JTravel

Fabulous!!!!!!!!! The local life, being so different from what any tourist can experience is a real eye opener. Always enjoy your posts, and this is the BEST. More Please.

Thanks for this view of how it is in the big city. Fascinating. As an old grouch I am amazed that people in apartment buildings seem eager to have guests, whom they don't know, and who only come for goodies. We live on a busy street in the burbs which is not conducive to walking....no kids in neighborhood, so no goblins for several years. I enjoyed it when neighbor kids used to visit. Off to Wegmans to see if they have marked down the candy, it's good for holiday baking.

It WAS a delicious lunch and had the element of being something I hadn't eaten before. Such a treat to find such a place.

The other 3 college roommates were oonvinced by me to try Polska Chata "Homemade Perogies" this week. We had a fun time and even the skeptic said "it was better than I expected" ...and licked her plate. It is a little house on a side street in an eastern suburb. Downstairs is a Polish deli and a couple of tables. Up the steep stairs is a room with the look of an ethnic hall, lots of signs of love of Poland. The waitress was very helpful which was good since there was no lunch menu as such.....just smaller portions of dinner dishes. All got sorted out in a bit. Two of us had the "plate" with a taste of several things. There was a cabbage roll, a big chunk of Kielbasa sausage, 2 potato perogies,a good portion of bigos, and a folded potato pancake. There was some sauce (gravy?) on the cabbage roll and it was tasty too. The pancake was an upgrade, raising the price, over mashed potatoes, by $2., to $12. Well worth it. The sausage, made in house was wonderful, it's a raw kind which is baked till crispy outside and tender inside. I bought a couple to bring home and they were delicious. The BIGOS was the hit of the plate. It is called a stew, but is really a long cooked saurkraut with more cabbage and bits and pieces of ham and sausage and other meats. I guess when you have a deli you have lots of bits and pieces and it was fabulous. Our sandwich lover had the kielbasa sandwich, served with a white roll, AND 2 slices of rye bread....plus the bigos which she also enjoyed. Our other companion had just the pancake plate (7.95) with 2 big pancakes plus sour cream and applesauce. To my taste they needed a bit of that sausage but it made a good meat free lunch and she was content. A good time was had, in a very different place, where the cook cooked for us and the food was truly homemade with care.

This is very exciting stuff to me. We aren't coming for the Expo, but if all goes well the World Canals Conference will be in the area in 2012. We will be based someplace along the Grand Canal. I know, that's a long time to wait. But now I can "study up" on where to go, and more importantly, where and what to eat. I am so looking forward to it as our only trip to China was a tour, with somewhat dumbed down food. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are 4 college roommates who have reconnected in the last few years. We graduated from SUNY Geneseo (NY) in the mid 60s. YES, we're getting old. But once a month or so, sometimes with non-local friends joining in we go for lunch. This is not an adventurous eating group, but we enjoy conversation and food. Last week was one of our better choices: Palmer's (I have a hard time not adding "meat market"). As the sign says they have been around a long time with a reputation for great quality. So now they have branched out into serving food. This store/market/restaurant is close by the old location in the Regional (mostly wholesale) Market. It is unusual in that it is still a fish/meat market, but now they have added a large seating area for eating in. Take out seemed popular too. You choose from the brochure/menu, and/or from the various blackboards with specials. It's all counter service but food is delivered to your table. Some items like sides are on display and there is an open kitchen though you can't see the food prep. Most things are +/- $10. plus bottled drinks. We had 4 items and everyone was very happy. I took home half of my grilled shrimp and bacon sandwich with potato salad. The huge Rueben sandwich looked great, wonderfully grilled and oozing cheese. It was pronounced very tasty. The pulled pork sandwich was large and came with a big pile of french fries. I could see that the grilled chicken on the Ceasar Salad was very tender and moist. Next time I will have the fish fry....lots of those being sold and looking good. After lunch we checked out the fish and meat and in house made sausages. Everything looked top rate, with prices to match. Having forgotten my cooler I passed on meat though the sausage and ground beef did tempt me. There are no thrift stores nearby, but separately I think we all managed to hit The Christmas Tree Shop. End of September it's Polish....another opportunity to get home made sausage.

Not to say that I wouldn't love shows on any of the Asian cuisines that each deserve a season of their own. Can you imagine, a Thai person, and perhaps a Thai/American, going from area to area showing us what people eat, and then preparing a couple of things. Travel, scenery, info, daily life, food, recipes....That is my dream show.

Maybe even one show, with a progression of "locals" showing their market (I am a market lover) and then a couple more shows in each locale. There are people "here" on eGullet that could do that. When foodtv first came on there was David Rosengarten "Taste", with an episode on "mushrooms" or some other ingredient. Info on ingredient, history, and a couple of recipes. Loved it. It's when I started getting into food. But no flames into the air, no tension, no competition.

From the sublime stuff to basic Rochester stuff. The summer issue of "edible Finger Lakes" magazine has an article titled : "The Dog Has It's Day...Hots are Haute Cuisine in Rochchacha" Talks about our hot "history" and features DogTown on Monroe Ave. http://www.ediblecommunities.com/fingerlakes/summer-2010/eater-at-large.htm Also articles about salt potatoes, farming, wine, local products, eating. You can pick up a free paper copy at Hedonist Chocolates,,,,or read it online.

The current issue of "edible Finger Lakes" has a nice article about salt potatoes: http://www.ediblecommunities.com/fingerlakes/summer-2010/iconic-foods.htm Nice magazine about the bounty of our part of the world.

Cleveland, that's only a day away from Western NY. I'll need the whole year to think of something to make since I'm only a home cook with no speciality. This 2010 event looked amazing! I've enjoyed reading the ins and outs of the planning and then the many events. It all made me very jealous too.

We were touring the middle of the country ....and following a theme....I found 2 of these Villeroy and Boch mugs in a shop in small town Nebraska. Not my favorite design, who knew there were "naif" lions. But for $1. each I couldn't resist. Gave them a good scrubbing and we used them as our personal glasses for the rest of our travels. Mine has the little "dip" in the paint, I think it's cute, but it is probably a defect. Apparently rare....tempted to sell them.

I am enjoying the reports so much, would surely be happy to see an update from you too FoodMan, I loved your food lessons.

I think the curtains are probably "voile".....very fine and strong. I buy it in a fabric store, wash it before using, and it is much neater and easier to use than cheese cloth. I have never drained the yogurt quite to rolling balls level, mainly do spread. Will have to try it.

That breakfast bread looks great. I suppose it is easy to find and cheap so nobody bothers to make it at home. But I'd sure like to try it....crispy bread and sweet creamy cheese....wonderful.

Years ago, at a garage sale, I found a Braun multi tasker sort of processor. On it's last legs now, I keep looking for a new processor. BUT this may be my best value find, wasn't looking but couldn't resist. At our church's "summer fest"......booths on the parking lot.....a Dansk, made in France enamel loaf pan....marked $5.,he took $3. It's French's Mustart yellow, but I'm not complaining.

This is EXACTLY what I like best about eGullet....on the scene reporting of products and meals and anything to do with food. It reminds me of the "blog about your food life for a week" feature that first attrached me to eG. Blog on, and recipes, or techniques would be great too.

I have no ancient rocks, nor crock pots with low heat, and sadly no cast iron. What I have is these 2 forks with bone(?) handles, always called Granny forks in our house. From my mother, from her mother I believe. I use them daily. The round thing is labeled "Swirl Mixer" made, in of all places ....Rochester, NY. I can remember my mother always used it to shake together milk (possibly water) and flour to make thickening for gravy. As I got older I was allowed to shake it. Just had to make sure the lid was really pushed on. Each ridge denotes a measurement so even though it's not see through it is a most useful multi tasker. A much used reminder of old times.

In the Rochester area you can buy them in the supermarket....I think it is 4 pounds of little potatoes and a packet of salt. It gives directions on the potato bag.....how much water basically. Anyone with a large pot can do it themselves.

Thick homemade yogurt with a REALLY ripe banana mashed into it. Of course over cereal would make it a meal.

OH PLEASE do tell the rest of us what they are....pictures would be good.

Excellent , both the wit and the timing. This week for first time ever I bought one of those "merry go round" roasted chickens at Sam's. I can cook a chicken lots of ways, but I haven't done a roasted one in years. DH got several meals of plain meat, with or without barbeque sauce over the top. I did two different Chinese stir fry type things and threw in chopped chicken at the end. Made steamed Chinese buns and stuffed chicken mixture inside. All in all it served the purpose of simple meals. Next time I will try one from Wegmans, they have different seasonings. The spatchcocked one on grill does sound tempting though.

[quote name='nakji' date='23 May 2010 - I will never get to "live" overseas at my age. I do love to hear about the daily food life of those that do. We do usually get to go someplace, usually tropical, in February so we can enjoy fresh things. What gets me is that when I tell friends about the great produce we can eat overseas they resist believing me. They do not want to hear that "3rd world places" might actually have something tastier and better than we do. Wonderful baby bok choi this year in Vietnam, and I always think of the delicious Turkish tomatoes....just a couple examples. And the eggs!

Oh, I see myself here is so many things......romaine (but rarely lettuce as DH will eat that every night). It's a good thing cabbage lasts a long time, I always "think" I will use it right up. I wish I could buy 3 sprigs of cilantro for Just the one dish I'm making. I think this is why I don't use fresh herbs, you buy a bunch which costs more than the chicken breast you're putting it with.....and you only use a fraction of it. More guilt at not growing a nice pot of herbs each summer. How hard could that be. I am trying to break myself of the "stock up, it's cheap" habit which has left me with inferior salsas and other jarred things to be dumped on compost years later.