a few years ago, I wouldn’t have conducted this tour at all, because when the original Pizza King was still alive, his pizza reigned supreme.
But the shop struggled in his absence, and since then my loyalties have been divided. And frankly, I wasn’t sure who would have the best slice today in Schenectady. What’s interesting is that people found something to love at every stop along the way.
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