Left at the Fork

the road | the food | a new direction

Author: Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle (Page 32 of 61)

The brand new Polly's Pancake Parlor

Polly’s Pancake Parlor Opens May 16th, Totally Rebuilt

May 15, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Polly’s granddaughter, Kathy Cote, along with her husband Dennis, has operated Polly’s Pancake Parlor of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire in the same 65-seat carriage shed that Polly used to serve her customers on day one in 1938. Last year they decided it was time to make the change: that shed would be torn down and a new, larger facility would be built in its place. Longtime customers were apprehensive about the change, but the Cotes let out a big sigh of relief when they heard from loyal fans, “It’s just like the old one only bigger.” They open Saturday, May 16th. Read more about Polly’s on the New Hampshire Public Radio website.

Poke Salat Festival, Arab AL, May 15th and 16th 2015

May 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments

The name of this festival is really for historical significance and atmospherics as you are not likely to find actual poke salat (or sallet) at this or any of the other poke sallet festivals held in Southern communities. What is poke salat? You may know it as pokeweed. It has been treated as a vegetable in the rural South, much more so in the past than today. Only the young leaves are eaten, and they must be boiled well – some say in several changes of water. The plant is considered poisonous, particularly the root, stems, and berries. Continue reading

The classic Lehigh Valley configuration includes brown mustard, chili, and chopped onions.

Pete’s Hot Dog King, Bethlehem PA

May 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Chili dogs and deep-fried pierogi: that’s your lunch. Where are you? If you answered Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, count yourself among the LAF cognoscenti. What French fries are to most of the fast-food eating populace, fried pierogi are to the Lehigh Valley. And what Yocco’s is to Allentown, Pete’s is to Bethlehem. Continue reading

"Good coffee is good and we are not going to cover it up with a roasting style. We don’t blend it, brand it or French it." - Seth Appell

Coffee Passion

May 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments

We have our share of food pet peeves. One of them is flavored coffee. We despise the smell. We reject the taste. We like the taste of coffee, so we want our coffee to taste like coffee. Seth Appell, the man behind Old Bisbee Roasters of Bisbee, Arizona, is our kind of coffee man. He trades in small farm, single origin coffees, roasting each batch to bring out the unique flavors hidden in the green beans. He doesn’t do hazelnut or pumpkin pie coffee. In fact, most of his coffees aren’t even blends. Read more about this unique individual, and his special relationship with the bean, in this Sierra Vista Herald story.

International Biscuit Festival, Knoxville TN, May 14th through 16th 2015

May 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

It’s biscuits, biscuits, and more biscuits as the International Biscuit Festival returns to Knoxville, Tennessee this week. This relatively new festival, first held in 2009, has rapidly grown into one of the country’s major food shindigs. There are really two parts to this event. Beginning Thursday, May 14th, and continuing through the day Friday, is the Southern Food Writing Conference, featuring seminars, speakers, and professional food writers. The $450 registration fee will keep those with a more casual interest in the subject away. Of more relevance to the general public will be the events from Friday evening on. Continue reading

A full rack of the meatiest baby back ribs we've ever seen - first-rate Q!

Pig Feathers, Toledo OR

May 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

No regional qualification necessary: Pig Feathers makes damn good barbecue. We admit to being surprised by this fact. Coastal Oregon is not considered a hotbed of great Q, and we’ve come to expect smoke parlors with goofy names like Pig Feathers, and goofy mottos like their trademarked “Everyone loves a great rack!”, to churn out the kind of ordinary barbecue found in shopping malls across the country. Beware of hasty judgments. Continue reading

Ms. Johnston will be giving a cooking class at the fest.

National Morel Mushroom Festival, Boyne City MI, May 14th through 17th 2015

May 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Those who love them look forward to spring with great anticipation. Many fans have a prized, secret spot for harvesting their own. Those who do not love them have probably never tasted them. We are talking about that honeycomb-headed mushroom known as the morel. This coming weekend, you can join the annual celebration of the fungus at the National Morel Mushroom Festival in Boyne City, Michigan, and maybe learn a thing or two about hunting them and cooking them. Continue reading

We've sampled no crab cakes in Maryland superior to the broiled beauties from Seaside in Glen Burnie.

Seaside Restaurant and Crab House, Glen Burnie MD

May 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

The dining room is packed and virtually every table is covered with brown paper and Callinectes sapidus in various stages of disassembly. These are old-hand locals, capable of locating the choice crab nuggets while devoting only half their attention to the hard-shelled creatures, the other half devoted to watching their beloved Orioles clobber the Red Sox on one of the TVs perched on the walls around the dining room. We love tearing apart steaming hot Old Bay-plastered crabs as much as the next guy but, today, we’re feeling lazy, and tired from the long drive. So crab cakes it is, without shame. Continue reading

Relish trays ready to be brought to eager diners at 13 Coins

Kiki Does 13 Coins (Over and Over)

May 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Kiki Maraschino (whom we know as Elise) traveled to Seattle and made four visits in three days to the Mad Menesque 13 Coins, where she took in the old-fashioned ambiance (“trippy Barbarella lighting” says Kiki!) and sampled everything from clam chowder and shrimp cocktail to salmon Benedict, stopping at steak and eggs, fried zucchini, and retro relish trays along the way. If you enjoy urban classics with a ’60s sensibility you should take a look at Kiki’s report.

Chocolate-covered strawberries are just one of the many strawberry treats available at the festival.

West Virginia Strawberry Festival, Buckhannon WV, May 9th through May 17th 2015

May 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Homemade ice cream and strawberry shortcake, plus homemade old-fashioned sugar cookies, at the Chapel Hill United Methodist Church; strawberry pancakes and sausage at the First United Methodist Church; rib eye steak sandwiches and strawberry shortcake presented by the 4-H on the Episcopal Church lawn; homemade strawberry shortcake offered by the ladies of the local American Legion. Yes, it’s time for the West Virginia Strawberry Festival in Buckhannon, which began Saturday and continues through Sunday, May 17th. Continue reading

Springtime on a plate: Summer Pea Ravioli, made with ricotta from Lambertville, mint, pea leaves, asparagus tips, lemon zest, and shiitake

Checking In at: Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery, Berkeley Heights NJ

May 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

On April 11th, a fermenter over-pressurized overnight and exploded, rupturing a gas line and blowing through the wall to the outside of the restaurant. Thankfully nobody was injured, and the fire department arrived in time to shut off the gas before it had a chance to ignite. Trap Rock managed to reopen for dinner that night but they have not been able to brew beer since. Repairs to the brewing system are ongoing. This was our first visit to Trap Rock since the accident, and everything seemed as it always was. Continue reading

Curds and whey, destined to become America's great blue cheese

Blue in Newton

May 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

French has its Roquefort, Italy its Gorgonzola, Brits are proud of their Stilton and, yes, America has as much reason as anyone in the world to boast of their own blue cheese, made by Maytag Dairy Farms of Newton, Iowa. The superlative cheese has been handmade since the first batch emerged from the aging cave in 1941. Kiran Sood, writing for The Gazette, an Eastern Iowa newspaper, takes a look at how blue cheese is made on the peaceful 600 acres of the Maytag Dairy.

Adairville Strawberry Festival, Adairville KY, May 9th through May 16th 2015

May 10, 2015 / / 0 Comments

The 69th annual Strawberry Festival in Adairville, Kentucky began yesterday, and continues through next Saturday (March 16th 2015).  The  Little Miss Pageant and the Senior Miss Pageant will take place Tuesday.  Rides, crafts, and karaoke begin this Thursday, with live music, a pet show, a kiddie parade, and the opening of the Strawberry Shoppe (homemade strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake!) to follow on Friday. Continue reading

A breakfast special of raisin French toast couldn't have been any better.

Food at Fishers Station, Victor NY

May 10, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

If you choose to eat at Food at Fishers Station, you will wait in a line. Absolutely, no doubt about it, you will. If it’s your first time, and you let that be known, you’ll receive all kinds of info from your fellow standees: “they always have a special called 2-2-2, which is supposed to be two pancakes, two eggs, and two sausage patties; when it arrives there are usually way more than two pancakes, and they’re the best pancakes you’ll ever have”; “oh, great, now it’ll be even harder to get in” when we let slip that we might write about it on the net; “everything they make here is fantastic.” It’s all true. Continue reading

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