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Archive for category Tasty Animals

I Think I’ll Go Eat Worms

Mar 14

Posted by val in Events, Tasty Animals, USA | No Comments

Eat Bug Eat Event

Machine Project, Los Angeles, California

Cooking the wriggling superworms

Cooking the wriggling superworms

Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a worm as “any of numerous relatively small elongated usually naked and soft-bodied animals (as a grub, pinworm, tapeworm, shipworm, or slowworm)”. In my mind, I picture the night crawlers I used to get to go fishing in Barton Creek, but since the term applies to the shape of these invertebrates, it also covers the creepy crawly larval stage of beetles, butterflies and moths. When I head that Machine Project (a storefront space that experiments in technology, science, and the arts) was holding an event entitled “Eat Bug Eat”, I was intrigued. Although it sounds like the title of a Japanese monster movie, the event was held to educate people in the culture and custom of eating insects. Although I’d eaten insects many times before, from the crunchy snack-like hormigas culonas to the grassy-tasting silkworm pupae, I succumbed to the come-hither of wax moth larvae tacos. Read the rest of this entry »

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There’s Always Room

Mar 8

Posted by val in Asia, Europe, Tasty Animals, USA | 6 Comments

Gelatin

United States, Great Britain and Asia

Coffee jello at Durgin Park in Boston

Coffee jello at Durgin Park in Boston

Oh, poor misunderstood gelatin! Anything resembling gelatin has been given the name “jello” by Americans (“jelly” by the British), although Jell-O is actually a trademark of one brand of commercially available gelatin. Gelatin in its pure form is clear and practically tasteless; it is typically manufactured by boiling down the bones, connective tissues, organs and the hides of cattle, pigs and/or horses in order to extract the collagen (sounds tasty, doesn’t it?). Surely you remember as a kid when mom boiled that ham for a New England boiled dinner, popping the remains into the fridge – when that door swung open the next day, voila! – gelatin. Serving just the gelatin became popular way back in the late 1800s, although it required the aforementioned cooking down process or buying dried gelatin sheets and purifying and reconstituting them, which quite frankly was a pain in the gluteus maximus. Commercially available powdered gelatin made dessert preparation easier because of two men – Peter Cooper who patented the process of powdering gelatin, and Charles Knox who created and marketed a pre-granulated gelatin. Pearle Wait (who bought Peter Cooper’s patent) added flavoring to the powdered gelatin in 1897 and began marketing it as Jell-O; Knox became known for his unflavored variety. To this day Jell-O (which was manufactured by General Foods) and Knox are both Kraft Foods brands, with Jell-O so popular that the governor of Utah declared it to be the state snack (take that, Illinois, with your stinkin’ popcorn). Read the rest of this entry »

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Cock-a-doodle-doo

Feb 22

Posted by val in Asia, Tasty Animals | 4 Comments

Rooster Testicles

Mon Land Hot Pot City, San Gabriel, CA

Fresh rooster testicles

Fresh rooster testicles

Although I’ve never seen a rooster strutting around the barnyard “balls-out”, I was surprised to learn that they actually have testicles. As a food adventurer, it occurred to me that after having had just about every part of the chicken, I was missing out on this delicacy. Desperate to find them locally, I turned to friend, writer and fellow blogger Eddie Lin who had the balls to suggest Mon Land Hot Pot City in San Gabriel, California (and no, this is not the last of the puns). I enlisted Josh (Trippy Food’s webmaster and usual partner in crime), as well as a few friends to join me in San Gabriel for a sack lunch (I warned you).

Mon Land Hot Pot City - we sat outside

Mon Land Hot Pot City - we sat outside

Since it was a warm, sunny day we opted for the patio and were seated at a table with a stone top, a circular opening neatly cut into it (reminding me of a Korean BBQ). Instead of the familiar grill, our waitress placed a heating unit under the table and into the hole a huge metal bowl partitioned in the middle in the “ying/yang” style of Yunnan Province. One side was filled with a milky, beige broth and the other with a menacingly red one. These were heated to a rolling boil, and the steam coming off the liquid was pure, intoxicating, aromatic bliss. The red broth was spicy, with what appeared to be Tien Tsin chilies drowning in the oily abyss; both sides were flavored liberally with garlic, cloves, ginseng, ginger, goji berries and other unidentified spices. We had ordered our dishes from a pick list, and I was transfixed by the vapor when our food started to arrive. Read the rest of this entry »

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Toast’s Best Friend (Or Worst Enemy)

Feb 15

Posted by val in Europe, Tasty Animals | 3 Comments

United Kingdom
Marmite

Marmite - Love it or Hate it

Marmite - Love it or Hate it

Over the years, I have had the pleasure and opportunity to savor unusual food from across the globe. I have enjoyed guinea pig at at a table where the other diners didn’t like the way the entree was looking at them; I have delighted in the rich, buttery taste of the spiky and odiferous durian, while others were gagging in the bushes. To this day people wonder what is my kryptonite, my gastronomic achilles heel. Surely, there is some food-like substance that has the power to ruin my breakfast. Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let the record state that for the murder of my taste buds, I find the defendant – Marmite – guilty as charged. I’m sure I am going to catch some flak from some of my British counterparts for this, but this is to be expected. In fact, the official Marmite web site is split into two sections accessed from the home page – one for folks who love it, the other for those who hate it. Hate seems like a harsh term, but it adequately describes those who intensley dislike this crime against nature disguising itself as food. Marmite is a spread for toast that is the by-product of beer production; it is a sludge-like substance made from yeast extract. It has the consistency and stickiness of molasses and the taste of salted crankcase oil from an engine run for 100,000 miles. I don’t really have a point of reference here, never having salted crankcase oil, but I’m willing to bet I’m right. Read the rest of this entry »

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In Defense Of The Twinkie

Jan 25

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 2 Comments

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

The taste sensation sweeping the nation - fried Twinkie

The 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 »

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Spam, Wonderful Spam!

Jan 18

Posted by val in Events, Tasty Animals, USA | 6 Comments

SPAM (Honolulu, Hawaii and Austin, Texas)

SPAM, wonderful SPAM

SPAM, 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 »

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Tastes As Great As Its Name

Jan 4

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 4 Comments

Alhambra, California
Stinky tofu and blood soup (Lee’s Garden)

Stinky tofu, no further description needed

Stinky tofu, no further description needed

Think of the gleeful cries of joy when you tell the kids to get in the Wagon Queen Family Truckster for a road trip to get some stinky tofu just like momma used to make. I know, the wave of excitement is indescribable, after all, who wouldn’t want to try the Taiwanese taste treat without having to fly there? If this sounds like you, then I have the answer to your culinary prayers at Lee’s Garden in Alhambra, California. Lee’s Garden is in a storefront of a strip mall that you might drive past several times without realizing it’s there. Hui, a friend who turns us on to some amazing and unusual Chinese cuisine told us about the place and mentioned that they had other food unusual to our Western sensibilities that we might enjoy. The sign is slightly smaller than its next door neighbor, Dr. Lee’s Family Dentistry – I’m not sure if there is a link between the two but I feel not knowing in this case makes me a happier person. Inside is a testament to simplicity – no cork sculptures or laminated panels on the wall here, just tables, chairs and a hand-written menu on a big whiteboard that changes daily. We knew we wanted an order of the stinky tofu (which was listed on the menu as “fried odor bean curd”, a delectable title to be sure), but when I saw pork blood soup and chitterlings with garlic sauce I was sold. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to The Jungle

Dec 15

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 2 Comments

Pasadena, California
Turtle and kangaroo (Luigi Ortega’s)

This is a kangaroo taco - you could accidently eat this

This is a kangaroo taco - you could accidently eat this

With Pasadena’s Luigi Ortega’s being located directly across the street from Pasadena Community College, you would expect to see a noisy, college hangout. Sandwiches and pizza come as no surprise, nor does the East Coast atmosphere. What usually causes a double-take is the Exotic Menu; a separate menu offers dishes such as Gator Pie (a pizza topped with garlic-marinated alligator) and Ostrich Quesadilla (exactly what it sounds like.) For a nominal fee, you can also substitute ostrich, kangaroo, alligator or turtle for meat items on the regular menu (think cheese steak sandwich with kangaroo.) The concept is simple – blur the lines between a Philly or New York pizza and sub shop with a California taco stand. The logo features caricatures of what we can assume to be Luigi and Ortega – Luigi looking like one those ceramic Italian chef utensil holders and Ortega being a throwback to the politically incorrect days of the Frito Bandito. One of the house specialties is a foreboding-sounding “Dr. Death’s Suicide Pie”, a jalapeño pizza topped with 6 whole habañero peppers ( a good late-night drunken dare menu item). Read the rest of this entry »

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Address to a Haggis

Dec 6

Posted by val in Europe, Tasty Animals | 1 Comment

Windsor/Slough, Berkshire, UK
Haggis (Waitrose Supermarket)

A delicious Macsween haggis from Waitrose supermarket

A delicious Macsween haggis from Waitrose supermarket

Although I had been to the UK many times before, I had never tried haggis; I seriously felt I was missing out on something. I was in Slough, UK to interview a candidate for an open position in the company I worked for at the time, and mentioned the omission in my list of unusual food after offering him the job. To get to the Slough office, I boarded the Number 81 bus, passing through the Brunel Bus Station (just like on the opening of the British version of “The Office”). For anyone who has not been to Slough, it is a city just east of London that has been appropriately replaced in the NBC version of “The Office” with Scranton, Pennsylvania. William Herschel, the astronomer who discovered Uranus was not born there, but he did die there. It was deemed such a miserable city that the BBC did a mini-series as a social experiment called “Making Slough Happy.” Slough is like a small Midwest industrial city trapped in the 1970s – there’s a Slough Museum on High Street that could take up a tidy little 10 minutes on your lunch break. It is probably best known for the bleak John Betjeman poem, “Slough.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Meet The Beetles!

Nov 26

Posted by val in Columbia, Tasty Animals, USA | No Comments

Insects: Hormigas Culonas (Leaf-cutter Ants), Beondegi (Silkworm Pupae), Scorpions, Crickets, Chapulines (Grasshoppers), Maguey Worms and Mealworms

Eating a scorpion pop with my I Ate A Bug Club button on

Eating a scorpion pop with my I Ate A Bug Club button on

Nothing bugs me worse than offering someone a tasty insect snack, only to have them cry out in disgust before they even taste them. Throughout history, eating insects has not only been a means of survival (they are generally low in fat and high in protein), but also a rare, expensive or hard-to-find delicacy. Deciding what types of insects to eat and where to find them can be tricky business. Regardless of whether or not they are poisonous, insects found in the city are generally not a good snack choice, since they are besieged by pesticides and exposed to biological material of questionable origin or quality.

A can of silkworm pupae, or fish food, or bird feed - whatever.

A can of silkworm pupae, or fish food, or bird feed - whatever.

Before you hang your head in sorrow and call off your planned dumpster dive, rejoice! Edible insects can be easily purchased if you simply look around. I will briefly talk about the insects I mentioned previously but will share my culinary adventures with each in separate articles. Don’t go Roger Maris on that bee hive hanging from the neighbor’s tree; it will hurt a lot and I doubt you’ll be happy with the result. No doubt you’ve seen tequila with a maguey worm (actually a moth larva) in the bottle; in parts of Mexico, in the Oaxaca region, these are roasted and eaten without the tequila, a delicious and nutritious source of protein. The “worms” found in those tequila-flavored lollipops we all know and love are actually mealworms, the larva of the darkling beetle and staple for reptile pets across America. A co-worker had offered me a handful of BBQ flavored roasted mealworms, and after crunching down on them for a few moments, I decided that I would devour a bag of these little critters before I ever touch another Cheeto. They were crunchy and slightly salty, and would complement a nice oatmeal stout perfectly. Get out the credit card, I’m buying in bulk! Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s Not Easy Eating Green

Nov 21

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 1 Comment

Chinatown, San Francisco, California
Frog with Tender Greens (Uncle’s Cafe)

Frog, the other green meat

Frog, the other green meat

I have long been fascinated with Asian cuisine, a wonderland for the senses – the aromas, the explosion of tastes, the colorful and unusual presentations. San Francisco’s Chinatown is said to be one of the oldest and largest Chinese communities in North America and with an enormous variety of restaurants to choose from I was feeling like a kid in a candy store trying to decide what to get for lunch. To hell with moo goo gai pan, egg rolls and orange chicken – I wanted something they don’t serve at the local Panda Express. Just looking in the windows of some of the markets and restaurants is awe inspiring – strange and exotic vegetables, poultry hanging from hooks, and things even I couldn’t identify.

The menu is on the wall at Uncles Cafe in San Francisco

The menu is on the wall at Uncles Cafe in San Francisco

The heart of Chinatown is accessed by walking up Grant Avnue from Chinatown Gate at the intersection of Bush Street. It seems that no matter where you’re going in San Francisco, it inevitably involves walking up. Take David Lee Roth’s advice and make sure you have sensible shoes. Staying on Grant Avenue doesn’t really offer as many exotic options, as I’m sure they’re trying to entice tourists with American tastes so we walked up Clay Street to a quieter area at Waverly Place and started reading menus. Pausing in front of Uncle’s Cafe, my eyes immediately focused on one menu item – Frog with Tender Greens. Not the wasteful French frog legs, but whole frog. Sorry Kermit, but your cousin is going down! There were some more tradtitional options on the menu that I knew would appeal to my wife, Claudia (she is not as adventurous with food as I am), so I suggested we eat there. Read the rest of this entry »

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Do The Funky Chicken

Nov 15

Posted by val in Columbia, Tasty Animals | No Comments

Ubaté, Cundinamarca, Colombia
Pescuezo de Gallina Relleno (La Chata)

La Chata is proof that the simplest pleasures are the best

La Chata is proof that the simplest pleasures are the best

The food of Colombia is an overwhelming assault on the senses. The rich, hearty cuisine of the people is the ultimate in comfort food, especially if your comfort zone overlaps the twilight zone. I will devote an article on the general food of Columbia, but there are a few culinary treats that deserve their own article, and pescuezo de gallina relleno is one of them. The name literally translates as “stuffed hen neck”, which is as fine a description of the poultry item as you could hope for.

I do not believe there is any question about what that was

I do not believe there is any question about what that was

Pescuezo de gallina relleno is not found across Columbia; it appears to be a specialty of the tiny town of Ubaté, about an hour’s drive to the north of Bogotá. The town is so renowned for their milk production that they have a statue of a cow in the center of the traffic circle as you first enter, past rows of specialty cheese shops. As tempting as the artisan cheeses are, we are on a mission to sample the gallina relleno, and most locals agree that the best is to be found at La Chata. Before images of a colonial-style restaurant with a red tile roof and a maître d’ in quaint ethnic clothing pop into your head, La Chata is essentially a stall in the middle of a row of similar stalls assembled around an open plaza. The stall is open at the front and back and furnished with white picnic tables and a counter where you can watch the food preparation over a wood flame stove. There are no decorations, nothing fancy here – just the sights and sounds of the locals enjoying the food. Read the rest of this entry »

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Can I Get a Danish With That?

Nov 9

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 2 Comments

Solvang, Callifornia

Smörgåsbord (The Red Viking)

Danish pastry (Olsen’s, Mortensen’s)

Caption

This is some great Dane

Today Solvang, California closely resembles a Capraesque Epcot Center pavilion where you’re lucky if you hear anyone speaking Danish. But don’t give up hope – although the city is rife with restaurants catering to American tastes like Subway, Domino’s Pizza and Kabuki Japanese Restaurant (what the H-E-double hockey sticks?) there are a few places where you can sample traditional Danish cuisine. Contrary to popular belief, the cuisine of Denmark does not consist of a Danish and a cup of coffee. Even the “Danish” restaurants have largely American menu items, but the best bang for your buck is at the places that have smörgåsbord (think Danish buffet). The Danes actually refer to this as kolde bord (smörgåsbord being a Swedish word), but the food is typical.

The New Danish Inn on Mission Drive had a decent smörgåsbord, but they have unfortunately closed; you can still head over to The Red Viking on Copenhagen Drive. The decor is much like all the other restaurants in Solvang – posters and maps of Denmark on the walls and rustic Scandinavian farm house motif throughout. Don’t mess with the menu – this is not the time to be thinking about a burger. As you saunter up to the serving table, if you see anything that looks like you can get it at Sizzler, leave it be. Although typical of smörgåsbord, the salad, roast beef, havarti cheese, brændende kærlighed (mashed potatoes) and kartoffelsalat (a potato salad that tastes remarkably like, well, potato salad) are not going to convince you that Danish cuisine is any different than what you can get in Peoria. Read the rest of this entry »

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A Whole Load of Carp

Nov 3

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | No Comments

Omaha, Nebraska

Carp (Joe Tess Place)

Caption

The often maligned, always delicious carp

In my never ending quest to seek out the unusual and unique, I was slightly nervous heading to Omaha, Nebraska. I mean, seriously – Omaha? I’ve always relied on asking the locals (usually at the hotel) where I can get food unique to the area; I’ve only been disappointed once when someone in San Diego directed me to Taco Bell for Mexican food. In this case, the desk clerk asked, “Have you been to Joe Tess?”

There are no fancy awnings or wood-and-rope walkway, no koi pools, no Cape Cod-style affections on the outside; it’s a simple, cinder block building on a residential street.

Since their specialty is seafood, the decor inside looks like someplace you might find on the New Jersey turnpike, like a converted Denny’s with nets, mounted trophy fish and rustic signs on the wall; the bar is shaped like a wooden rowboat. The name bothers me a little – it seems in desperate need of an apostrophe, but hey, it’s not my restaurant.

Caption

The cashier at Joe Tess Place (the fish gave it away)

I know I haven’t presented anything exciting here; Joe Tess Place is a small neighborhood restaurant that started as a tavern in the early 1930s, specializing in seafood… oh, wait, did I say “seafood”? Scratch that – make that freshwater fish (salmon, walleye (pike), catfish, tilapia, trout and carp). Read the rest of this entry »

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They’re So Light and Fluffy White, We’ll Make a Fortune Overnight…

Oct 28

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 2 Comments

Solvang, Callifornia

Danish Pancakes (Paula’s Pancake House)

Danish Pancakes

The lowly pancake, elevated to breakfast of the gods

I know, never heard of Danish pancakes, right? Well up until recently you were in good company, as neither did I. On Mission Drive in Solvang, California, Paula’s Pancake House (no, not House of Pancakes) is a restaurant that appears to be devoted to the shy and seldom seen Danish pancake. A look at the their menu tells you that they’ve jumped on the American fare bandwagon – I’d be embarrassed to be caught publicly ordering a Spanish omelet is Solvang, but if that’s your cup of tea, you can do so at Paula’s. Those of you who know me (and that number is probably a high 6 or 7) know that I can’t go into an eatery and order something normal humans eat – I have a predisposition to find the most unusual thing on the menu. We had a party of 8, and most of our party ordered burgers, sandwiches and soup, but I had to find out what the hoopla was about Danish pancakes. These can be ordered in a variety ways, mostly layered with a variety of fruit. My eyes lit up when I saw that the special was the pancakes “stuffed” with Danish sausage, and I knew that I must have them.

Although I had no preconceived idea of what form this delight would take, I have to admit it was not at all what I expected. The plate arrived with two pancakes, both the size of the large plate. They were thinner than the warm, cozy monsters you get at a traditional pancake house, but not as thin as crepes.

Danish Pancakes

Paulas Pancake House, from Denmark with love

Lifting it’s skirt with a fork, I found diced Danish sausage liberally spread across the area between the two, and the same tossed about the landscape on top. What surprised me the most was that there was a light dusting of powdered sugar on top. The pancakes were light and every bit as tasty as they looked, and each bite was perfectly complemented by the mild taste of the pork sausage. I have to admit, the powdered sugar threw my taste buds off kilter – it added a devious sweet undertone to the dish that I think could would have been delicious without. Read the rest of this entry »

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