Left at the Fork

the road | the food | a new direction

Author: Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle (Page 24 of 61)

From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam ...

A Judge’s Eye View of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

July 4, 2015 / / 0 Comments

“The hot-dog contest is a physical manifestation of the concept of freedom.” Those are the words of George Shea, the man behind the annual 4th of July Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York. Have you ever heard a bigger pile of horseshit in your life? (Well, election season is upon us, so sure you have, but you get the point.) We love the spirit nonetheless! Ken Hoffman, who has been a judge at the contest for 10 years, takes a backstage look at this Independence Day tradition, from the highs (free dogs and fries for judges) to the lows (getting splashed when a contestant experiences what is euphemistically referred to as “reversal of fortune”). Celebrate America and have a read.

Kansas Wheat Festival, Wellington KS, July 8th through 12th 2015

July 4, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Sumner County in Kansas is the Wheat Capital of the World. Wellington, Kansas is the county seat of Sumner. So it stands to reason that if you’re going to have a wheat festival, there’s no better place than Wellington. Wednesday, July 8th begins the 115th annual edition of the Kansas Wheat Festival, which runs through Sunday the 12th. The five festival days are jam-packed with events: Continue reading

Prosciutto from Italy, fresh basil, bread from Dom's a few blocks away, and handmade mutz from this very shop -- other than a straight mutz hero this is one of the best ways to appreciate Vito's sweet, creamy mozzarella.

Vito’s Deli, Hoboken NJ

July 3, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

For most of the 20th century, Hoboken, NJ was primarily an Italian-American enclave. Like many other Northeast industrial cities, Hoboken fell on hard times from the 1950s forward, losing over half its population, until late-century gentrification took root. Throughout it all, some of the classic Italian bakeries and delis, such as Fiore’s, survived, and others, like Dom’s bakery, sprouted with the city’s rebirth, carrying on this Hudson River city’s Italian heritage. In the latter category is Vito’s Deli, one of Hoboken’s premier sandwich makers. Continue reading

A quintet of only-in-Rhode-Island pups from Olneyville New York System of Providence

Not Grilling? Head out for the Best Dogs and Burgers

July 3, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Not everyone will be grilling this holiday weekend, but most everyone will still want to partake in the 4th of July tradition of burgers and dogs. Larry Olmsted, writing for USA Today, surveys his favorite spots in America to consume beef and pork in disc and tube form, from the site of the annual Independence Day hot dog eating contest, Nathan’s of Coney Island, NYC (though we quibble with his description of Nathan’s dogs as “better-than-average but not-quite-great.” If you get a Nathan’s frank in natural casing — the casing’s important —  you are enjoying one of the world’s greatest dogs) to Santa Fe Bite‘s (yes, in Santa Fe, NM) truly superlative green chile cheeseburger. Have a look.

Grand Bay Watermelon Festival, Grand Bay AL, July 3rd and 4th 2015

July 3, 2015 / / 0 Comments

It was 1973 when Grand Bay, Alabama revived an early 20th-century local tradition and put on the first Grand Bay Watermelon Festival of the modern era. The festival is courtesy of the local Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and it begins today, with free admission, at 3 p.m. On the 4th, there’s a $5 per vehicle charge for the 8 a.m. till 4 p.m. festival but admission comes with all the locally grown, ice-cold watermelon you care to eat! Continue reading

Hopkins Raspberry Festival, Hopkins MN, July 11th through 19th 2015

July 2, 2015 / / 0 Comments

What’s a raspberry festival without raspberries? Why, that would be the Hopkins Raspberry Festival in Minnesota! When the festival began, in 1934, the area was surrounded by raspberry farms. The farms are long gone and, while the festival continued to be held, the raspberries eventually disappeared from the raspberry festival as well. In 2009, for the 75th edition of the raspberry festival, they experimented with bringing the raspberries back – pints of berries were sold all over the festival, just like in the old days. But the gesture towards a new tradition didn’t take. Continue reading

If you ask for the works, Louie's will dress your foot long as shown. The frank develops a good crust from the burning coals.

Louie’s Foot Long Hot Dogs, Tonawanda NY

July 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

There are a surprising number of foods that are either unique to the Buffalo area (locally referred to as Western New York or WNY) or are simply particular favorites of Buffalonians. Everyone knows about hot-sauced wings and beef-on-weck. The wings you can today get all over the country but, oddly, the weck never made it out of the city. Continue reading

Chicago Beer Withdrawn from Trump Purchased by Gino’s East to Benefit Latino Center

July 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

5 Rabbit Cerveceria, the first Latin microbrewery in the U.S., located in a Chicago suburb, brewed an exclusive beer for Rebar, a Trump Hotel Chicago bar. That is, until Donald Trump opened his mouth. 5 Rabbit severed their ties to Rebar, which left them with a load of kegs of Rebar beer. In swooped Gino’s East, who will purchase those kegs, sell the beer at Gino’s East restaurants, and donate the proceeds from sale of the beer to Chicago’s International Latino Cultural Center. No word yet on whether Gino’s will continue to use the founder’s new name for the beer, Chinga tu Pelo. Silver linings and karma in action!

Salmon cooked over alder wood is the highlight of the festival.

Ballard SeafoodFest, Seattle WA, July 11th and 12th 2015

July 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

The fishing community of Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood that sits alongside Puget Sound, got together with the local Elks to hold a salmon barbeque dinner in 1971 to raise money for the Chamber of Commerce. That dinner has since grown into the two-day Ballard SeafoodFest, drawing over 60,000 people to what was once a center of Scandinavian-American salmon fishermen. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 11th and 12th. Continue reading

Corn dogs!

California State Fair, Sacramento CA, July 10th through 26th 2015

July 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

California has the distinction of holding the summer’s first state fair (state fair geeks are aware that Florida’s fair, held in February, is the first of the calendar year). The California State Fair is one of the more popular state fairs as well, drawing almost a million people over its 17 days. This year’s edition opens in Sacramento on Friday, July 10th and runs through Sunday, July 26th. Continue reading

That's not one long hot dog traversing the pizza bread, but two dogs stuck in either end. The bread is not quite like Italian bread, not like pizza crust, not much like pita, and not a hamburger bun. What is it? A little of each.

Tommy’s Italian Sausage & Hot Dogs, Elizabeth NJ

June 30, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

North Jersey is well known for its great hot dogs, but the fine Italian sausage of the region should not be ignored. We present as example Tommy’s Italian Sausage in Elizabeth, a take-out only storefront that makes its own sausage and serves it up in the same classic configuration as an Italian hot dog, in a split loaf of what’s called pizza bread (like a cross between pita and Italian bread) with fried potatoes, onions, and peppers. The sausage is sliced open and grilled to crustiness, then slipped into the fresh bread. The predominant flavor of this sausage is pork rather than spice, with a satisfying coarse-ground meaty texture. Continue reading

The cured meats on this platter come from Falorni, their neighbor on the square. Easily the best we sampled in Tuscany. As you can see, the locals are not as fat-phobic as Americans.

Mangiando Mangiando, Greve in Chianti, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

June 29, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Salads in Tuscany tend to be served as contorni - side dishes. This composed salad served as a first course - the anchovies closed the deal for us.

Salads in Tuscany tend to be served as contorni – side dishes. This composed salad served as a first course – the anchovies closed the deal for us.

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