TrippyFood.com

"The Gastro and Petrol Report"

Writing and enjoying a Gateway of India beer...

Archive for January, 2010

In Defense Of The Twinkie

Jan 25

Posted by val in Trippy Food (Tasty flora and fauna), USA | 3 Comments

Deep fried Twinkies
The Chip Shop (New York City), The Dessert Factory (Pasadena, CA)

The taste sensation sweeping the nation - fried TwinkieThe taste sensation sweeping the nation - fried Twinkie

How can something so wrong be so right? Just the thought of eating a Twinkie sends a chemically-induced sugar rush up the back of my spine, so what would prompt me to brave the cellophane-wrapped snack that looks like Sponge Bob’s coffin? The opportunity to have it deep-fried. There was still a high degree of risk, but I wanted to see what the frying process did to make this foam brick from Hell edible (or more inedible). The invention of the deep fried Twinkie in 1992 is said to be attributed Shea Apple, a transplant from Great Britain who opened a chip shop in Brooklyn, New York (appropriately named “The Chip Shop”). Unlike your neighborhood chip shop (or “chippy” in the UK), The Chip Shop batters and fries everything that will survive the Frialator including pizza, macaroni and cheese, and Mars Bars. After experimenting with various snack items, he found the Twinkie to fry up quite nicely. They use the same batter used for frying fish (for the fish and chips); it is served sliced lengthwise, dusted with powdered sugar, sitting on a berry sauce-drizzled plate. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , ,

Spam, Wonderful Spam!

Jan 18

Posted by val in Trippy Food (Tasty flora and fauna), Trippy Happenings (Events), USA | 8 Comments

SPAM (Honolulu, Hawaii and Austin, Texas)

SPAM, wonderful SPAMSPAM, wonderful SPAM

What do you mean, “Ech”? I’m not sure where Spam gets its bad reputation; perhaps it’s because it comes in a can. Food snobs turn their nose up at it, likening it to the meat version of Cheez Whiz. Even the great food explorer Andrew Zimmern expresses his disdain for it. You know a food is feared when people prefer blowfish to it, but Spam also generates somewhat of a cult following. We’ll talk about where Spam gets elevated to cause célèbre status, but first let’s discuss its humble origin. Spam was originally made by Hormel Foods of Austin, Minnesota way back in 1937. Although alternating versions of the name attribute it to an alliteration of “Shoulder of Pork and hAM” or the simpler “SPiced HAM”, Hormel maintains that the name is an adjective, and insists that it is spelled with all upper-case letters. One of my personal favorite plays on the acronym is “Something Posing As Meat.” The ingredients state it is chopped pork shoulder with added ham meat. It gained a surge in popularity during World War II, especially in Hawaii where fresh meat was difficult to come by. American soldiers ate it with most of their meals, and it continues to be eaten by more Hawaiians that anywhere else on earth per capita. As I discovered on a trip to Austin, Minnesota (for non-Spam purposes), you can smell it throughout the town (those of you living near Heinz in Pittsburgh or General Foods in Woburn, Massachusetts know what I’m talking about). Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Postcards From Hell

Jan 11

Posted by val in Trippy Trips (On the road and overseas, things to see along the way), USA | No Comments

Hell, Michigan

Greetings from sunny HellGreetings from sunny Hell

What could give your bragging about having been to Hell and back more street cred than a trip to Hell, Michigan? Think about the joy of having a point of reference the next time someone says, “It’s hotter than Hell today”, or to truly know what a snowball’s chance there is. Don’t let the name fool you – although it would be fun to provide pictures of Death Valley or Kilauea and let you believe this is what Hell looks like, this couldn’t be farther from the truth; I would liken parts of nearby Detroit as more befitting the name of Hell. The tiny town is about 20 miles from Ann Arbor as the crow flies (you can substitute a raven if you’d like) and as is true of much of that region of the Midwest it is relatively flat. The drive takes you through picturesque green rolling pasture and farmland, and while the road to Hell is assumed to be paved with good intentions, I am sorry to report that it is smooth, well-kept asphalt – not even brimstone!

The road to Hell is paved with asphaltThe road to Hell is paved with asphalt

The origin of the name is up for debate – the general consensus is that original settler George Reeves was asked what the new town should be named and replied, “You can name it Hell for all I care” and so it has been since 1841. The town’s primary source of income appears to be tourism, aside from the small local farms. The town’s population had dwindled over the years down to a modest 50 people back in the 1990s, but its lure as a place to say you’ve been to has boosted the recent population to over 250. A single green “Hell” sign on the highway lets you know you’re headed straight to hell; it isn’t until you drive into what can roughly be called “downtown” that you know you’re there. There are three buildings of note, each next to each other. The first is a general store with a tiny post office in the back. You can buy souvenirs here, including T-shirts from the fictional Dam University (yes, they read “Dam U”) and postcards which can be conveniently sent from the general store post office with a Hell, Michigan postmark (although they are served by the post office in adjacent Pinckney).

The dam on Hell CreekThe dam on Hell Creek

Walking across the parking lot there is a tall post with signs showing the direction and distances of major world cities; at the end is the Screams Ice Cream parlor. The outside wall facing the parking lot is a favorite photo opportunity – since being converted from a liquor store they have changed the artwork to a more flame-oriented logo, still providing the perfect backdrop for those lovable family photos. Unfortunately in the renovation they also removed the freestanding “Welcome to Hell” sign that stood out front. Moving down the road is the Dam Site Inn, a small restaurant on the banks of Hell Creek with a view of the creek and it’s infamous dam. Suffice it to say the dam on Hell Creek is one of the town’s main attractions and the place to determine exactly when Hell freezes over.

The townsfolk are friendly and eager to serve (you, not Satan) and take a lighthearted approach to the town’s name and reputation, a veritable yearlong Halloween party. It isn’t the kind of place you’d want to stay for a few days (you would suffer boredom long before fear), but if you’re in the area it’s worth a visit. Take my friendly advice and when in the Ann Arbor area, go to Hell!

Hell, Michigan
Post Office / General Store
4025 Patterson Lake Road
Pinckney, MI 48169-8739
GPS Coordinates: 42°26’3.87″N 83°59’6.94″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s visit to Hell, Michigan

Tags: , ,

Right Is Right And Left Is Wrong

Jan 1

Posted by val in Trippy Trips (On the road and overseas, things to see along the way), USA | No Comments

Pasadena, California
Fork in the Road

The fork in the road at the fork in the roadThe fork in the road at the fork in the road

The road to life often forks, leaving you to wonder which path to take. At the intersections of Pasadena Avenue and St. John Avenue in Pasadena, California you can only go right, but you may want to linger for a bit to admire the fork itself. Local artist Ken Marshall erected an 18-foot tall steel-reinforced wooden fork at the intersection of the two streets as a prank for the birthday of The Ice House founder Bob Stane’s 75th birthday during Halloween in 2009. A permit is required when erecting public art in Pasadena, but men dressed as CalTrans workers erected the sculpture surreptitiously in the middle of the night. Pasadena’s mayor has expressed no desire to have it removed, noting that it brings people to the area and has a positive impact on the community, but the traffic island is under the jurisdiction of CalTrans and may eventually have to be removed. The fork is painted silver, but the fact that it is made of wood may make it temporary anyway.

You can eat a lot of meat with this forkYou can eat a lot of meat with this fork

The fork is not the first of its kind, nor is it the largest. In 2000, artist Stephen Schreiber created a 31-foot tall fork from steel and aluminum, also located at a fork in the road in Milan, New York. A giant steel fork in Springfield, Missouri stands outside an ad agency – it was originally in front of an Italian restaurant but purchased and moved when the restaurant went out of business. Although probably the largest fork in the world, it is disqualified here since it not only doesn’t stand at a fork in the road, but also is hidden behind the building. The Pasadena fork can safely be called the largest wooden fork in the world. Recently a food drive was successfully conducted at the site of the fork, and with all the positive publicity it will probably be around for awhile, or at least until they’re told to get the fork out of here.

Forks in the Road:
Intersection of Pasadena and St. John Avenues
Pasadena, CA 91105
GPS coordinates: 34°7’51.81″N 118°9’17.27″W

Intersection of New York 199 and New York 308
Milan, NY 12571
GPS coordinates: 41°58’13.52″N 73°49’15.23″W

Large fork:
2215 W Chesterfield Blvd.
Springfield, MO 65807
GPS coordinates: 37°8’43.49″N 93°19’23.81″W

Tags: , , ,