Reviews - - Page 8

by Maids

Iowa Doesn’t Have Squat on Minnesota

A week or so ago, BS shared with us the best the Iowa State Fair has to offer. Well, as many of the comments on BS’s post suggested, when you’re talking state fairs and you’re talking food, the Minnesota State Fair is really where it’s at.

Now I really am not one to toot Minnesota’s horn without cause.

I’m an East Coast gal (not born but bred), and I have a sufficiently obnoxious amount of regional and state pride. I attended undergrad in Saint Paul, Minnesota and I was routinely disappointed with a lot of its food: cheese, bagels, pizza, Chinese. I was lactose tolerant then and had to school those MNers about the travesty that is Wisconsin cheddar; the closest thing to a sharp Vermont Cabot was Canadian Black Diamond cheddar.

However, Minnesota has the State Fair food superiority on lock down.

Exhibit 1

Check out the video above by Minnesota Public Radio’s Curtis Gilbert. The dude only eats MN fair food and then visits a doctor to measure the presumptively deleterious effects on his health.

At the fair Gilbert gorged himself on scotch eggs on a stick, big fat bacon on a stick, deep fried gator, deep fried twinkies and pork chops among other foodstuffs (I hope he didn’t forget the fried cheese curds!)

Surprisingly Gilbert finds that binging on the fair food, for one day, actually brings his bad cholesterol level down…Could it be that MN State Fair food is actually good for us? Well the deep fried twinkies most certainly are.

More proof after the jump…

by Maids

Analyzing the Culinary Offerings of Our Former Colonial Overlords (with the Aid of My Comrade in Arms, Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver)

Jamie Oliver lets me snap his pick while thinking up his next culinary masterpiece

Brit, you might not want to read this…..

When I was gallivanting about last month, one of my main priorities (apart from saving humanity and all that) was to understand the cuisine of an obscure little country located on the island of Great Britain—a nation that once struck fear in the hearts of even the most stalwart champions of freedom: England.

This tiny little swath of land, located in the Northern Atlantic, shares land borders with better known Scotland and Wales. Apparently, the citizens of this country “England” were some of the first immigrants to our great nation. Yeah, who knew! Having sampled some of the traditional English fare, I understand why these Englishmen put off the massacre of the indigenous Americans until after they learned some culinary skills from America’s first people.

I found all of this out over a gruesomely disgusting meal of black and white pudding with famous English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. That’s a picture of him pondering the quirks of the English palate above. More on that and some complimentary analysis of the cuisine of our former colonial overlords after the jump.

in Celebs / Food Travel / Personal / Veggie 6 comments

by broadandpattison

These Tacos Are Making Me Thirsty

So, I went to Mexico City. And I survived. And it all happened in Denver. Allow me to explain:

Mexico City is a Mexican restaurant in downtown Denver. They’re famous for their……FRIED TACOS. Don’t believe me? Check out their aptly named website.

The tacos are fried with the cheese embedded in the fried taco shell. In the taco: steak, lettuce, tomato and avocado (a nice touch). The issue with melting the cheese to the fried taco shell is that the distribution of the cheese is somewhat uneven.

Some bites provide cheesy, delicious explosions, while others are dominated by the steak and other toppings. This is why one member of our group exclaimed, “That’s why I order four—to maximize the amount of opportunities for a fried taco/cheese explosion party in my mouth.”

Touche.

in Cheese / Restaurants / Trends 9 comments

by gansie

Flip Flop Inducing Quaffability

In college my favorite beer was Corona and to make sure I could always drink it, I kept a bottle opener on my key chain. I’m sure it was one of those free ones they were always giving away on the quad, probably pushing a new e-book store or some other “student advantage.”

Now though, with Corona off the top spot, I no longer keep an opener with me at all times (although I wouldn’t mind a small, portable wine key on my key chain.) Of course though, I am still faced with the same dreadful situation: a beer and no available opener.

Cue my boyfriend. And his flip flops.

in Drinks 10 comments

by Russell Warnick

Best Food iPhone Apps

The first thing all of my friends would tell you about me is that I’m pseudo-addicted to my iPhone. My better half refers to the gadget as my other boyfriend; in which order he and the device are placed I am yet to figure out. Whether I’m checking my email, tweeting or reading the news, I will always find a reason to play with it.

But one of the more surprising and perhaps most purposeful tools I have found for my iPhone is its usefulness in the kitchen and in the grocery store. There are an unbelievable array of food-related apps on the market, enabling me to plan dinner, make restaurant reservations, research menus for my diet-conscious friends, create a grocery list and even expand my enviro-conscious.

Having downloaded and deleted many, many applications, I thought I would share my favorites so you don’t have to waste your bandwidth. Check out the best after the jump.

in Featured / Personal / Trends 10 comments

by Liza

Culinary Institute of Amazingness

When I told Gansie I was going on a work trip to Hyde Park, NY (home of FDR) she immediately screamed,

OMG that’s where the Culinary Institute of America is!! You have to eat there!

Luckily, the client had the same idea and made reservations at the Institute’s St. Andrew’s Cafe.

When we were driving to the restaurant, it felt like we were at a normal college campus, except all of the students were walking around in chef outfits. And the campus is gorgeous with one building that looks like an Italian villa. There are 6 total restaurant on campus, but I was pretty stoked about the one we went to because it had blooming tomato plants and herb gardens growing around the entrance.

The food was absolutely amazing! I ordered the Pan Seared Salmon (medium) with Saffron Pasta and Tomato Broth, Haricots Verts, Feta Cheese, Kalamata Olives. The pasta was in large ribbons and literally was the best pasta I’ve ever had in my life (I mean I love saffron) and the salmon just melted in my mouth (is that weird?) Everything was seasoned to perfection. I literally don’t know how I managed to hold myself back from licking the plate (which I am prone to do). Well, I did use a piece of bread to basically wipe up every last morsel of deliciousness.

in Desserts 6 comments

by Russell Warnick

Behind the Scenes

Nothing pleases me more than waking up on a weekend morning and switching on the Food Network. I love watching marathons of Iron Chef America or Food Network Challenge, hours and hours of great entertainment. I’ve always wondered what it actually takes to make a food show (even though we’ve all seen behind the scenes footage of our favourite studio audience sitcoms).

A few weeks ago I gate crashed was invited to the filming of Kelsey & Spike Cook, a show of roughly five minute webisodes from Food2.com. Kelsey & Spike Cook is a fun spin on classic dishes. Kelsey, of The Next Food Network Star, tends to go by the book, while former Top Cheftestant, Spike, in true form, turns it around and breaks from the norm of conventional cooking. I actually witnessed him rolling out pastry with the handle of a broom.

Check out those shenanigans and a few behind the scenes secrets after the jump.

in Celebs / TV 6 comments

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