A group of students tracked back the sources of the food found in a taco truck taco. Though some of the food was in fact local, some of the spices had traveled around the world to get there. Makes you think how truly global most eating nowadays is (for better or worse), even when we don’t realize it.
It’s March?
Wow, time flies. This blog has been a bit quiet as of late, but we have a good excuse, we promise. Both eaters are en route to becoming ABD and thus have basically been hunkered down over books and papers…. It’s a hectic time, but once Spring Break comes around, we may have a little more time to update. Especially since one of us is incorporating food culture into our research (good idea!).
Filed under Note
El Bulli to close for good
Contrary to what was previously reported, El Bulli is not going to close temporarily and then be re-imagined. It is going to be closing for good. I had no idea they were losing so much money!
Filed under Links
Canadian treats for the Olympics: Nanaimo Bar
We don’t often feature foods from Canada on ETW, but it’s not for a lack of variety. With the Winter 2010 Olympics (we are both big Olympics fans) being held in Vancouver we decided that we wanted to feature Canadian food more prominently for the duration of the games. So to start off, with we have a Vancouver original with a perplexing name, the Nanaimo bar. Named after a town in British Columbia, the Nanaimo bar is a no-bake dessert with vanilla custard filling, a cookie crumb base and a coating of chocolate. Yum! The Nanaimo bar seems pretty simple to make, but there are certainly many permutations. Chowhound put out a call for the definitive Nanaimo recipe and a recipe from Closet Cooking came out on top.
Filed under Recipes, World Eats
World Eats: Jaffa Cakes from the UK
Jaffa Cake by Stuart Bryant
A co-worker recently got back from the UK and brought back a dozen boxes of Jaffa cakes, specifically McVitie’s, the producers of the original Jaffa Cake in 1927. Jaffa cakes are a soft cookie with a layer of apricot/orange jam on one side, covered in dark chocolate. I am all for the flavor combo of orange and chocolate so these are right up my alley. However, that’s not all there is to the Jaffa cake story, apparently every British snack food maker has their own version of the cake. And moreover, there was some scandal over if they were proerly classified as “cakes” or “cookies” because in the UK cookies get taxed much more steeply than cakes. McVities even went to Inland Renvue to claim their status as ‘cakes.’
Filed under World Eats
El Bulli to Close
El Bulli, the famed Molecular Gastronomic restaurant in Spain, which has often been called the best restaurant in the world – is closing for 2 years, starting in 2012 and will open in 2014 with a completely different concept. Wow – so much for eventually getting there!
Coming in June… Asia Tour 2k10
L and M head to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
We’re excited.
Filed under Note, Quest, World Eats
Fake NYC Restaurant Reviews
The blog Fake NYC Restaurant Reviews is evil genius – and just what it sounds like. If I didn’t know better I’d almost swear some of these could be real.
Filed under Links
So Long Africa Harambee…
…Hello Ethiopian Diamond II. When we visited Africa Harambee over the summer it seemed like it was on death’s door, with nearly zero patronage. While we are sad to see it go, we are happy to see another African Restaurant fill the void – Ethiopian Diamond, who had an ownership interest in Africa Harambee as well. According to Time Out, the menu is similar to the original Ethiopian Diamond location, and while it has been open for a little while, we haven’t ventured to the new location yet at 7537 N. Clark St.
Filed under Reviews
Tapas in Champaign: Cafe Luna [closed]
Cafe Luna
116 North Chestnut Street
Champaign, IL
M went to school in Champaign-Urbana and it’s the source of some of our first food memories – like M’s first Thai food experience. Despite our fond memories, then, as now, Chambana is not known for its range of fine dining options. However, despite a preponderance of pubs and burrito joints, there are always a few diamonds in the rough. Cafe Luna is one of those diamonds, and offers and upscale tapas experience in downtown Champaign.
We arrived at Cafe Luna at 5PM on a Wednesday, not exactly a hopping time, so we received quick and attentive service. Cafe Luna is housed in the former train station, which gives the restaurant an expansive space, which was dimly lit and well appointed with dark wood tables, purple walls.
Cafe Luna has a range of tapas items, for mostly under $10, but it also boasts a selection of larger-sized entrees including bouillabaisse ($18) and yellowfin tuna with an anchovy-caper beurre blanc ($24). In terms of entrees, Cafe Luna features a different risotto every day, when we went the particular variety of risotto was asparagus and Parmesan ($16). The portion was quite large – big enough for both of us to share. While we are something of risotto snobs, Luna’s rendition was very good.
To start off, M and I ordered two tapas to split. First, we had Gruyere crostini ($5), which were four perfect rounds of bread smothered with sauteed mushrooms and melted Gruyère. We also got a tapas order of tuna tartare ($8). The tartare had a citrus dressing, and was almost ceviche-esque, though it is too bad the portion was extremely small.
We were impressed by Cafe Luna’s ambiance and menu, and it’s definitely a place to go when you are looking for something more than takeout pad thai (though there’s nothing wrong with that).
Filed under Reviews
The Decade in Food
New Years Eve in NYC ca. 1913 from the Library of Congress
Not only was yesterday the last day of 2009, it was the last day of the 2000’s (Naughties) or whatnot. So as a final farewell, here are some decade in food wrap ups. Prepare for a lot of looking back on molecular gastronomy, corn, Rachael Ray and organic food.
- A Decade of Food News from Food and Think
- A Decade in Food from Good Magazine
- The Chicago Tribune’s Worst Dining Trends or conversely Chicago Food from the past decade
- Eat Me Daily’s Best Cookbooks of the Decade
- Best Food Books of the Decade from The Guardian
- Ingredient trends from Slashfood
Happy Eating in 2010!
Filed under Links
Ringing in the New Year with a drink for every time zone
2010 is almost here. If you’re looking for a celebratory idea – Chow has an interesting article that gives a different drink for every time zone. Start out slow with water in Kiribati on the International Date Line and finish up with a Lychee-infused Cheehu cocktail in Hawaii
Feeding America: Digitizing Local Cookbooks Throughout History
Feeding America is an interesting project out of Michigan State that is dedicated to digitizing local cookbooks from all eras of American history. I came across this site when I was researching recipes for St. Lucia’s Day, and found a Swedish-American bilingual cookbook from 1897. You can browsw by year or interest, which includes ethnic cookbooks, and then look at pages of the cookbook itself or a trascript of the recipes. Other great finds include Aunt Babette’s Jewish cookbook from 1889 and a Chinese-Japanese Cook Book from 1914.
Boule de Noël Holiday Macaron Boutique in Chicago
Offerings at Boule de Noël
Finally – after 2 years we made it to the macaron boutique at NoMi – Boule de Noël. There wasn’t actually a storefront, just a display case of desserts with a chef standing by to take any orders – it was $9 for three macarons – they couldn’t be bought individually, which was a bit of a bummer. The three flavors on offer were banana, chocolate Grand Marnier and lime mint. We opted for 2 chocolate (of course) and one mint. The presentation, of course was beautiful, and each macaron was picture-perfect and vibrantly colored. The macarons were delicious, too, and practically melted in your mouth, though the chocolate variety was the clear winner. Though a bit pricey, we enjoyed the macarons and are looking forward to next year’s macaron boutique incarnation.
Feast of the 7 Fishes
Feast of the Seven Fishes by Austin Kleon
Have a Merry Christmas this year – and especially a Merry Feast of the Seven Fishes.
Filed under Holidays, World Eats
Tiny Gingerbread House
Christmas is right around the corner and that means gingerbread houses. Who could resist these Not Martha mini gingerbread houses made to perch on your mug [of hot cocoa].
The Ultimate Carnitas in Pilsen: Carnitas Uruapan
Carnitas Uruapan
1725 W 18th St
Chicago, IL 
Here at ETW, we have noticed a couple of trends in our many years of restaurant-going. Food value in relation to quality goes up when owners and employees are primarily speaking a language other than English. Smaller places are better – street places are the best. And the fewer items on a menu, the tastier those items will be. So, if you have a small place with one menu item where nobody is speaking English, you will probably have a great time. Such is the case at Carnitas Uruapan, a small, unsuspecting establishment in Chicago’s predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen, that serves up only one menu item – carnitas – and serves it very well.
The protocol: after walking in, the man behind the counter will greet you in Spanish. Greet him back, and ask for a number of libras (pounds) or carnitas, either mixta (mixed with skin and ears) or not. Say thanks, grab a table, and in a few minutes a large plate of carnitas will appear in front of you. Your server will also bring you a few small Mexican staple extras: the necessary 
complement of corn tortillas, pickled jalapenos and carrots, as well as two salsas: a thinner one with tomatoes and cilantro, and a much spicier, thicker version. After that, the combinations are up to you. We tended to be big fans of throwing everything together in a tortilla and scarfing it down, but then again, the carnitas are wonderful, juicy, and flavorful just on their own. The single pound we ordered turned out to be too much for both of us, so we had some for lunch the next day. Total bill for this feast? $10.
Just as well, the food is accentuated by two factors: the quick, efficient, no-nonsense service (always a plus in our eyes), and the absolutely fantastic pig murals and assorted decorations all around the restaurant.
On a final note, we are yet to be disappointed in Pilsen, either in terms of cultural institutions or eating establishments. Add Carnitas Uruapan to the ever-growing list of must-tries.
Latkes for Hanukkah
The delicious holiday of Hanukkah is underway, and of course this means latkes! Being the starch lover – I am all about latkes, and am always on the hunt for a new spin on a classic dish. The New York Times presents a recipe for red latkes (thanks to the addition of beets). Flickr user TimTom.ch presents a matzo and cottage cheese recipe which sounds (and looks) great. Also at the NYT, Joan Nathan answers readers’ most pressing Hanukkah food questions – Q: What type of oil should you fry up latkes in? A: Olive oil is probably the historically correct way to cook latkes.
Latkes by TimTom.ch
Serbia: Three Brothers
Three Brothers Bar & Restaurant
2414 S Saint Clair St
Milwaukee, WI
Somehow, after following sprawling and oblique Google Maps directions through the spaghetti-highway maze that is Milwaukee, we arrived at the inimitable Three Brothers. It’s a bit tricky to get to, but you’ll know you are in the right place when you see the Victorian building with the blue and green Schlitz globe on the roof. The weather-worn corner building in fact was once a Schlitz tavern.
Once inside, there are a row of formica tables and chairs topped with mismatched china and vintage lamps. A wooden bar runs the length of the rest of the space, though there are in fact no bar stools. Though it may have a humble appearance, Three Brothers is actually a 2002 James Beard winner, and has been run by the Branko Radicevic and his family for over 50 years. We were greeted by a friendly server with a slight accent, perhaps part of Radicevic clan, and we quickly placed an order for burek (more on that later). The menu had a variety of Serbian dishes including pljeskavica, akin to a type of Serbian hamburger, roast pork, cevapici (a blend of grilled beef and veal) and sarma (stuffed cabbage).
We started off the meal with a Serbian Salad, which is not a “salad” in the proper sense of the word – it consisted primarily of salty feta, some green pepper, onions and tomatoes. Not that we had any objections to a salad consisting mostly of cheese. M ordered the Chicken Paprikash, which like most everything at the restaurant was completely over-sized. The dish came with 2 pieces of falling-off the bone chicken, and a rich creamy sauce, with a hint of paprika. But of course the star of the meal was the burek, which every review we have ever seen, raves about. Since we had ordered it when we sat down, it arrived right along with the other entree.
As you can see above – this Burek was no joke. It arrived at our table as big as a dinner plate, and probably about 4 inches tall. Think Greek Spanakopita on steroids. We ordered the cheese burek, which arrived piping hot with loads of feta and spinach sandwiched between layers of buttery phyllo dough. Between the 2 of us we barely ate 1/2 of the burek, which meant we had quite a lovely lunch for the next day. We think it’s garnered its glowing reputation with reason. Though it was hard to get to, making the trek to Three Brothers was definitely worth it for some delicious Serbian food in a friendly family atmosphere. We can understand why it’s been a Milwaukee institution for all these years.
Filed under Reviews
Sweden: Sweet treats for St. Lucia’s Day
It’s that time of year again – St. Lucia’s Day. Up here in Madison the weather has been particularly chilly and snowy – no wonder Scandinavian immigrants were able to thrive here! Reading Sweden’s official website – it was quite entertaining to hear Sweden described as “a culture of food storage.” I guess that makes sense, given the generally inclement weather. If you’re house-bound like us, baking some sweet treats for a traditional St. Lucia’s day feast is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. The Thrifty Fun site has some recipes for Braided St. Lucia’s Day Bread, Pepparkakor and Julglogg. Perhaps the most iconic treat for St. Lucia’s day is Lussekatter, saffron-scented rolls.
Pepparkakor by ProBonoBaker
Filed under Holidays, Recipes, World Eats
Eating The World 