Trends

by BS

Putting a Little Luck in Your Mouth

Forget cooking with Guinness. If you want to really taste Ireland in your mouth this St. Patrick’s Day, you should be eating shamrock.

I was previously unaware that lucky four-leaf clovers were actually edible (and I’m still not sure they are). However, Keogh’s, the Irish potato company that has brought us such treasures as roast beef and Irish stout potato chips, is now offering the perfect treat to dip in your pint of green beer: chips with real, 100% Irish shamrock.

Not surprisingly, they expect the snacks to generate the most interest outside of Ireland:

“The idea for a Shamrock crisp came from our absolute pride in being Irish farmers and a constant need to be innovative in our offering, we are very excited about them and already have interest from abroad” Tom Keogh said. They are expecting high demand from abroad for the snack.

Of course, it raises the question, what the hell does shamrock taste like, and should you really be eating it?

More Irish food ideas in Endless St. Patrick’s Day.

by Emily

Drinking the Kool-Aid, Literally

So I was having lunch at a little Thai place, business as usual, when I noticed something interesting on their menu:

Kool-Aid!

Is this a thing in restaurants now? I mean, I had a Tang martini in Philadelphia last fall, but that was alcohol-infused! This is just pure Kool-Aid. Seeing as how a packet of Kool-Aid mix (which will make a whole pitcher – OH YEAAHH!) costs 35 cents, I don’t know that 99 cents a glass is the best deal. I feel kind of like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction — “you don’t put bourbon in it or nothin?”

by ML

Cocktail Trend: Flowers in Our Booze?

We love cooking with booze, eating flowers, and putting booze in our food. So what about flowers in our cocktails?

To celebrate the opening of the Philadelphia Flower Show and the current Van Gogh exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Granite Hill Restaurant is offering a floral-themed Chef’s Table tonight featuring menu items such as quiche lorraine with edible pansies (PANSIES, not panties).

But what really caught my eye is the Van Gogh cocktail. The drink in question is a mixture of Bombay Sapphire gin, crème de Violette, lemon juice and simple syrup, with, yes — a flower floating on top.

Have you ever had flower cocktails, ESers? Yay or nay?

I vote yes, because, for the love of god, IT’S ALCOHOL.

in Drinks / Trends 2 comments

by Emily

Deep-Fried Avocado = Love

It’s no secret that we love avocado here at Endless Simmer. We also love ridiculous fried things. Hell, we’ve even attempted a marriage of the two, although the results were not pretty. As a dedicated ESer and food lover, I’m always on the lookout for yet more avocado creations to embrace, and I just experienced something that will forever change the way I look at sandwiches.

At Gourmands in East Austin, sandwiches are king. And by “king” I mean “GIGANTIC.” I took a chance on my arteries and ordered the Second Deadly Sin: Smoked turkey, bacon, swiss, fried avocado, sprouts, and pesto.

Yes, fried avocado!!! See that crispy, brown thing in the bottom left corner of my mountain of sandwich? FRIED AVOCADO.

I know it might not look like much from this picture, but I assure you, this is a thing of wonder. The best qualities of fried shit: crisp texture, warmth, salty grease — combined with the best of avocado: creamy, cool richness. Smashed onto a ton of meat. What’s not to love?! I hope more restaurants jump on this bandwagon.

in Bacon / Cheese / Fowl / Pig / Restaurants / Sandwich / Trends 5 comments

by BS

New Food Word Alert: Carnevoyeur

Move over, flexitarians. There’s a new ridiculous word for describing how people eat today. Via The Rambling Epicure:

A carnevoyeur is “a vegetarian who derives satisfaction from watching other people eat meat or hearing about the eating of meat.”

It refers to the type of person who says she’s a vegetarian and talks about it ad nauseum, but can’t resist asking if she can have a taste when she sees a plate of boeuf bourguignon or crispy fried bacon.

Know any carnevoyeurs?

in Bacon / Trends / Veggie 3 comments

by BS

Plate It or Hate It

Recent food world discoveries the ES crew is loving and hating

Plate It: Flashlight Grill Tongs

Problem: 60-degree February days means grilling season has started six months early, but it still gets dark outside at 5pm. Solution: Put a light on it! Available from homewetbar.com.

Hate It: Cup-a-Cake

Problem: You need to carry a single cupcake around with you all day, but just hate how the frosting gets all over everything in your purse. Wait, no…Really? Did this need to be invented?