the road | the food | a new direction
This time it’s The Daily Meal, and their twist on the “greatest pizza” list is to choose specific pies from the chosen pizzerias, ranked 101 to 1. Who did the choosing? 78 “experts.” Which pizza came in first place? This is one time we agree with the “experts” because Frank Pepe‘s white clam pizza, from New Haven, CT, is our #1 choice, too. No, not our #1 pizza, our #1 food, period! Continue reading
The Elite is a Greek-American-owned Southern diner, opened in 1947 by Pete and Jimmy Zouboukos, serving a terrific enchilada plate. It’s not a diner in the New Jersey sense of the word, yet they specialize in the kinds of food you would expect to find in diners, if diners had originated in the American South; simple, comforting food. Continue reading
A recent visit to Woody’s turned up some news: Woody sold the place! The sale happened this summer. We met the new owner; seemed like a friendly guy. He also owns a small Mexican place, MAC’s Tex-Mex, down the street. Almost nothing has changed at Woody’s, as far as we could tell. Every table was filled on a Sunday morning at 11 a.m., and nine of us had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated in the small dining room. Waitresses are the same too. Our waitress told us there was some initial concern from the townsfolk as to how much Woody’s would change but that settled down quickly as they realized Woody’s would still be Woody’s. The transition to the new owner has gone smoothly. Continue reading
What foods do you turn to when you want, no, need to have jangly nerves soothed; to enjoy the culinary equivalent of a leisurely back rub; to shut out the modern world for a quiet evening at home? A mug of hot cocoa? A big plate of macaroni and cheese? Yes, those might work, but how does a warm chicken pie sound? Better yet, one you don’t have to cook yourself. Like the kind you can bring home from Harrows. Continue reading
Yes, it looks fairly obvious that 51-year-old Benji’s Deli partisans stuffed the ballot box. Just the same, we’ve been to Benji’s and, it’s true, they DO make a good sandwich, and darn good hoppel-poppel for breakfast. So regardless of whether you accept OnMilwaukee.com‘s findings in their Best of Dining 2014 poll, we agree that Benji’s is well worth a visit, in the morning or the afternoon. And we’d like to try the editors’ choice, too, for a sandwich: the hipster-sounding Love Handle, where their namesake sandwich combines pork belly with egg salad and kale. Continue reading
Carla Hall’s being very resourceful while planning to open a Nashville-style restaurant in New York City. Not only is she attempting to raise capital through Kickstarter, she’s worked with Philadelphia’s Drexel University to set up a lab class for students in Drexel’s culinary arts program. The students will help with kitchen design, recipe development, and many of the other tasks that must be addressed prior to opening a new restaurant. The students gain valuable real-world experience and Carla gets their help. Ms. Hall said she’d like to eventually open a Southern Kitchen in Philadelphia.
With an absence of red tides and tropical storm activity in the area, Florida Keys stone crab fisherman are optimistic for a productive harvest. Unfortunately, prices are expected to be higher than ever. Stone crabs are (if you’re squeamish, cover your eyes) twisted off live crabs, which are then thrown back in the water, where the claws will regrow. Those claws are an expensive Florida delicacy, prized by many seafood aficionados. Currently, at Keys Fisheries‘ restaurant, a pound of jumbos (2-3 per pound) will run you about $37. Continue reading
Eaton’s is a tourist restaurant. Let’s state that right up front. Yes, almost anywhere in Vermont that specializes in things maple receives plenty of tourists but (and maybe we’re wrong here) we can’t imagine the local who would walk through Eaton’s doors. That doesn’t have to imply that there’s nothing good to eat under Eaton’s roof. In fact, there is, but you’ll have to choose carefully. Continue reading
Mariscos Chihuahua in Tucson, AZ is, of course, a seafood restaurant. If you know the restaurant, you know it’s for their ways with shrimp that most of the acclaim has come. But not only shrimp, by any means. Tucson Weekly‘s Best of Tucson 2014 has named Mariscos Chihuahua as the best place in the city to get fish tacos. You can get them made the usual way, with fried chunks of fish, or filled with grilled marlin, which sounds wonderful to us. They’ll also set you up with a shrimp taco if you’d prefer. Either way, at three bucks a pop you can’t go wrong. Continue reading
Round Rock Donuts, north of Austin, has been frying ’em up since 1926. They have as cultish a following around here as Krispy Kreme has in other parts of the country. One member of the cult, apparently, is Mary G. Ramos, who writes fondly of Round Rock donuts for The Dallas Morning News: “[T]hey . . . make wonderful, yeasty, glazed doughnuts that have a rich yellow color from the fresh eggs that are used in them, as they were used in the original recipe.” By the way, we’ve actually shared one of those Texas-sized donuts. We’d estimate that it contains about 8-10 donuts worth of dough. But how do they make them? Continue reading
The Little One (formerly known as Little Café Poca Cosa) was chosen as The Best Place to Eat Lunch Downtown by Tucson Weekly‘s Best of Tucson 2014 (Mi Nidito came in second). When you have that lunch you’d be advised to order a battered and fried, cheese-filled chile relleno because The Little One was also chosen for Best Chile Relleno. How can one city feature so many good things to eat, and so many good places in which to eat those things? Continue reading
Corned Beef Row. The name designates an area that was once the center of Jewish life in Baltimore. Today, Corned Beef Row consists of Attman’s Deli and little else. Seymour Attman, longtime owner of the deli, has passed on but the deli continues. This once thriving Jewish neighborhood can today seem a little intimidating to some, but a daytime trip to Attman’s (the only time it’s open) will make it worthwhile. Continue reading
El Charro is the most famous Mexican restaurant (since 1922) in Tucson, and Tucsonians love it, as evidenced by their voting it the winner of three categories in Tucson Weekly‘s Best of Tucson 2014. There wasn’t a category named Best Carne Seca (dried beef), probably because El Charro owns that dish in Tucson. They did, however, win Best Carne Asada, Best Carnitas, and Best Margarita. Meat and booze – sounds like a winner to us! Continue reading
When some people want to put down a chocolate in the strongest terms possible, they refer to it as “Halloween quality.” Whether you like Halloween candy or not (we do), you know what it means: mass-produced, waxy-textured or grainy, tooth-achingly sweet chocolate that appeals, mostly, to kids. But you know what? All Halloween chocolate ain’t Halloween quality! Here’s one example of a Halloween chocolate novelty that you’ll look forward to devouring the next day: Jacques O’Lanterns. Continue reading
The Best of 2014 lists from magazines and alternative weeklies are coming out fast and furious. Today, Tucson Weekly‘s Best of Tucson 2014 survey named Mi Nidito Best Southside Restaurant. Mi Nidito (My Little Nest) is a Sonoran restaurant first opened in 1952, and it remains in the family to this day. The eatery is famous for the time President Bill Clinton did some serious power eating at their tables. Tucson Weekly says, “For many locals, it’s a solid place to bring visitors and introduce them to Sonoran goodness.” Continue reading
Summer along the New England shore means seafood, but what about inland New England? What’s the great roadside food to be found at summer only stands in the Green Mountains of Vermont? How about seafood? Yes, improbable as it may seem, locals flock to Onion Flats in the Bethel countryside for belly clams, haddock, scallops, and lobster rolls. Continue reading
Are you planning a first-time visit to Kansas City? Or maybe you’re a frequent visitor, or even a resident, who would just like to get a better handle on, and a behind-the-scenes look at, the local Q scene. If so, you might want to consider taking a tour with KC Barbecue Tours. They offer two different tours. The midday Original Kansas City Barbecue Tour visits four Q joints. The four may vary but one recent visitor said they went to LC’s, Woodyard, Gates, and Arthur Bryant’s, all, in our opinion, worth a visit. Continue reading
John Burnett, writing for NPR’s Foodways blog, presents his thesis that the variety and authenticity of Texas’ small town eats is getting swamped by barbecue, Tex-Mex cuisine, convenience store fast food, and Sysco. We don’t know that we’d restrict the phenomenon to Texas. Hasn’t this been happening across the country for decades? Continue reading
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