the road | the food | a new direction
We rolled into Daphne’s well into lunchtime but, of course, this is a diner, and breakfast is served all day. Both the breakfast and lunch menus arrived with long specials menus, where Daphne really stretches beyond the bounds of typical diner cuisine. Unlike at most diners, it’s OK to explore the outer regions here. Continue reading
Across much of the US, roast beef sandwiches are The People’s Choice; regardless of the local specialties, you’re likely to see some kind of roast beef sandwich on the menus, and tables, of bars and casual eateries. People love ’em. So do we. Sometimes served cold, often served hot with gravy, the meat is generally thinly sliced, and the sandwiches, satisfying as they may be, generally have a commercial quality to them; they don’t often resemble home cooking. Continue reading
The oyster shucking contest is Sunday afternoon. The oyster eating contests are tomorrow and Sunday. There are cash prizes for the winners, up to $700 for the master shucker! Yes, we’re talking about Fulton, Texas’ 36th annual Oysterfest, co-sponsored by the town and its fire department, which began yesterday and continues through Sunday. Fulton is a Gulf Coast town about halfway between Houston and Mexico, perfectly situated for obtaining the Gulf’s freshest oysters. Continue reading
As we take our first bites out of our good cheesesteaks from Campo’s we are reminded once again of one of our basic street food tenets. For hoagies, subs, heroes, or whatever you want to call the torpedo-shaped cold cut sandwiches, we want the best bread available, with good chew and well-developed flavor. For hot torpedo sandwiches like cheesesteaks, veal parm heroes, or roast pork rabe, we prefer the bread to be less assertive. Continue reading
It began last Thursday and will continue through Sunday. We’re talking about the 103rd annual Central Florida Fair in Orlando. The first fair, celebrating the region’s agricultural industry, took place in 1910. Continue reading
We love the way the Pacific Northwest treats breakfast as more than a grab-a-bite afterthought. Some real consideration is given to the first meal of the day, and our “breakfast tour” of Portland turned up a number of winners, from the old-time hash-house Fuller’s to the hash specialists at the energized Bijou. Add to that the comfortable, laid-back ambiance of the J & M Cafe, a restaurant with a counterculture spirit. Continue reading
One day in early 1947, Kate Smith mentioned on her radio show how much she would enjoy a taste of Vermont maple. The local citizens of Somerset County in Pennsylvania, inspired by this comment, sent her some of their own Pennsylvania brew. Kate’s response? In April, she proclaimed on her show that Somerset County maple syrup is the sweetest she ever tasted! And so the seed was planted for the Pennsylvania Maple Festival in Meyersdale, which was first held the following March. Continue reading
There’s not a lot of variables in a Philadelphia cheesesteak. In its classic configuration there’s a roll, meat, cheese, onions, and garnishes. While there’s some play in each of the five variables there’s really not much a cheesesteak joint can do to clearly stand out from the crowd, despite what most writers on the subject would have you believe. Some are better than others, sure, but we find that the day-to-day and month-to-month variation from the same joint is greater than the variation between joints. Which means your favorite today might not be your favorite if you compare tomorrow, or next month. So don’t get too bent out of shape seeking out the one place that someone claimed makes the best. Go to any of the dozen or so places frequently named and you’ll likely enjoy the results. Continue reading
It happens Sunday, March 15th, in Hinckley, OH: the return of the buzzards! Yes, the first sign of spring appears like clockwork (or so they say) on March 15th of each year, as that most unlovely bird, also known as a turkey vulture, shows up at the Hinckley Reservation in Ohio. How is it that the first buzzard appearance is always March 15th? Simple, really: no sighting of the bird is official until the Official Buzzard Spotter spots the first buzzard on the morning of the 15th. Continue reading
If you spend a significant amount of time in Buffalo, it doesn’t take long to notice the large number of candy and ice cream shops scattered about the region. Buffalonians evidently have a penchant for eating sweets, and that’s good news for LAFers. Continue reading
“World Famous Lions Shrimp Dinners”: that’s the big draw to the 57th annual Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival in Florida, scheduled for March 14th and 15th. Lions shrimp is not some variety of shrimp, cousin to tiger shrimp, that you’ve never heard of; rather, the festival, and shrimp dinners, are sponsored by the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club. Continue reading
What brought us to Pho Tan was not the pho but the banh mi which were recently touted in a local publication as the “perfect sandwich” that will “change your life.” Our lives remain as they were but the sandwich has all the right flavors, and would make a pleasant appetizer to a bowl of pho. The problem is the almost comical paucity of filling. We haven’t seen sandwiches this under-filled since our days in ’70s London. The banh mi is only $4, and perhaps what else could you expect at the price? Continue reading
Strawberry shortcake, strawberry shakes, strawberry sundaes, strawberry cobbler, strawberry ice cream, chocolate-covered strawberries, strawberry cookies, fresh strawberry lemonade, fresh local strawberries by the flat… if strawberries were their own state, the Florida Strawberry Festival, which opened this past Thursday and continues through March 8th, would be its state fair. First held in 1930, the festival celebrates the more than 5000 acres of strawberries grown in the Plant City region. Continue reading
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