The Eastern States Expo 2008

Ahh … The Eastern States Expo, the Northeast’s largest harvest festival.  Also known as The Big E.  I try to make it to the Big E every year but I have unfortunately missed the last two years.  This year we attended with our friends Christine and Justin.  The Big E is a haven for agriculture, entertainment, arts, crafts, and most importantly, food.  Once again I had to rely on my trusty BlackBerry for the pictures.  One of these days I’ll actually remember to bring the good camera, I promise.

Our 2008 trip to the Big E started off with beer and fried vegetables.  We got the sampler platter that included: onions, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and potatoes.  We also splurged the extra $.50 for the dipping sauce (ranch I believe it was).  Like most fair foods this tasted better than it looked.  The batter the vegetables were dipped in was unflavored but stuck really well to the veggies, which is a big plus in my book.  The sauce reminded me of a thick salad dressing but not quite as potent of a flavor.  I assume this was due to less vinegar than normally used.  Also, notice the 4 cups half full (or empty) of beer.

Next we moved on to my favorite fair food ever … Corndogs!  I go to the same stand every year to get my “first corndog of the season”.  Usually we go to the Big E the first weekend it is open with visits to several other smaller more local fairs for the remainder of the season.  This years scheduling got a little out of hand and this was my ONLY corndog of the season.  *sob*  The wife gets a little grossed out when it comes to hotdogs on a stick dipped in corn bread batter and deep fried so I got two for myself and one for Justin.  Yeah, his wife doesn’t like them either.  Anyway, what can I say about a corndog?  They’re delicious.  Corndogs are like the comfort food of fairs.  If you’ve never had one, you are missing out on a huge piece of Americana.  And the only, I repeat, ONLY condiment that should ever see a corndog is plain yellow mustard.

Next we decided it was time to drink more beers.  These came from the Guiness/Harp/Smithwick’s booth.  Justin is modeling our 2 Harp’s and 2 Smithwick’s.  This was round one.  Another followed.  

After a parade including the Budweiser Clydesdale horses pulling the cart with the signature Dalmatian on top, we moved on to my wife’s favorite fair food, fried dough.  I attempted to take a picture of it, but she had inhaled most of it before I even got my phone out of my pocket.  So for your viewing pleasure, this is all I got.  Fried dough is definitely a harvest festival “delicacy”.  You may be able to find it elsewhere, but it does not come close to ones you can find at New England harvest festivals.  I don’t know if it’s the water, the air, or the old dirty oil.  The dough is fried perfectly to the point of crispiness on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The sauce (most likely from a jar) was very lightly seasoned.  The cheese, Parmesan from a jar, is loaded on to the amount of your liking.  In my wife’s case that’s a lot.  I know it’s not gourmet but it doesn’t have to be fancy to be good.

After wandering around a bit, drinking more beers, and stopping off for a cheeseburger (it was nothing special so we’ll skip over that) I found another stand selling another great fair food.  You can make pierogis at home, but mine never come out tasting this good.  By this time I was pretty stuffed so I just went with a small plate of kielbasa & cheese.  I even skipped the dipping sauce (which is just sour cream).  These pierogis are doughier than the store bought ones and filled with much more filling.  They are boiled then fried on a flat top griddle.  The frying gives them a nice carmelization on the outside and adds a nice, almost crunchy, texture to the chewy outside and soft creamy inside.  

Just after this the wife and I got a veggie filled potato.  I can’t seem to find the picture of it but it was loaded with all sorts of steamed vegetables like broccoli, carrots, squash, and others.  It was then topped with a liquid molten cheese product.  It was insanely hot and we had to wait for it to cool down before we ate it.  To me it was a little plain.  Nothing really had any flavor to it, not even the cheese.  I prefer my baked potatoes with bacon & cheese (at least my fair potatoes).  

Each of the states that participates in the Big E has a state building.  The only one we made it to this year was Vermont.  It's chock full of maple syrup products and amazing cheese.  I headed straight for the Ben & Jerry's stand and got me a maple syrup milkshake.  Yes, it's as good as it sounds.  I didn't bother to take a picture because...to be honest I love these shakes so much I didn't want to share, so I had to suck it down as fast as possible.  Since karma is a bitch, my stomach went south after gulping down the large, heavy, thick, creamy milkshake.  It was delicious, but I paid for it afterwards.  

I’m pretty sure I missed a few small things we ate along the way, but it was a fairly warm day and I had to keep drinking beer to stay cool.  At one point I just forgot to take pictures.  For that, I apologize.  I’ll behave more next time so I can provide you with a more detailed story of my experience.    

Mediterranean Pt 4

As you have seen by our pictures so far we love to eat healthy.  So when we got to Barcelona we knew we would have a spectacular meal of tapas.  Tapas are similar to our version of appetizers in that you order several plates for the table and everyone shares.  Tapas are a foodies dream come true.  A cornucopia of food served in small portions making the sampling of exotic dishes easier on the waistline.  As soon as we got off the ship we headed towards Las Ramblas (a.k.a. La Rambla) in downtown Barcelona.  We had heard from several of our friends that this was the place to go when in Barcelona.  It was a bit more run down than I expected, but there were some highlights, such as street performers and shops like this (The wife wouldn’t let me go in)

After browsing the streets, we got hungry, so we headed down to the newest part of Las Ramblas, known as Rambla de Mar.  It is a beautiful wooden dock open only to foot traffic that crosses over the channel for the town marina.  There is even a “draw bridge” that swings open like a gate to allow sail boats passage.  

After browsing a few menus, we ended up at Tapasbar.  (Side note: This is a chain restaurant of sorts.  I assume the menus at the other locations are similar, as with the food quality.)  The menu selection was rather large.  We started off with a few beers (of course).  This time we were served Estrella.  It was very crisp, similar in color to American lagers but with a more bitter after taste.  After downing the first one we ordered a second round along with some lunch.  We ordered some fried peppers, meat skewers, and potatoes.  

The fried peppers were not spicy but did have a slight kick to them.  They were deep fried with no breading and lightly sprinkled with sea salt.  They had a unique flavor to them, almost similar to a char grilled flavor.  They were very soft and the skin was not as papery as it looked.  

The potatoes were simple white potatoes cut into chunks and deep fried.  They were coated with two sauces.  The white sauce is a simple cheese sauce.  The red/orange sauce was a spicy chili based sauce.  It was a nice balance between the richness of the alfredo-like cheese sauce and the pepper sauce.  The pepper sauce was not *hot* like a hot sauce, but rather full bodied and earthy with a nice, back-of-the-mouth spicy aftertaste.  The flavor was all there, but I would have liked it spicier.  

As for the skewers…well…we ordered the beef skewers.  Although I have my doubts that the type of meat we received was actually beef.  It was dry and tough.  The color did not scream out beef to me, but rather…I have no idea.  It was a tannish grey.  At first I thought veal, but veal would have been tenderer and had more flavor.  It may have been pork as it did resemble an overcooked pork chop.  Whatever it was, we ate it, but it was not that enjoyable.  However, after a few of those large Estrella’s I didn’t really care.  

After enjoying my first true Spanish tapas, we strolled back up Las Ramblas and stopped into a little coffee shop for a cappuccino.  I realize that we had left Italy, but I couldn’t wait to get back.  Next stop, Cannes, France.  

Darbar India - Branford, CT

The other night, for no apparent reason other than the fact that I didn’t want to cook dinner, the wife and I headed out to our favorite local Indian restaurant, Darbar India.  We usually get take out and usually get the same thing every time.  This time, I decided to try something different.  The non-vegetarian smorgasbord meal.  When this thing came out, all I could think was “How the HELL am I supposed to eat all that?”  A large metal dish with a pile of saffron infused basmati rice surrounded by multiple interesting dishes.  Each just a few mouthfuls, but more than enough to fill my stomach.  Luckily, I had the wife to help.  Which also meant I got to take her chicken tikka masala home for lunch the next day.  So, here is what I got, with a brief blurb about each.  The first two I don’t have pictures of.  The others, I only have one.  I’m sorry it’s a crappy picture, but it was dark and the flash was lighting up the dining room and glaring off the shiny metal plates.  

Non-Vegetarian Thali

Choice of soup – Vegetable Dal - Lentil soup with vegetables, wild spices and a twist of lemon.  This was a basic soup.  Think, but not chunky, and the seasonings were very earthy.  It was not too heavy, and actually readied my pallet for the onslaught of flavors to come.

Lamb Samosa - Turnovers stuffed with minced lamb and spices, deep fried in vegetable oil.  One word.  DRY.  Not nearly as good as the vegetarian version.  The meat was like dry seasoned ground beef.  It would have had more flavor if all the saliva in my mouth wasn’t absorbed into it.

The following are on the plate.  Starting with the white dish at about 11:00 and going clockwise…

Dal, Raita, rice, papad, onion chutney – Dal=lentils.  Raita=Cold salty yougurt dish.  Papad=Indian lentil chips.  I’m pretty sure this was the cold white dish, since nothing else matches that description.  First of all, they should have warned me that it was cold.  It tastes like milky yogurt with cucumber in it.  I did not care for it.  Maybe I should have eaten it first, like a second appetizer.  Maybe I should have eaten it last, like a pre-dessert.  Either way, this dish stayed almost full.

Chana Masala – Potatoes and chickpeas cooked with herbs and Indian Spices.  This dish was OK.  I’m not sure I got any potatoes, just chickpeas.  I’m not a huge fan of plain old chickpeas, but the sauce on these was thick and flavorful.  It had a touch of earthy sweetness to it, which I believe was cardamom.  

Dal Makhani – Lentils flavored with freshly ground spices and sautéed in butter.  These were like Indian refried beans.  They were thick and chunky.  They were lightly spiced and not over-bearing with flavor.  To me this seemed to be more of an accompaniment than a stand alone dish.  

Saag Paneer - Fresh chopped spinach cooked with homemade cheese and spices.  I did not care for this at all.  I tried several fork fulls.  The spinach was in a creamed state, except it wasn’t creamed.  There were these chunks of home made Indian cheese.  I’m sure this dish could have been good if it tasted less like thawed out frozen chopped spinach.  Add some salt, a little white pepper, maybe even some garlic.  Then you got yourself a dish.  

Piece of Tandoori Chicken - chicken marinated in yogurt, fresh garlic, and ginger then tenderly spiced.  Baked in a tandoori oven.  If you’ve never had tandoori chicken, or any type of meat, you are missing out.  A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking.  Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 480°C (900°F).  The meat that is cooked in these ovens usually takes on a reddish color and are delicious.  The outside is almost crispy, and the inside is still juicy and seasoned all the way through.  You can get chicken, lamb, shrimp, and several other types of meat prepared this way.  

Seekh Kebab - Minced lamb mixed with green peppers, delicately flavored with ginger, and barbecued on skewers.  This was like an elongated minced lamb meatball.  The spices were a little overpowering, but that seems to be the norm with lamb and middle eastern food (in my experiences so far).  It was a bit on the dry side, but not nearly as dry as the samosa.

Chicken Tikka Masala - Tender skinless and boneless chicken marinated in a blend of ginger, garlic, yogurt and various spices, baked in the tandoor and sautéed with tomatoes, butter and creamy sauce.  This is my favorite dish at this restaurant.  I almost can’t find the words to describe it.  It’s rich, flavorful bright orange sauce with chunks of white chicken meat swimming in it.  Put a few spoonfuls of this over some of the basmati rice and dip your naan bread in the extra sauce.  It’s a full, somewhat earthy flavor.  You can pick out the curry, garlic, ginger, and many more layers of spices and flavors as the food travels from the tip of your tongue to the back of your mouth and finally, down your gullet.  Great, now I’m hungry.

Baigan Bhartha - Eggplant cooked with green peas, onions, and tomatoes; flavored with fresh ginger and spices.  The wife loved this dish.  I should let her write this section since she had more of this that I did.  By the time I got to this dish, my pallet was overrun by flavors.  This dish was sweet and spicy and full of flavor.  It had the normal earthy flavors of the freshly ground spices that is common in Indian cuisine.  I'm pretty sure I tasted some of that cardamom in this dish as well.  

Lamb Curry - Tender cubed lamb cooked in our mildly spiced curry sauce.  This dish seemed to me to be an Indian version of beef stew, except with lamb.  The meat was tender and practically fell apart on my utensil.  It was surrounded by a thick gravy of a chunky curry sauce.  Picture Mom’s beef stew, without the vegetables, and heavily seasoned with exotic spices.  And replace the beef with lamb.  This was the only lamb dish that was not dry.

Choice of bread (Poori or Naan) – Naan.  Unleavened bread that is slapped on the side of the clay oven and baked.  The plain naan is doughy, kind of like a baked version of fried dough, without the sauce and cheese.  It is perfect for sopping up the extra tikka masala sauce.  They also make flavored versions, like garlic.  THis is pictured off to the left.

Dessert (Gulab Jamun) and tea or coffee – Gulab Jamun is some sort of pastry/dough ball fried and smothered in syrup/honey.  It's good.  Sweet and sticky and a nice light end to the bombardment of flavors that is Indian food.  However, they forgot my tea.