Food Travel - - Page 4

by snebbu

Endless Road Trip: Collingswood Pop Shop

There is more to South Jersey than the Real Housewives: there is food. We were recently visiting to celebrate my future sister-in-law”s birthday and went to the Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ. The name “pop shop” insinuates great ice cream floats, milk shakes, and fountain soda. However, I noticed that every waiter was wearing shirts touting their love for cheese. The shop was featured on Food Network”s Throwdown with Bobby Flay for their grilled cheese. The menu features the sandwiches from the show so some of us got that, while future sister-in-law ordered the trophy of dessert breakfasts – s”mores french toast. Then of course, we all gorged ourselves with desserts. Enough chit chat – on to the food.

S”mores French Toast:

Under the heading of “Fantastic French Toast Dreams,” you will find cinnamon bun french toast, banana”s foster, and even ham and cheese. But then you see the s”mores french toast on the menu and by chance see a waiter flaunting a pile of french toast, graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow on what has to be a silver platter. Clearly someone at the table is ordering the s”mores french toast. Sister-in-law ordered it with a small amount of persuasion from the table and offers to give up half of their sandwich for a bite of the gooey french toast. Well I got my bite in a trade for some bacon and cheese fries. The bite included savory fresh french toast soaked with chocolate sauce. Then the marshmallow sauce that glues the stack of french toast together hits you. Your bite must include a piece of the top of the stack, since that is where the crunch of the graham cracker comes from. While I would never be able to finish an entire dish of it, I would suggest someone at my table order it again.

by snebbu

Endless Pairings: Emeril’s Chophouse

While it’s clear we that love craft beer here at ES, we do not play favorites. Which is why we took advantage of an opportunity to attend a four-course wine pairing dinner at Emeril’s Chophouse at Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA. The event was based on South American Wines (from Chile) and some fall-themed foods. My expectations for this event were pretty simple – learn more about wine (how it’s made, how to choose a wine for particular meals, what’s so special about Chilean wine?), have some great food that I couldn’t have otherwise, and taste wine that truly complements the food I’m eating with the wine. Rather than boring you with my oh-so-important and attention-worthy opinions of every course, I’ll give you the cliff notes version.

First, let’s talk about my educational expectations. Whenever I go to these kinds of events, I want to leave knowing more than I did when I first arrived. The woman in charge of the “educational” aspect of the event was a very well-versed representative from Southern Wine. She did a great job of explaining why she chose Chilean Wines for this event (it is under-represented and often under-rated) and giving a good run-down of the people that made the wine. Something that I appreciated was learning about what the winemakers intended for the wine, what kind of grapes they picked, and why they picked a particular region. For instance, when drinking my favorite wine of the night (Ritual Pinot Noir) I learned that the grapes are pressed with the berries still in a bunch. When this occurs, more pronounced tanin flavors come through in the wine (which is something that I look for in a dry red). The one thing that was missing from the education aspect of the event was that she really did not discuss why she chose the particular wine for each course. Like I said – she gave great information about the wines, but not as much about why the wine was chosen for the courses.

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by snebbu

Endless Spirits: Manatawny Still Works

Craft spirits are becoming increasingly popular. Yes — “craft spirits” is a thing.

The Manatawny Still Works is a craft distillery in Pottstown, PA across the street from Sly Fox Brewery. The still works creates whiskey and rum from beginning to end and re-distills vodka. Surprisingly, Pennsylvania is one of the most welcoming states to distilleries; it is just hard to distribute the product once made. But why, the small town of Pottstown, PA? Possibly because the still works creates their wash in the brew house at Sly Fox.

Manatawny Still Works is located in an industrial park building with an open setup where you can sit at the bar, look to your left, and see the stills in action. You may even be able to catch a Manatawny bottling party. Whenever the still works is going to bottle a spirit, they make an announcement on facebook for volunteers to come in and help bottle. In return, the volunteers earn an employee discount for the day, free food, and an exclusive t-shirt that says “will work for whiskey.”

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by snebbu

Endless Beers: Cape May Brewing Company

The fiance and I frequent Wildwood, New Jersey throughout the summer months. We’ve found the food and drink spots to avoid, and determined our “go to” spots. The one thing I was missing was local craft beer. In the past couple of years, I noticed a “Cape May IPA” popping up at the local bars. Finally I realized that the Cape May Brewing Company is located just miles away. Housing several fermentation tanks, small brew kettles, and various bearded men, the Cape May Brewing company is making its mark on the New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia craft beer market.

The founders of the brewery (Chris and Ryan) are South Jersey residents and wanted to have a craft beer that was locally brewed. Unfortunately, there were few options. After some careful planning, the Cape May Brewing Company opened in July of 2011 and began brewing various beers to satisfy their urges. In only three years, the brewery (and taproom)’s reach continues to grow. A larger brew house is in the plans to help them fulfill their distribution wait list of 60 + vendors.

The taproom manager, Jim gives the tour and is well versed in the history and the making of their beer. Jim moved over to working in a brewery after working as a bartender for several years. Jim never really liked beer since he was tasting the water-like substance many of us call “big beer.” However, he visited the taproom and they gave him a flight of various beers to taste. Since then, he’s been hooked on beer. Jim’s advice to craft beer “novices” or noobs is to go to a brewery, order a flight, and keep give it a try.

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by snebbu

A Very Dogfish Vacay: The Brewery

Where beer is made. Brewery tours vary in size, location, and even in stories (and in free samples). I’ve noticed that some breweries just tell you how beer is made and dump you off at the pub for you to buy any of the beers. Others give more personalized tours and offer plenty of free samples. Dogfish Head was the best brewery tour to date. Of course, that may be because we got a private tour from an off-centered employee (thanks Senovia!) But before we get started, just imagine what you think the brewery looks like. Now, imagine that times ten. The brewery is part of a large amount of land that is practically becoming the dogfish campus. This includes an insulated pipe line that runs the beer from the brew house to bottling. Oh yeah, and an industrial-aged tree house where they hold their administrative meetings.

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by snebbu

A Very Dogfish Vacay: The Brew Pub

Next stop in Delaware: the Brew Pub. The Brew Pub is located in Rehoboth Beach, DE. While the pub serves some tasty foods, let’s be honest—it’s all about the beer. The Brew Pub is where Sam Caglione started the brewery. While the main “flagship” brews are made at the brewery in Milton, every beer starts as an experimental in the Brew Pub. This means that here you are likely trying a beer that you may never be able to have again. You are helping decide the fate of the precious suds we’ve all learned to love and enjoy.

When we visited, there were several rarities for us to try. The best bet is going with a flight and picking either the most outrageous brews available, or those that you’ve never had before. From there, you can decide which brews you’d like to have again and again before you leave the pub. While it is home of many rarities, it also has just about everyone of their seasonal and flagships. But you can get those just about anywhere. Go for the ones that you may never be able to get again. The brew pub also has signature beer cocktails that are worth a try.

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by snebbu

A Very Dogfish Vacay: The Inn

Many think of Delaware for its fun, party-hopping beach towns. I think of beer. We went down for a long weekend to enjoy the beaches and of course – Dogfish Head Brewery. As I looked into the trip, I noticed that the Dogfish Inn just opened and we decided to try it out for a night. Dogfish Head is slowly taking over the entire territory of Delaware Beaches. The Inn is located in Lewes, DE, which is conveniently between the brew pub and the brewery. Originally, Dogfish started a “360 Experience” where customers could stay at a specific hotel and were given preferential treatment at both the brew pub and the brewery. Then, one day Sam Caglione (Founder of Dogfish Head Brewery) noticed an Inn up for sale and took advantage of the opportunity. Now, the experience is truly 360 from beginning to end.

We didn’t know what to expect except for what the reviews said. I read early on that the Inn does not supply or sell beer. I was disappointed to begin with, since I am staying at an Inn created by the mind behind Dogfish Head Brewery. One of the first questions I asked is why they don’t sell or provide beer. The innkeeper, Andrew (who has a very admirable and thick beard) explained that Sam did not want to open up further competition in the town of Lewes. Since Sam is a resident of Lewes, he wanted to promote business at the local eateries and bars. Every night, the inn posts which local bars and restaurants have what Dogfish brews on tap. We asked the staff about several of the restaurants, and they were very knowledgeable about the best food and best prices. They will also call ahead if you want to eat at the Brew Pub, or if you want to take a tour. The Inn will make the arrangements for you.

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