We’re taking a weekend trip to Miami for a friend’s wedding. So we’re not going to go the obvious route by posting the Will Smith music video for “Miami” here, but we are soliciting your opinions and recommendations for food in Miami. If you are an avid reader of this blog, you know that we are looking for cheap, international food! We are going for a wedding, and we will have about 1.5 days for munching. What do you recommend?
Miami Food Trucks by Miamism
Happy New Year! Hope everyone is having a fun/relaxing/festive/delicious start to 2014!
In honor of the new year, please enjoy – Let it Dough – a holiday story told in picture by the New York Times’ Christoph Niemann.
Filed under Design and Photography
A recent episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Afropop worldwide, talked about Mirembe Kawomera, a coffee collective in Uganda dedicated to interfaith communication and reconciliation between local Muslims, Christians and Jews. Mirembe Kawomera, which means, “Delicious Peace” in the Luganda language, was founded in 2003 by local coffee farmer JJ Keki. In addition to the coffee co-op, those involved in the collective have also recorded an album, “Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in Uganda,” which was featured on Afropop and in the Smithsonian Folkways video above. You can buy the Mirembe Kawomera coffee online from Thanksgiving Coffee company.
Filed under Coffee, World Eats
Everybody watch out, because we are about to hit a shortage of the famous Huy Fong Sriracha Thai/Vietnamese hot sauce – THE SRIRACHAPOCALYPSE! Due to legal entanglements in the Huy Fong factory in Irwindale, California, bottles are now being held 30 days before shipping, causing a major delay in restocking Sriracha on the shelves. Since the stoppage hit in mid-December, customers may really start to feel the effects of the ban soon. Serious Eats conducts a taste test of other sriracha brands so you can get your hot sauce fix in a pinch.
Sriracha in Memphis by Memphis CVB
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Boxing Day is one of those holidays that we always remember every year, but we are never quite sure what to do or make in honor of a day which was historically for giving gifts to servants (perhaps some Downton Abbey themed recipes would be appropriate?). There really is nothing to do in the US to celebrate Boxing Day except perhaps to enjoy an extra day off from work, do some shopping, or continue your holiday binge. However, in Singapore and Malaysia, there is a special dish to mark Boxing Day – Curry Debal – also known as “Curry Devil” or “Devil’s Curry.” Devil’s Curry varies household to household, but is basically a strong, spicy, ginger and chili curry made from whatever leftovers (usually meat) that you have around the house from Christmas celebration feasts.
The dish descended from Eurasian communities in Southeast Asia, and perhaps even has a historic Portuguese influence, when Portuguese traders coming from Goa arrived in what was then known as Malacca. The dish remains extremely popular in Malaysia and Singapore today, and it seems pretty easy to make. The previous links will provide you a great basis for Curry Debal – but don’t be afraid to experiment with your own leftovers!
Devil Curry in Malaysia by CloudyWind
Filed under Holidays, World Eats
Happy winter wishes from the miniature snow-covered Sphinx in Tobu World Square Theme Park in Japan.
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It’s Christmas Eve, and most people have their menus well-planned. But if you need some last minute inspiration, look no further than the typical Puerto Rican Christmas feast. Our favorite part? Lechon asado as the main centerpiece: a whole roast pig, which we try to get as often as we can! Other typical Christmas Eve or nochebuena dishes are pasteles (filled masa steamed in banana leaves), arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas) and coquito (coconut egg nog). Though Italian food is near and dear to our heart, this kind of feast is a definitely a close second!
Christmas in Viejo San Juan by Gaby Maldonado
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Christmas food is all about comfort, and nothing is more comforting than tamales! Venezuela has their own special Christmas dish that is a close cousin of the Mexican tamal, the hallaca. A mix of European, African and Indigenous foodways, hallacas consist of masa steamed in a plantain leaf, filled with a mixture of beef, pork, chicken and olives. If you are really planning to have a big nochebuena dinner, here is a recipe to make 50 hallacas, or a slightly more modest 25. The tradition of making hallacas at Christmastime has also spread to Trinidad and Aruba, both of which are very close to the Venezuelan coast.
Venezuelan Hallacas by Alejandro Angel
We’ve never thought of potatoes as a sweet dish, but Kalle Bergman’s post about Brunede Kartofler (Danish Caramelized Potatoes) on Honest Cooking definitely intrigued us. As opposed to the salty mashed potatoes we enjoy in the US, the Danish go the sweet route with this traditional Christmas side, which is an excellent match with heavier meat dishes. Brunede Kartofler are deceptively simple, and consist of peeled new potatoes, pan-fried in butter and sugar. In order to cut through the heavier dishes, you will often see the meat and potatoes cut with the tangy cabbage slaw, Rødkål.
Danish Caramelized Potatoes by Jens Rost
Arya Bhavan
2508 W Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL 60659
Indian food is certainly vegetarian, but things like ghee and paneer make it less friendly for vegans. However, Arya Bhavan is a perfect go-to restaurants for those who are vegan and want to indulge in some Indian food. We went with our cousin, a vegan as well as a big Indian food fan. The menu was quite extensive, and featured both North and South Indian favorites including a wide selection of naans, dosas, dals and paneers as well as some non-traditional salads. The menu could possibly be overwhelming, but the waitress/owner Kirti was more than happy to give recommendations. For those who really can’t decide, there is a vegan buffet on Friday nights, and throughout the weekend. Our vegan dining companion was especially excited about the vegan mango lassi, which was declared delicious.
We ordered three dishes and shared among ourselves. Of course, we also selected a garlic naan, which was quite tasty. For our first dish we tried something new, Northern Indian dumplings, Malai Kofta ($12) served with a cashew gravy, which had a nice kick to it. The second dish, Dal Bunzara ($12) was composed of sauteed lentils in a cumin, green tomato and onion sauce. We also tried one of our staples, Palak Paneer ($12) with vegan cheese and spinach. Our favorite dish was actually the one most unusual to us, the Malai Kofta dumplings, which had a great texture, and we sopped up the last of the sauce with our naan. The vegan paneer was a pretty good rendition, though we’d probably stick to the dairy version elsewhere.
Overall, the service was a little haphazard (ironically, they were in the process of hiring a new waitress while we were eating). However, we did not feel ignored. The waitress/owner/chef/jack-of-all-trades Chef Kirti, who waited on us was one of the most passionate owners we have ever come across, and she was fully committed to providing healthy, tasty foods for those with all sorts of dietary needs (perhaps a little too healthy…. since she warned us the barfi dessert was too fattening). It was refreshing to see someone so dedicated to her food mission!
For those with even more exacting food needs there is even a raw food buffet on Monday nights, and most dishes can also be made gluten-free. There is something for everyone at Arya Bhavan, from traditional dishes to regional specialties, from dishes that are naturally veggie-only to ones that have been created specifically for vegan palates. We were happy to find a place the pleases vegans and omnivores alike!
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We were at Chicago’s venerable Christkindlmarket today, perusing the holiday ornaments while enjoying bretzels and roasted cashews, when we noticed a huge basket of glass ornaments shaped like pickles. “Odd,” we both said. But then we saw them at another booth, and again at another. What gives? We were intrigued. Finally, in one of the ornament shops, in the midst of yet-again vocalizing how confused we were by the pickle ornaments, a woman behind us jumped in: in her family, one person puts/hides the pickle ornament in the tree, and the person who finds the pickle ornament gets to open presents first, or gets an extra gift. And it was not just her family: apparently the Christmas pickle is a huge tradition! Though some people claim the pickle has German origins, it is probably actually an American or German-American tradition that took root in the late 19th century, just as glass ornaments were being popularized. Even though its origins are shrouded in mystery we like the idea that it is supposed to bring good luck!
Christmas Pickle Ornament (and Danbo friend) by Meagan
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Our much-anticipated and extensive review of Eataly is forthcoming (we’ll do it after we get at least two visits under our belts). But with Eataly and its associated madness and euphoria now in Chicago, it may be time to remind everyone that our fair city (and the surrounding region) has many, many other places to stock up on domestic and imported Italian cheeses, meats, and other products. But along with them, these stores are local, family-owned, and well-established in the area: aspects that should be appealing to those who object to Eataly on mass-consumerist and New York-transplant grounds.
The west loop, especially west of the Kennedy, is home to some of the city’s oldest Italian groceries. J.P. Graziano Grocery & Company (901 W Randolph), founded in 1937, is a staple grocery in the area, as well as a purveyor of spot-on Italian sandwiches that Yelpers rave about. One of our favorite Chicago food podcasts, Sky Full of Bacon, paid a visit to J.P. Graziano and its fourth-generation owner, Jim Graziano, as he talked about the store, its history, and of course cheese as he lovingly sliced into an unopened wheel of parmigiano-reggiano. Check out their film on vimeo about the experience.
Cheeses, meats, and condiments stacked sky-high at Piatto Pronto.
On the north side, we recently discovered Piatto Pronto (5624 N Clark), a full service Italian deli and food purveyor whose wide assortment of Italian products is jam-packed into their small storefront. Close to our home base, we were thrilled to find high-quality prosciutto di parma, mozzarella di bufala, and a wide selection of panettone just in time for the holidays. It’s now become our go-to prosciutto and cheese shop in the city, both for its location and the high quality of its offerings.
Finally, we are going to recommend all Chicagoans who will spend the time to go downtown to Eataly and wait in line to spend the same amount of time, or even less, to head up I-94 over the Wisconsin border to Tenuta’s Italian Grocery and Delicatessen (3203 52nd Street, Kenosha, WI). Founded in 1950, Tenuta’s easily outshines the offering and variety of any other Italian store in Chicago. We regularly make trips to Kenosha to stock up – seemingly endless aisles of domestic and imported cheeses, meats, pastas, olive oils, spirits, and other goodies leave Tenuta’s unparalleled, and make it easily worth the trip. Our standard purchase includes spicy prosciutto di parma, some samples from their Italian olive selection, parmesan and mozarella cheeses, our favorite Sicilian olive oil, and interesting pasta varieties you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. To top it all off, have a house-made panini while you wait.
Paul Ryan and ETW agree: Tenuta’s is amazing. (Photo: AP / Mary Altaffer).
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Papa’s Cache Saboroso
2517 W Division St
Chicago, IL
Fresh from a scintillating bomba performance (complete with vejigantes!) at the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance‘s “Loíza in Chicago,” we realized, as we so often do in this wonderful city of ours, that we have neglected on of its great culinary traditions. While Humboldt Park, the epicenter of Chicago’s thriving Puerto Rican community, possesses a large number of Puerto Rican restaurants and eateries, we had never before tried a jibarito, a sandwich (usually filled with beef or chicken) dressed with garlic-mayo between a “bun” of fried green plantains. The jibarito has one of those origin stories that sounds made-up, the common “I just decided to do this one day and then it took off” tale, but apparently this time it is true: in 1996, Juan C. Figueroa, proprietor of Borinquen Restaurant in Humboldt Park, invented the sandwich after being inspired by reading about a similar idea in a newspaper.
So where to go to get one of these delectable Chicago delicacies? La Plena? La Palma? To Borinquen, its origin? In time we will likely try all the jibaritos we can, but for now, we went with the recommendation of friends and ended up at a beloved hole-in-the-wall: Papa’s Cache Saboroso. With just a few tables, a brisk take-out service, and an ordering counter decorated like a beach food shack, Papa’s dispenses with any formalities to feature high-quality, tasty, and well-price Chicago-PR fare.
L, of course, got the chicken breast jibarito. Marinated chicken breast, mayo dressing, tomatoes and lettuce, all featured on the signature fried green plantains, with a side of rice. We love fried plantains anyway, but we were surprised at just how well they work as a sandwich. Firm enough to hold everything together, they still provide a great flavor profile compliment to the rest of the meat and veggies that you just can’t get from regular bread, or really any kind of bread. Just great.
Meanwhile, M had a conundrum on this particular Saturday. Go with the jibarito – really, the reason we came – or go for broke and get the Saturdays-only special, the lechon asado, a seasoned roasted suckling pig that is one of the competitors for national dish of Puerto Rico (some mofongo-lovers may take offense). If there is one thing we have learned about M in this blog (besides the love of spicy food) it is that he will stop in his tracks if roasted or smoked pig is anywhere in the vicinity. As was the case here.
Lechon asado, like all great pig roasts, takes a while to make: the menu says “This dish takes so much love and attention you can only get it o Saturdays!” It may be true – a crispy, flavor-kicking crust on the outside and pull-apart meat on the inside. While this version was a tad on the dry side for our tastes, the sweet plantains and salad on the side provide a nice way to cut across all the flavors. Finish with beans and rice, and this is a great way to spend a Saturday.
While we loved our jibarito and will definitely be back, no need to not experiment further. If you’re having trouble making up your mind, Serious Eats Chicago may be able to help with their list of the Top 10 jibaritos in the city.
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Now that I (L) am commuting to work, I have been listening to many more podcasts, both in the car and on the train (where I am writing this post). I have definitely tried to broaden my horizons, and listen to as many different subjects as possible, though science and current events appear regularly (I love Radiolab, How to do Everything, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me and Quirks and Quarks). However, up until a week or so ago, I had completely neglected food podcasts, and there are some great shows that focus on the food scene right here in the Windy City.
One of my favorite Chicago food podcasts is Louisa Chu and Monica Eng’s Chewing the Fat on NPR. A recent episode I particularly enjoyed talked about the highly-anticipated Eataly and the Italian food scene in Chicago. Another favorite is Michael Gebert’s audio and video podcast Sky Full of Bacon. The audio podcast, with the awesome name, “Airwaves Full of Bacon” has covered such diverse topics as the kitchen at Next restaurant, Michelin stars, charcuterie and Country ham in Kentucky. Let me know if there are any other podcasts you like (on any topic, but especially food!)
Filed under Links
For all of you graphic design lovers out there, Free Vintage Posters has a pretty nice collection of food-related posters and vintage advertisements from around the world (which happen to be free for you to use!). The above turn-of-the-century ad is for the French cookie company Pernot, which was operational from 1869 to 1963. Now why don’t ads look like this anymore?
Filed under Design and Photography
As you have surely heard by now, Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday at the age of 95 after a long illness. The great humanitarian was a multifaceted man, and often spoke of food in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Speaking of one of his favorite dishes, amasi (traditional South African fermented milk), Mandela wrote to his wife Winnie from prison:
“How I long for amasi , thick and sour! You know darling there is one respect in which I dwarf all my contemporaries or at least about which I can confidently claim to be second to none – healthy appetite.”
Nelson Mandela and his chef Xoliswa Ndoyiya
His personal chef since 1992, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, published a cookbook, “Ukutya Kwasekhaya: Tastes from Nelson Mandela’s Kitchen,” filled with his favorite recipes. “Ukutya Kwasekhaya” means home “home cooking” in Xhosa, Nelson Mandela’s first language, and the recipes in the book exemplify the hearty and delicious home cooking of South Africa: sweet chicken, umphokoqo (corn porridge), and umsila wenkomo (oxtail-stew).
However, this isn’t the only book about Nelson Mandela and food. Anna Trapido’s book “Hunger For Freedom” weaves stories about food into Mandela’s biography. Trapido’s book includes recipes by other chefs that were among Mandela’s favorites, including stuffed crabs and chicken curry. I think we will try some recipes in tribute.
The holiday season is upon us – and that means food – and especially sweets – are out in full force! One of the biggest sweet-filled holidays in Central Europe is right around the corner: St. Nicholas Day. On the Eve of St. Nicholas Day (called Deň Sv. Mikuláša in Slovak), children leave out their boots in the hopes that they will get a special treat from St. Nicholas, perhaps some fruit, or if they are lucky, candy! This tradition is similar to other countries, such as the celebration of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. If you’re looking to learn about Czech candies, Prague Artel blog has a comprehensive guide about some of the most famous varieties (we think Kofila looks especially delicious). You can get your fix of Czech / Slovak candies at Slovczechvar.com and Equ.inox has reviews of both Czech and Slovak chocolates. For something a little more substantial, check out these St. Nicholas moon cookies.
Candy-filled shoes for St. Nicholas Day – by Major Bonnet
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Some of our good friends are from Costa Rica and we would love to visit them there in the near future! Now we even have more incentive, Forbes has an article about the hidden foodie side of Costa Rica. Everyone knows that Costa Rica has beautiful nature, but its food is nothing to scoff at.
Costa Rican Lunch by RK and Tina
Filed under Links
Happy Hanukkah! Along with Hanukkah comes a plethora of latke recipes, and who doesn’t enjoy a good potato pancake? One of the most interesting traditions surrounding latkes is the annual “Latke vs. Hamantash” debate – an annual scholarly event where the merits of latkes and hamantashen (pastries traditionally served during the Purim holiday) are debated. The event was first held at University of Chicago in 1946, and is held yearly on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The event has become increasingly famous over the years, and has even spread to different universities. Despite its storied and lengthy history, the debate has never been definitively won. Which side are you on?
I think we’re on the side of the latkes
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Eating The World 