Entries tagged with 'history'
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Katsu, katsu, and more katsu Sushi and udon are popular Japanese dishes, but have you ever eaten Napolitan spaghetti (spaghetti rinsed in cold water and stir-fried with vegetables in ketchup) or menchi katsu (deep-fried breaded hamburger) at a Japanese restaurant? The New York Times profiles yoshoku cuisine, the Japanese take on Western food that originated in the mid-1850s and has since become an integral part of Japanese cuisine. Besides ketchup-ed spaghetti and deep-fried hamburger, yoshoku cuisine includes curry (thick and stew-like), omu rice (an omelet stuffed with ketchup-flavored rice), and tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet)....
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Why are eggs closely tied with Easter? Why do we paint them different colors? And what's with all the bunny-related imagery? Get some basic answers from Food Timeline's page about the history and symbolism of Easter foods....
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Before they took the form of tiny, oval-shaped blobs, jelly beans started off as cylindrical candy-coated bits of Turkish Delights. Learn more about "the secret life of jelly beans" from the Los Angeles Times....
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A nonic pint (left) and a tulip pint (right) flank fish and chips at Mc Donagh's, Galway, Ireland Not all pint glasses are created equal. In Ireland and Great Britain the internal volume of so-called "pint glasses" is regulated by state authorities in accordance with the imperial system of measure. As such, a state sanctioned pint glass (indicated by an official mark etched on each glass: a crown in the U.K., a circle bisected by a wavy line in the Republic of Ireland, or, in accordance with recent standards set to unify the mark throughout the European Union, the letters “CE” *) must hold a minimum of 20 imperial fluid ounces (the equivalent of about 19 US fluid ounces,...
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Omu-rice and pork cutlet curry. You may not think of fried mashed potato patties or beef stew served with rice when craving Japanese food, but these dishes of Western origins are popular in Japanese cuisine. Mari Kanazawa of Watashi to Tokyo explains the origins of some of these Japanese-Western dishes and where you're most likely to find them in Tokyo....
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It seems that there is a lot of curiosity and/or confusion about red velvet cake and its origins. Though, as far I know, nobody has managed to verify the cake’s exact genesis, here is what I have pieced together from my own observations and research.
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NPR has an interesting piece on civil engineering professor and author Henry Petroski and his new book The Toothpick, which chronicles the history of the device. Fun facts: Neanderthals used them; in ancient Rome, Nero showed up at a banquet sucking on a silver one; at least one Japanese manufacturer is so guarded with its trade secrets that it does not allow visitors to its factory. [via Boing Boing]...
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Can you picture then-congressman Richard M. Nixon stuffing his face with meatloaf? Well, he did, and historic Martin's Tavern in Georgetown— where the stuffing used to happen— isn't keeping it a secret. With Meatloaf Appreciation Day just five days away, Martin's is serving the pâté wannabe at this week's Taste of Georgetown, a street fair-cum–gorge fest where nearby restaurants show off mini entrée portions. During the 1940s and '50s, Nixon used to sit at booth No. 2 at Martin's Tavern, a quintessentially Washington power-hitters spot. His usual order? The M-loaf. And this weekend, Martin's will be serving $5 sample portions from—get this—an authentic Watergate Hotel chafing dish! Last month, the Watergate complex was hosting a blow-out liquidation sale inspired by...
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October is Filipino American History Month, and on that note, Filipino food blogger Marvin over at Burnt Lumpia (tagline: "Finding identity through food") posits a theory that his peeps may have had a hand in helping create gumbo: So what’s all this have to do with Gumbo you ask? Well, given these facts, one can conclude that like the French Acadians (roux), Africans (okra), and Choctaw Indians (File powder), perhaps Filipinos (shrimp) can be included in the melting pot that is Gumbo. I won’t go so far as to say that Filipinos are responsible for shrimp being an ingredient in some Gumbos, but I will venture to say that Filipinos at least contributed to this fact. We were, after all,...
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Via blogger Jason Kottke, a snip from the first restaurant review in the New York Times: Very well," replied the editor-in-chief. "Dine somewhere else to-day and somewhere else to-morrow. I wish you to dine everywhere, -- from the Astor House Restaurant to the smallest description of dining saloon in the City, in order that you may furnish an account of all these places. The cashier will pay your expenses." It dates to New Year's Day 1859, and was unearthed by the blogger shortly after the Times opened up access to the site for free. Here's the full PDF....
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