Forking Tasty

Texas Is All Texas

Just want to send a quick post. I have been traveling a bunch, what else is new, and I was in a hotel in Texas for breakfast before heading to work. I ordered an omelet at the omelet station. Before he was finished making my western omelet I noticed he had a waffle iron. The last homemade waffle I had was on the ship. They always made perfectly round and crispy waffles. With that in mind, I ended up ordering one. When he put it on my plate I couldn’t believe the shape. Only in Texas! Oh and yes, they go big in Texas, I could only finish southern Texas.

I wish he put the waffle on my plate so Texas was facing the right way.

Porkopolis

I have recently been in Cincinnati and my co workers and I were headed to the Red and Giants game on a rainy Tuesday night. We decided to get some food before the game instead of eating hot dogs all night. We stopped off at Local 127 and was not sure what we were getting into but there was a giant pig in the middle of the restaurant. That is always a good sign.

Secret Tea in Camden Market

We all know the British love their tea. With the rise of the Starbucks era you might feel the age old tradition of tea time fading. At least visually speaking. As you scan the street landscape you’re more apt to find a coffee shop than a tea shop. Don’t get me wrong, you can still grab a wonderful cup of tea at any corner shop in London, just follow the builders. The difference is in how you enjoy that cup of tea. Sitting in a Cafe Nero or a Costa Coffee provides that quiet, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere “tea time” used to include. The problem is that these shops are strongly centered around coffee. From what’s in your cup to the same named cake available under the glass counter, it seems like tea is fitting in less and less with our go-go-go world. From a visitors perspective, one of the MUST DO’s when in Britain is to properly enjoy a proper cup of tea. (Take note of that double “proper”) I hunted for this but with no luck. Then I stumbled into the quintessential tea experience in the last place I ever thought possible…

Foreign No Frills

As a quick follow up to a post about my love of less options and simply designed generic products, Marks + Spencers of London has a nice approach. Not as clean as Canada’s Loblaw’s and certainly not hitting the Pathmark NO FRILLS circa 1978 gold standard but commendable.

A more modern design style with a bit more color and imagery used but it still has a clean and very direct communication of the product. In may cases the ingredients are treated with the same necessity to communicate quickly and strongly. On the jump is…

The Cali Burger In Queens

This morning I woke up with a craving for a burger. I have not had one in a while and it is typically a staple in my food regiment. I was by myself for the day and wanted to go to a spot in my neighborhood that I’ve always wanted to want try but never get a chance to go. We all have a place like that in our neighborhood. Today was my day to go after it. The place I am referring to is Petey’s Burgers. I am glad I finally got off my butt and made it there….

Moti Mahal vs Tayyabs

You can’t go to London without having some Indian food. It’s so synonymous with British cuisine that it’s referred to as, well…British cuisine. On this trip I hit two semi-famous local spots. They were drastically different in ever way; location, ambiance, food and price. I’m going to take them one by one to breakdown the tasty and terrible but know now they are both outstanding in their own way. First up…

Butter Knife Cut Steak

I had some work in Minneapolis recently and after a long day the team decided on steaks for dinner. Murray’s is one of the more known steak houses as well as one of the last family owned in the twin cities. Our waitress was wonderful, she has been there 40 years and her husband who is the butcher has been there 35 years. That is a long time of delicious beef. The team and I indulged into a few appetizers before we ordered our steaks. Shrimp wrapped in bacon, escargot, and mac & cheese followed by caesar salads…

Pubbed

Most of you, I am sure, are familiar with the English pub. After this past weekend’s alcoholic debauchery in green t-shirts, face stickers and tights I’m sure some of you are wishing you were not as familiar as you are. I realize Irish Pub’s and English Pub’s are different. I am not a fool. With this context in mind, American’s idea of a pub doesn’t really have clear distinction between the two. Of course, there is a big difference. For me to explain that I’d need to visit Ireland or chat with my buddy @Mulls on the nuances. For this post “The Pub”, in general, is what’s in discussion. Irish or English need not matter. @Mulls once told me that each family has a pub where they all gather for weddings, funerals and, yes celebrating saints. Much like the Italian dining rom table, the pub is like an extended living room. Adults, kids and friends are all welcome any day, any time.

I recently visited with my British pal Patrick who’s childhood buddy was also on Holiday at his house. As boys will do, we got talking about the good old days and their trials and tribulations in England. It was suggested, not by myself, that drinking was becoming an epidemic in England. Each weekend ending with trashed public property and littered streets not to mention the run on suchers and butterfly bandages at the local ER. Neither of them could pin point why this behavior has evolved to be the norm but they both agreed it has become a problem both for the general public and for the individuals personal health. The point to all this is, there is more to do in a pub than…

NOLA Po-Boy, Oh-Boy!

New orleans is a town filled with great people, great music, and even better food. It is such a great town to eat your way through. One of the more popular dishes to eat in New Orleans is the Po-Boy Sandwich. There are many po-boys to choose from along with many place to choose from to get your po-boy. The southerner and her family joined me at one of the more famous restaurants for po-boys at Mother’s.

A Deep Look At The Deep Dish Pizza

I knew Jay did a post on Chicago’s deep dish pizza but I didn’t realize jays post was at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. His post was called Pizzacake. I did my own take on my first Deep Dish Pizza while I was in Chicago recently. Jay and I have similar taste when it come’s to our pizza.   Sorry Chicago good but not the best!