Left at the Fork

the road | the food | a new direction

Day: May 28, 2016

The hottest pickles you've ever tasted.

Hot Chili, Hotter Pickles, and a Political Rite of Passage in Topeka

May 28, 2016 / / 0 Comments

In the Little Russia neighborhood of Topeka, KS (settled by Germans by way of Russia, not Russians) sits a modest town grocery with an adjoining deli that was founded in 1947 by a man named Charlie Porubsky. Today, anyone who is anyone in Kansas politics (except for one important guy) makes a point of stopping by to join the regulars for lunch. Charlie’s son and daughter run the place today, still making a daily pot of their famous chili in the cooler months (but no chili on Fridays and Saturdays!) and marinating pickles in so much horseradish that Senator Jerry Moran says “some of them are edible and some of them are impossible to eat.” Continue reading

There are those who say there's no greater delicacy in the world than a soft-shell crab.

Soft Shell Spring Fair, Crisfield MD, May 29th 2016

May 28, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Soft-shell crabs were invented in Crisfield MD. Well, OK, they were invented by the crabs themselves but the harvesting and marketing of them as a food item began in the Chesapeake town. It’s a very delicate process because, if left in the water, a crab’s new shell begins to harden about two hours after shedding its old one. Frozen and cleaned soft-shells are, of course, available year-round but live ones, which are definitely superior, can be obtained only from late spring into early fall. As you might imagine, getting them from the water to the cook alive, and before a new shell has formed, is no small endeavor. Yet the process goes on because the creatures are so darned delicious (and strikingly easy to eat compared to their well-armored brethren). Continue reading

© 2024 Left at the Fork

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑