The Diet Doughnut
The only time I’ll misspell donut on purpose is when writing about Cider Belly Doughnuts. I know there is some controversy on this matter, so I felt vindicated when the Yelp style guide sided with team donut.
Yes, there’s a Yelp style guide.
No, you can’t see it.
Last night, before heading out the the Yelp Elite Event at Cider Belly Doughnuts, I stepped on the scale. When I let all the air out of my chest, I weighed in at a respectable 181.8 pounds. That was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, which isn’t typically my lightest time of day.
The diet has been working! What better way to celebrate than by eating an entire plate of donuts. But oh, dear god were those good.
Jewish Judgement
Judge me. Go ahead. I can take it.
That’s part of the deal, right? Judge not, lest ye be judged. But judging comes with the territory. Although occasionally, I’m called into service to judge in a more official capacity. Take yesterday, for example.
Sunday, the Schenectady JCC had an Iron Chef style cooking contest between four members of the Jewish community who were cooking against the clock for a panel of judges. One was the director of the JCC, the other was an Israeli restaurateur, and then there was the local food blogger.
There was one thing that I had decided early on, and that was that I would not argue with an Israeli where hummus was concerned. But there was another thing about this competition which is worth noting.
Old Pizza
Is it any surprise Albany’s oldest pizzeria makes a takeaway version of something closely resembling a tavern pie?
When you stop and think about it, that makes perfect sense. But it was unexpected.
Many thanks to Steve N. who set up this Unofficial Yelp Event, which brought out several members of the local food loving community to Swinburne Park late on a spring evening to eat a remarkable quantity of pizza from TJ’s PJ’s.
Because of this event, I finally got to meet Melinda from Crumbs Around the Capital, and that was exciting too. I love getting to spend time with those who busy themselves thinking about how to improve the food scene in the Capital Region. It was also a good reminder that I had been delinquent about keeping up with her blog. Her latest post about food trucks is a great thought starter.
But back to pizza.
Last night was another fantastic learning experience. Not only did I get to try five different pies and experience this beloved neighborhood institution. But I also learned something about myself and feel like I’ve somehow switched roles over the years. I’ll explain.
Never Dunkin’
Guess who got back into bed with McDonald’s? Last week, when reading about my Coffee Confection Confession, one intrepid reader wrote to me that he sensed a McDonald’s post on the horizon.
Well, yesterday I brought a small handful of people to a local McDonald’s so we could try the chain’s new flavored coffees.
My big question for them was, is it at least as good, if not better than the coffee at Dunkin Donuts?
Cider Commitment
Good marketing is not lost on me. In fact, I’m highly susceptible to its charms. Put something in elegant packaging, bump up the price, and make it hard to get. That’s the magic formula.
Do that and I’ll want to buy it.
Steve Jobs knew this. Apple followed the game plan. So does the craft beer world. The art on some of those beer cans is fantastic. But this works for everything from Ashton cigars to Vera Wang dresses.
However, this is just one of many magic formulas. There are a bunch of effective tactics marketers can choose from. There’s the limited time offer, consumer loyalty programs, branded merchandise, VIP status, private events, and more.
When I first heard about the 26er program at Nine Pin Cider, I thought the marketing promotion was brilliant and I was drawn into it like a moth into the flame.
I’ve got four months and the first eight ciders under my belt. So how am I feeling?
The Spring Event Grind
It must be spring. Tulip Fest is a good sign. This past weekend I had my first mow. That’s another big clue. The snow tires have been off the car for weeks. And soon, I’ll be heading off to Detroit for Memorial Day weekend. Now, while some will think of that as the first day of summer, I still hold the line for the solstice, which this year is June 20.
The other sign of spring in the Capital Region? Events start taking off like wildfire.
There’s so much going on, I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t know which things to attend. And then I’m finding out about things after they’ve begun. And some I feel like I have no hope in catching at all, which makes me terribly sad.
What follows is far from a comprehensive rundown on local events, but I just needed to take a few minutes and share some things I’m working on, the things that are falling through the cracks, and the things that sound simply super.
Escaping the Madness of Tulip Fest
Actually, I had a blast during Tulip Fest this year. The rain stayed away on Saturday. The weather was cool in the shade and warm in the sun. There were good tunes, and I have long since outgrown my desire for public drunkenness.
I even found a way of turning the event into a Yelp game for my own amusement, and was able to meet up with some of my favorite people from the Yelp community.
The secret may be coming early. Because arriving before 11am means that parking isn’t a problem and the lines at the food vendors are short. I was able to score an absolutely delicious buffalo chicken slider from Slidin’ Dirty for lunch, and paired it with an Asian noodle salad. I thought that was a healthy and moderate duo.
It’s hard to be on a diet during Tulip Fest. That is, until I heard someone explaining their approach to enjoying all the culinary delights at festivals just like this one. And it was something I had never even considered.
Inverted Wing Bowls
Hope you had a good Cinco de Mayo. Amazingly, somehow I forgot to write about it on the blog this year. Hopefully you caught The Local Yelp issue that came out on Wednesday all about great places for tequila cocktails.
As for me, I did plan ahead and already bought my one bottle of tequila for the year. It’s the Milagro silver, again. What can I say? I do really enjoy that stuff, and think it’s the best bang for the buck you can get in the category. Plus those floral notes at the end are utterly enchanting.
While I did have a few sips of a margarita at a party, my drink of the night was a Bissell Brothers Substance IPA. But what I’ve learned from writing about beer on the blog is that a minority of readers are interested in my adventures with the beverage. And that’s fine.
So instead, today you’ll be treated to a rant about wings. Because there’s a far too common practice at restaurants, taverns, and pubs that drives me batshit crazy.
Buying The Farm
Once upon a time, not that long ago, it used to be hard to get a share from Roxbury Farm.
For those who already know what a CSA is, feel free to skip the next paragraph. I think it’s a good thing that there are people who aren’t familiar with the term Community Supported Agriculture. In theory that means the market hasn’t hit its maturity and that there is still room for growth, although I’m not sure in practice it’s working out that way.
Here’s how a CSA works. Instead of going to the farmers market every week to pick up your local, seasonal, and sustainable vegetables from a variety of farms, you buy a share of one farm for the entire season. Then, each week, you are given a portion of the crops they harvest throughout the growing season. This model is good for the farm, because it guarantees the farm’s income and protects it from risk. And consumers benefit, because they get a broad variety of great food at an advantageous price.
I’ve been a member of Roxbury Farm for years, and I love it. I would have been a member sooner, but one year I missed the shockingly brief new membership window, and the farm ran out of shares to sell.
The past couple of years, Roxbury Farm has been as good as it has ever been, but its membership is on the decline. Now instead of selling out of share early, it’s relatively late in the season and they still have a lot of shares to sell.
So today there are a couple of things I want to talk about.
FUSSYlittleBLOG 