Casting a Vote for Mall Dining
It’s Election Day. So vote, dammit.
On one hand, I desperately want to talk about politics. On the other hand, I want to avoid the topic entirely. We live in such a polarized society these days. Bill Maher had an interesting line in his interview with President Obama recently, that somehow “food purity” has become a partisan issue, and that just blows Mr. Maher’s mind.
By his definition, “food purity” is about the inclusion of antibiotics in animal feed, the use of synthetic pesticides, and a host of other issues I’m sure you are familiar with if you’ve been a regular reader of the blog. GMO labeling is part of that platform too.
What’s interesting is that I know for a fact that this isn’t a partisan issue. I’ve met church ladies in the deep red counties of Pennsylvania who are very upset at the state of conventional agriculture, and grow their own food instead of buying it from the supermarket.
So my feeling is that in reality, there is more that unites us than divides us. My hope is that despite the constant politics of division, we try to hold on to that one thought.
Now, let’s talk about something that really matters. Mall dining.
Manhattan Stinks
I love Manhattan. And that’s not to say I love it more than the other boroughs. To be fair, I’ve never spent much time in the Bronx or Staten Island. But there’s a lot to love about Brooklyn and Queens. And then there’s the rest of Long Island. And you’ve got Jersey just over the bridge, or through the tunnel, to the west.
That whole New York City metro area is just so damn rich in culinary diversity and density, it drives me wild with desire.
But I wasn’t touring the region. I had two days worth of work meetings in mid-town Manhattan. However, I wanted to see some family down there, so I added a couple of shoulder days to see my sister, father, aunt, uncle, and grandmother. I wish I had time to catch up with my old friends who live in the city, but my grandmother was in the hospital, so family took priority.
Which isn’t to say there wasn’t time for food. There most certainly was.
The Soul of the Story
Today is the last day of the lapsed blogger posts. It was almost a full week of trips down memory lane that included CelinaBean, Silly Goose Farm, and the old original Chowhound.
Do you remember Story Cooking? Well here’s the funny thing. It hasn’t actually gone anywhere. Well, that’s not really true. It’s gone to Brazil. Ellie Markovitch left the Capital Region and moved back home, and while that might be good for her, it was sad for a lot of us. Her blog continues, although now you might encounter a post in Portuguese.
There are a lot of things that I associate with Eliie. She and I had a fun adventure with Farmer Gordon at 9 Miles East Farm learning all about sourdough. I was inspired to deep fry a bean puree after finding the treasure trove of bean recipes on her blog. And of course we were both part of the Chefs’ Consortium.
But I think the first time I met her in person was at the Oakwood Soul Cafe.
New Tricks From Old Hounds
Something big happened a few months ago, and I don’t know how I missed it. But before I can tell you about that, I need to give you a little history.
Before I started writing about food on Yelp, I was an active contributor on Chowhound. And I loved it. I loved the community. I loved the people. And I had the chance to meet some of the other contributors in real life.
Anyhow, the spiritual leader of Chowhound is a man named Jim Leff.
I actually tracked down the guy a few years ago and managed to get one of the chow passports he created for adventurous eaters. They are ideal for when you find yourself in a restaurant with a staff that speaks little to no English, and you are trying to order a plate of something truly authentic to the cuisine.
That card is one of my prized possessions.
The bottom line here is that I have deep respect for this guy and his approach to food. Imagine my surprise to learn that not only had he come to Albany when I wasn’t looking, but he ate his way around the region, and made some incredible discoveries of things hiding in plain sight.
Fox’s Roasted Radishes
Does anyone remember Silly Goose Farm? That was Deanna Fox’s local food blog before she became the Capital Region’s hardest working person in food journalism. Period.
It’s amazing what she’s doing these days. Yes, there’s the All Over Albany Eat This pieces. But she’s also all over the Times Union. Then there are the regional websites. And now she is also getting some national play.
But I miss her little blog.
Still, I was listening to Fox a little while ago on WAMC’s Vox Pop call-in show. For those out of the area, that’s our local public radio station. It’s actually quite a big deal. Because WAMC doesn’t just serve Albany or the Capital Region, it reaches all the way out into western Massachusetts, well into the western hinterlands, farther north than one might expect to find civilization, and far enough south to reach Manhattan commuters.
Anyhow, Friday’s the topic is always about food, and Deanna is a frequent guest. The show comes on at two o’clock, and often I find myself pushing my own deadlines and not able to tune in. However, the week she was talking about roasting, I was all ears.
Still Catching Up To Celina
Last Friday, I promised more teasing tales of lapsed bloggers. I can’t make a whole week of it, but I can come close.
When I moved to the Capital Region, there were a few active food blogs. AlbanyEats was one. CelinaBean was another. And these, along with countless more, were part of what gave me the idea of starting a food blog all my own.
What’s funny is that in many ways Celina and I were very similar. We had similar backgrounds. Similar stories. And on paper, one might think that we’d be the best of friends. But matters of taste can sometimes be capricious, and there were things she loved that failed to get my excited. And vice versa.
She and I just had very different styles.
I’m not entirely sure what happened. But something changed. Those gears that were somehow just slightly misaligned finally shifted, and we began to click. Anyhow, to make a short story long, I bumped into her not too long ago, and thought it would be fun to catch up. So we agreed to meet for coffee.
And now I owe her a debt of gratitude.
A Nifty Trick For A Spicy Treat
Costumes. Candy. Bah, humbug. You can eat all the soy lecithin and PGPR you want tonight for all I care. Enjoy all that oiled down chocolatey candy without enough cocoa butter to actually qualify to call itself chocolate. And delight in the rainbow of artificial colors that are just a little bit more vibrant than their kinder and gentler natural cousins.
Did I say, “Humbug”?
No, I won’t be handing out black licorice, apples, or boxes of raisins. We’ll have supermarket candy just like everyone else. Mrs. Fussy would punch me in the face if I were to hand out fair trade chocolate with a little note about what fair trade chocolate is all about.
Speaking of the family, Mrs. Fussy will be bringing Little Miss Fussy around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating. Young Master Fussy and I will man the home fires.
My nifty trick came over the past weekend, when I finally made room for that little food prep project I had been wanting to do all week. I say food prep and not cooking, because there’s no actual cooking involved. But I’m calling it a trick because what I did was perhaps more than a little bit naughty.
Which Dish at Bonefish
Did you know that October was National Seafood Month? Bet you almost missed it. The only reason I found out was that Bonefish Grill invited to buy me dinner, so I could try out a few things on their menu, in celebration of the occasion. And the lovely Melinda from Crumbs Around the Capital agreed to come along too.
It felt like I was cheating on Albany Jane a little bit. But somebody hasn’t updated her blog in like five months!
This was my first time at a Bonefish Grill. So I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. My goal was to find one standout dish to share on the blog. And I’m glad to report that the expedition was a success.
Deep Thoughts On Big Pairings
This isn’t about beer. But I can’t start this story without talking about beer. Because it’s the beer that got me thinking about the subject.
I’ve had some perfectly lovely beer and cheese pairings in the past, but nothing that really wowed me. So awhile back, I asked for some people’s favorite beer pairings. And I sought some of those out. And now, I’m working with Eric and Richard at The Cheese Traveler to see if we can come up with some combination that will just blow my mind.
Heck, as I’m writing this I’m noshing on Bayrischer Blauschimmelkase and sipping on a Knee Deep Hop Surplus. My thought was that perhaps I needed to be pairing cheeses with big beers in order to get that wow factor.
Mostly because the single most wow-inducing pairing I’ve ever experienced comes from two huge flavors which combine to form liquid gold.
Here’s the crazy part. Neither of them is a food.
Fatty McFatterson
Yeah. So, I’m off the wagon.
Here’s the good news. I’ve been mostly keeping up with Yoga. And you may say that doesn’t count as exercise, because it rarely makes me sweat. That’s true. But man, it’s so relaxing. Plus I feel great for days after going. Not to mention that after Yoga, I just happen to be next to the best beer and cheese store in the Capital Region.
Ready for a shocker? I even considered doing some exercise program that would actually make me sweat. Just this week I popped into a local Orange Theory to hear their pitch. The classes look like fun, but I may not need quite so much motivation in my cardiovascular workouts.
Baby steps.
Baby steps.
Now you may be asking, “Daniel? What’s up with all the exercise? I thought you already met your diet goals and are the picture of health.” And you would have a point. But now that I’ve had a taste of the delicious fatty foods I’ve been missing, I want more. And more costs. And the gym is where you pay. In sweat.
Wait. That’s Flashdance. This is about the food that’s putting me over the edge.
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