the road | the food | a new direction
Express Best of 2014 is out, with a lot of interesting food categories. We definitely want to get to TaKorean, a Korean taco truck which won in the Best Food Truck category. Arepa Zone, also a truck, led the Best South/Central American category. Don’t know arepas? The story describes them as “Venezuelan fried corn pockets, stuffed with meats and cheeses in combinations like shredded beef, queso fresco, plantains and black beans.” Continue reading
A longtime favorite of ours, Beal’s is a no-frills lobster pound on a working Southwest Harbor pier. Beal’s seems a bit more “permanent” than we remember it from our initial visit decades ago, when it was more working lobster pier than restaurant. Continue reading
So what is it with Texas’ infatuation with Chicago edibles? Not only is Al’s #1 Italian Beef coming to Dallas but Gino’s East, Windy City deep-dish pizza specialist, is opening their first branches outside of the Chicago region this year, in the Lone Star State. The four pizzerias will be located in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and the Houston suburbs. Like the Al’s restaurants, they will be franchises. Word is the pizzerias will add Texas barbecue pizza to the menu. Can Garrett’s be far behind? Continue reading
There are many signature Chicago street foods but our favorite, hands down, is the Italian beef. Thinly shaved beef is plucked from a trough of garlicky jus and laid in a fresh Italian roll. Hot? That’s spicy giardiniera, a chopped vegetable condiment. Sweet? Sweet red peppers. Dipped? They  immerse the entire sandwich in the juice! We’ll take a beef, hot, sweet, and dipped. Continue reading
While Stan Sagner, in his Daily News review of New York’s famed 77-year-old Carnegie Deli, didn’t like everything, he loved the important stuff: matzo ball soup, corned beef/pastrami combo, and cheesecake. As do we. Really, is it even necessary to look at the rest of the menu? Continue reading
Our new favorite local diner! Especially after the sale of Mastoris in Bordentown a couple of years ago Daphne’s, open since October of 2011, has become our go-to breakfast out spot. Actually, we should say Daphne’s reopened in 2011, because this spot was once occupied by Daphne Wilczynski, up until 2005. Then Daphne closed the diner to focus on catering, and the old diner alternated between vacancy, a brief run as the Italian restaurant Diamond’s, and another brief episode as Fernando’s.
Continue reading
Cold, crisp, sweet, and spicy cider, freshly pressed from apples just off the tree – is there anything else that evokes fall quite so vividly? Apple growing regions all over America are currently picking and pressing. Apple farms are holding apple festivals and frying up cider donuts, the perfect accompaniment to a cold cup of cider. Continue reading
The shocking news is out! OnMilwaukee has been posting their annual Best of Dining awards, which apparently are voted on by readers. For ages, when we thought of ice cream and Milwaukee, we thought of Kopp’s and their thick custard. Doesn’t everyone? Apparently not because, while Kopp’s won OnMilwaukee’s award last year for the category Milwaukee’s Best Desserts, they finished second this year to Purple Door. What makes this more remarkable is that Purple Door makes ice cream, and Milwaukee is a custard town. The only constant is change. Continue reading
With a decor featuring rustic wood and stone, saddles, and implements of the cowhand trade, servers in boots and cowboy hats, and a menu of steaks, big steaks, and bigger steaks, Wolf Lodge of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is an Old West aficionado’s dream. Continue reading
Whenever we go in search of Left at the Fork eats, our fantasy revolves around finding that perfect, out-of-the-way, unassuming lunch spot with a local clientele, good food, and low prices, run by an out-front, hands-on proprietor who knows her customers. Such places are simply not that common. Well, that fantasy was fulfilled by Glenda’s outside of Breaux Bridge, LA. Continue reading
Best Reward for Standing in Line. That’s the category in Nashville Scene’s 2014 Best of Nashville awards, won by Arnold’s Country Kitchen, for their roast beef. It’s available every day and is one of Arnold’s most popular items. Continue reading
What is it about great pizza and family feuds? Here’s the latest complicated story, Zuppardi edition. Zuppardi’s Apizza was founded in 1947 in West Haven, CT by Anthony Zuppardi. Son Robert later took sole ownership of the restaurant. Eventually, Robert’s sisters, Lori and Cheryl, became co-owners, with Robert, of the business. In 2005, Robert’s son Tony began his own pizzeria, with dad Robert’s assistance, in Wilmington, VT and called it Tony Zuppardi’s Apizza. Continue reading
Bring your tractor to Hadley, Massachusetts this Saturday, October 18th. That’s when you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the big tractor parade that takes place as part of North Hadley Sugar Shack‘s 16th Annual Harvest Moon Pumpkin Fest. Over 40 farm tractors are expected. Don’t have a tractor? Not a problem! Hitch a ride on one of the many tractors that will be pulling wagons for tours of the surrounding landscape. Continue reading
We’d been to Harpoon Brewery in Vermont before, and have certainly enjoyed their bottled beer many times over the years. On the way to our Vermont rental we thought we’d stop by the brewery for a couple of growlers for the house. The day was gorgeous, people were cavorting about as if it was the grassy commons on the first spring day at college, and Harpoon offers plenty of outdoor seating at picnic tables and Adirondack chairs set around a fire pit. Continue reading
Master baker Courtney Clark will be hanging up her rolling pin, at least professionally, within a few months. She’s decided to close her eight-year-old shop in Ann Arbor, MI, called Cake Nouveau, to spend more time with her family. She’s earned it. Best of luck, Ms. Clark, and we look forward to your future culinary endeavors when the kids are grown! Continue reading
It’s surely not too early to be thinking about gifts for the holiday season. Here’s one for your friends and family who appreciate LAF (Left At the Fork)-style dining: Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress, by Candacy A. Taylor. Ms. Taylor, a former waitress herself, has spent years collecting stories from, and photographing, career waitresses at coffee shops, truck stops, and diners across America. You can see a sample from the book at The Guardian. Place your order here. Continue reading
We don’t envy anyone trying to keep to a strictly vegetarian diet while traveling in the American South, but it’s far more doable than it was even ten years ago. Courtney Devores, writing for the Charlotte Observer, runs down the wide spectrum of options available in Charlotte, NC for vegans and vegetarians. The options range from raw food emporiums to regular eateries with an elevated health consciousness. Continue reading
Finally! Grimaldi’s has brought their NYC-inspired pies to the pizza-starved New Haven, CT region. The new pizzeria is located in the suburb of Woodbridge. This is the first of a planned six to ten Grimaldi’s planned for Connecticut over the next two years. A check of their online menu does not reveal a clam pie. Will one be forthcoming?
They are already open but they’re holding their grand opening this Tuesday. Is this venture hubris or ignorance? Only time will tell. Continue reading
“Time-tested recipes for that familiar taste of home,” says Aunt Lucy’s website, and that statement pretty much sums it up. Aunt Lucy means to coddle you, not challenge you. There’s nothing to eat here that you haven’t eaten before, at home. And hallelujah for that! Continue reading
A pastrami sandwich at 2nd Ave Deli… pizza from Patsy’s Pizzeria… hot dogs by the Coney Island boardwalk at Nathan’s… cheesecake from Junior’s of Brooklyn… these are four of what Jon Langford calls the 10 signature New York City dishes in his BBCAmerica story. Jon writes a column called Mind the Gap: A Brit’s Guide to Surviving America. We’d say he’s surviving quite well; it’s a very reasonable list. We have a few disagreements but nothing on his list is out-and-out wrongheaded (like, he didn’t recommend getting pizza at Sbarro). See the whole story here. Continue reading
© 2024 Left at the Fork
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑