New Blog: p(l)easant food - a food adventure

The Plastic Spoon Traveller blog is on a little vacation.

Check it out the new one I'm really excited about:

http://pleasantfood.blogspot.com

p(l)easant food is a diary of my adventures in the kitchen and my world travels through local restaurants and grocery stores.

Wheel Bound Adventure Hound

WheelAdventure.com

A great new site devoted to travelling on wheels is rolling. My friend and co-worker Matt Getze has been working night, day and all times in between, setting this site up. It's dedicated to travel advice for the disabled and adventurous. He takes the travails out of travelling for those who seek out accessible accommodations.

Check it out, and pass it on!

Oasis in Pittsburgh

Three Rivers Arts Festival
Point State Park
Pittsburgh, PA

No matter how beautiful a place is when you're on the road, consistency becomes predictable, and predictability is not what one looks for during a journey – especially when the experiment involves local cuisine.

The gorgeous mountainsides are coated in mid afternoon mist; the winding back roads reflect the last of the day's sun in the freshly blacktopped asphalt. The fireflies in the large evergreens glow at night like perpetual blinking Christmas lights. The obligatory shot of whiskey at dinner calms the nerves after nearly crapping your pants a thousand times because your boyfriend likes to keep up with the local drivers down the tight winding hillside roads. Deep breath… but the annoyingly consistent part of a journey through the Midwest is the lack of affordable restaurants that provide a healthy, interesting adventure of their own. The Midwest isn’t exactly known for their good food; I mean, whoever heard of the amazing Amish dish in Mesopotamia, OH? It’s just a meal there, and the more consistent, the better.

But in Pittsburg, we found an oasis of culinary delights at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Point State Park. You can count on the cities and college towns to have something else to eat, and if you happen to land on an arts festival, you score big time. Now, there wasn't anything new to sample; the usual carnival crap food was there as a rule, but the giant plate of tabouli and with a side of tzatziki and warmed pita bread coursed through my veins, clearing out the clogs forming in my arteries from the butter-intensive cuisine that's as much trouble as a Hollywood starlet who has just fired her manager.

If you haven’t been to Pittsburg and stay away because its most famous nickname isn’t too appealing (S***sburg), you’re really missing out on an interesting town. Once we were out of the woods, literally, and knowingly approaching the city, I wasn’t expecting anything impressive - so when we drove through the big tunnel separating the familiar with the fantastically dynamic downtown area, I saw a metropolis sitting in a bowl surrounded by a large river like a moat protecting a forgotten castle of long ago... what a great town.

Pittsburg is what I imagine Chicago must have looked like if it hadn’t been reinvented after the Great Fire. The buildings tell stories that can only be told in Manhattan of days that are fading into legends.

More later… maybe.

Candle Light Dinner and White Castle Burgers

Bizzaro World - we did NOT*** visit a White Castle anywhere on our trip, FYI... Just thought you might find this article entertaining. Tell me what you think. From MediaPost Daily: News Brief

White Castle Offers Candlelight Dining

Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008 5:00 AM ET

WHITE CASTLE RESTAURANTS ARE OFFERING reserved seating for candlelight dining on Thursday, Valentine's Day, from 5 to 8 p.m. "Not only can cravers dine with candlelight, but the tables will be adorned with decorations and customers will be presented with a special menu and will receive table side service," the company said in a release. White Castle was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. The company owns and operates over 400 units in 11 states. --Nina M. Lentini *** As Derek reminded me in the comments (ignorance of this incident was bliss) we DID visit a White Castle right outside of New York City in Newark, NJ. I don't know what got into us...

Stonewalled in West Virginia

Downtown Bar (possibly High Life Lounge)

Up the street from the cool Court House building with the

Stonewall Jackson historical marker in front.

Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia
(photo from Wikipedia)

Clarksburg is sadly one of the many towns in the Rust Belt in serious need of revitalization. What once was a booming town of industry, and in this case glass manufacturing, now appears to only exist on tax revenue from Wal-Mart and chain food. A quick look on Wikipedia found that it's also the home of the FBI's Criminal Justice I.S. Division (they maintain fingerprint archives). Who knew? Also keept secret from any wandering tourist were any interesting food finds.

However, found in the sad state of the once busy downtown area the (seemingly) only independently owned new business was from a nice guy with nothing to lose (seriously, even he didn't have hope for his business), who was taking a stab at reintroducing downtown to the locals with a couple of pool tables, a karaoke machine, a deep fryer and booze.

We were the other peeps in the place that night. My memory recalls only a trio of women celebrating a birthday, or something... lively ladies... they filled a lot of space in the place (clearing throat). The owner was the bartender and, we think, also the cook. Either that, or he was having to check on the lonely soul in the kitchen and wake him when the fryer timer went off. Not a big deal, the potato skins and fish and chips were not bad... not homemade... just fine. He kept the beer flowing and entertained us with his his life story and provided us with a Clift's notes history of the little town that once did really well until the manufacturing of glass in the area disappeared to probably some foreign country.

It's a gorgeous town, though. Neat little homes stuck to the sides of the hill sides on windy little roads. Beautiful old structures built during the hay day and historical markers every 10 feet in the old district to remind people of the way they were.

Happy New Year!

Black-eyed peas!

If you grew up in the south, like I did, our one big New Year's tradition is to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.

The tradition goes back to post Civil War South. Black-eyed peas were an import from Africa and considered animal feed (hum...), not suitable for human consumption, and were spared from being stolen by the Northerners who apparently were not done punishing the Southerners. The southern survivors kept up this poetic and philosophical tradition of starting the year off by reminding themselves of where they've been and how far they've risen out of the ashes.

Along with the tradition of starting off humbly is the much more fun superstitious version that I was only this year made aware of: coins and bills. Apparently the little beans represent coins and the greens are supposed to represent bills. So eating a bowl of black-eyed peas and greens is supposed to bring you wealth, or something like that. I like this one too, because if you start your year off living a frugal life, you'll probably have reserves by the end of the year.

With or without tradition and philosophy, black-eyed peas are tasty, even if you over-cook them into mush, like I did this year. But they had flavor, were low-fat and worked rather well over raw kale salad and steamed rice.

Lori's 2008 New Year's Black-eyed peas:

Boil the dried black-eyed peas for 10 minutes on New Year's eve in your brand new Le Creuset enameled cast iron oval French oven (so much for starting off humbly --- hehehe - thank you, Laci!) and set aside until the next day - put in fridge after cooled. Throw back onto the stove the next morning and add chopped garlic and leeks, or whatever aromatics you have around - remember, the idea is to use what you have on hand. Luckily, I also had on hand some soy sauce and beef broth for added flavor. Salt and pepper, of course. As my brother-in-law pointed out, yes, they resembled refried beans, but they were tasty!

A Little Salad with Your Dressing?

BBQ Joint on the Ohio
Somewhere, WV


Good, healthy food is reserved for home. Apparently, when you go out it's time to indulge, and any self-respecting restaurant will be sure to entertain your indulgences. However, when you're trying to eat healthy on the road, your gas mileage will undoubtedly increase from pulling the weight of all that indulgence - thus ending your adventure sooner than you would have preferred. So when we stopped on the Ohio river in West Virginia for a bite, I ordered a salad - a BBQ pork salad:

• Medium sized plate - good size, with enough iceberg lettuce so it looked like I was being served a pile of lettuce dumped on the table.

• Generous serving of BBQ pork - and tasty too.

• A small soup BOWL of ranch dressing on the side.

The waitress came back to check on us to see if we needed a fresh Coors Light or... more ranch dressing. I thought she was kidding. She wasn't. I suppose the salad was supposed to have been added to the bowl of dressing - YIKES!

It would be heaven to draw up a pint of ranch dressing whenever the moment calls and gulp it down without the hell of having to shop for larger jeans as a result, and although this is beautiful West Virginia, it's still far away from Heaven and ranch cannot be the main course. Oh well, so much for dreams and healthy eating! Gas her up!

Anyway, I'm looking for this place - I can't quite figure out where exactly it was, but it had a nice view of the Ohio river (see pix below), a place for boats to dock, and a visit from the castoffs of the 2005 season of Survivor. If anyone's seen it, please post it!

Free Rice

Play a game and help end world hunger:

http://freerice.com/

Kentucky Fried Samosas

Kashmir Indian Restaurant
341 S Limestone
Lexington, Kentucky 40508

Paint-by-Numbers Restaurant (and so can you!!)

A major goal of this roadtrip was to avoid fast-food and chain restaurants whenever possible. What was really disappointing was that most of the non-chain restaurants were just a replica of fast-food and chain restaurant menus.

We could predict correctly without even bothering to open the menu what we would find: some kind of quesadilla, hot wings, dips, chips and more fried crap for appetizers; the same, forgettable cheese covered iceberg salad offerings with the regular set of creamy dressings; you've-seen-em-a-thousand-times-sandwich/burger lunch options; and for dinner, the regular beef and chicken dishes with a potato and your choice of a badly neglected and probably overcooked vegetable; some crappy pastas... forget the fried fish… I'm depressed.

We were just about to lose hope and grab a sub sandwich from you-know-where, until our theory of staying close to university campuses came through for us again: Kashmir Indian Restaurant. We showed up a little late for the lunch buffet - not a samosa left - but we licked the chaffing dishes clean of any trace of vindaloo, paneer, and daal. There was not a kernel of basmati rice or a crumb of pakora left by the time we were done. Good stuff.

This little mom and pop place could use an extreme make-over, or at least a good scrub down, but what does it matter when the food is perfect?

In the beginning:

Indian food was a scary thing to be avoided throughout the first part of my life – there was not a single Indian restaurant (and still isn’t) anywhere close to where I grew up. My first encounter was visiting a friend’s house in the Westside of Chicago. She was apparently the only non-Indian in the building, and it was dinner time. Having never known anything about it – the aromas wafting through the hot staircase (that would now have my mouth watering) turned me off. That friend warned me that unless you grew up eating it it was likely to make you sick. I know it’s stupid, but conjure up your 12 year old spirit and say "Udupi"– that was the likely result.

FOOLS!

My first experience was in Chicago – late ‘90s:
Sher-A-Punjab
2510 W. Devon St.
(Devon St is also referred to as Sari-town and the tastiest street in Chicago)
Chicago, IL 60659

This place is the definition of a greasy spoon dive. The greasy, dusty fake flowers on the tables, the dingy walls, the out-of-date décor fed into my fears of a likely horrible outcome. A table is pointed out to you and before your beverages hit the table, bright red sizzling tandoori chicken is served to you on a cast iron plate with a basket of hot, fresh naan (or is it paratha - I get confused).

From the first bite, I was in love. It was a taste sensation. I was a believer, evangelizing this wonderful food that was rich, savory, spicy, fresh, filling, comforting, warming, cooling… I can go on and on. It was like I had never eaten before, and it’s arguable that I ever had until this moment. The world blew up for me, all of a sudden, I realized what the world had to offer. And so the adventure began.

J

The best samosa I've ever had is at a little incense saturated take-out place that also serves Soul Food on the South Side of Chicago:

Rajun Cajun
1459 E 53rd St
Chicago, IL

I like a buffet, especially for Indian and it seems like the more casual the place, the better the food. So it's no surprise that my current, favorite local Southern Indian (vegetarian) fare would be located in a little grocery store:

India Sweets and Spices
9409 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Or any of their LA locations

I've only eaten at this location, which is really a grocery store with take-out. The ladies that work there are not really waitresses, because it’s not really a restaurant. However, they are much friendlier if you order it to-go. DON'T FORGET TO TIP!!!KARMA!!!

There is only one warning. I'm not sure what they are, but they're pickled, spicy, and taste like they've gone bad -- which is probably what has happened to them, and you only seem to get them if you ask and if you dine on the patio furniture outside (no inside tables). Maybe someone can fill me in on this little digestive aid that tastes like you should at least start hallucinating - cuz I don't don't know what they are - they're just called "pickles." They're for the experienced and prepared - there's nothing like them.

They are not are not shy with the spice here, nor do you miss the meat. It's perfect for vegetarians. My major beef with vegetarian food is that it's usually a vegetarian version of a meat dish, but with Southern Indian, they've mastered savory without any sad imitations. They've been doing this for a couple thousand years, so the recipes are beyond perfected, and although I'm not an expert, I'd say this is the real deal.

German Sausage - Columbus, OH

While beer is still fresh on the mind, let's talk about sausage. There are wonderful combinations that we could discuss endlessly, but sausage and beer tops the chart in the Plastic Spoon Traveller's world. And as my favorite hot dog place, Hot Doug's in Chicago, quotes: "There are no two finer words in the English language than 'encased meats' my friend."

Let that rest on your mind like a perfect steak hot off the grill...

Hot Doug's (the coolest restaurant owner)
The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium
3324 North California, Chicago, IL 60618
Phone: (773) 279-9550
Fax: (773) 279-9553
http://www.hotdougs.com/default.htm


Columbus, OH

Columbus, Ohio is a surprisingly lovely little city. Right in the heart of the mid-west there are some pretty rocking-cool people who love great music, great food and a great time. So when in the area, and looking for a little adventure, head to the Short North neighborhood off High St. for a good time.

Oh, yeah, and if you happen to show up to the city and it looks deserted... there's probably football on.

Go Buckeyes!

We were too early for our original dining option, Barcelona, a "tux to tennis shoes" bistro we'd been before in the German Village (look for Schiller Park on the map), and we weren't willing to wait until they opened for dinner... we'd already found a parking spot. A very good mutual friend of ours used to work there - Hi Holly - and introduced us to this very cool restaurant and neighborhood.

At the end of one of these gentle German Village blocks was a charming looking place that looked promising. And it was! Finally, something interesting, and it's called Schmidt's Autobahn Buffet. I wanted to try it all, but German food isn't exactly light, so choosing carefully, I started with their house sausage called the"Bahama Mama." Lovely natural casing link of spiced pork and beef, hickory-smoked to a juicy perfection. They had a "Milder Mama" but the regular "mama" wasn't at all spicy to this native Texan, so I passed on going milder for the Brat and Knockwurst. They also brewed their own beer, so there was no going wrong here!

As much as I enjoy meat, it's only half the meal without lovingly made accompaniments. This was not to be a disappointment either, the green bean and Spatzel, German potato salad (sorry Homer), applesauce, kraut, red cabbage, and a giant creme puff for dessert meant that this place was serious about their food, and that's why they've been around for a long, long time and will stick around for even longer.

I left that place feeling like a juicy, stuffed sausage (in natural casing, of course)!


Schmidt's Restaurant
Und Sausage Haus
German Village
240 East Kossuth Street
Columbus, Ohio 43216
http://www.schmidthaus.com/index.html