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What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
The flavor is not as important as the texture and consistency. Visit an Indian restaurant or grocery and treat yourself to some cardamom-inflected kulfi. Once you try it, you'll never settle for Ben and/or Jerry again!
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
I've never lived in Iran but I did spend some time there back in the late '90's and discovered an awesome dessert called "Sohan," produced primarily (though not exclusively) in the holy city of Qum. I've never found it here in the States, not even a simulacrum of it and not even at the few Persian restaurants in New York. Nor have I found anything here resembling abgusht, an interesting and (if properly prepared) excellent stew made from lamb, chickpeas and moistened dough.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Taco Bell's Volcano Taco with Lava Sauce Returns to Menus Nationwide
Taco Bell isn't bad as far as fast food is concerned. But under no circumstances should it be confused with Mexican food!
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
The flavor is not as important as the texture and consistency. Visit an Indian restaurant or grocery and treat yourself to some cardamom-inflected kulfi. Once you try it, you'll never settle for Ben and/or Jerry again!
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
I've never lived in Iran but I did spend some time there back in the late '90's and discovered an awesome dessert called "Sohan," produced primarily (though not exclusively) in the holy city of Qum. I've never found it here in the States, not even a simulacrum of it and not even at the few Persian restaurants in New York. Nor have I found anything here resembling abgusht, an interesting and (if properly prepared) excellent stew made from lamb, chickpeas and moistened dough.
Off the Beaten Path: Himalayan Yak Makes a Comeback
I haven't yet found a truly authentic Tibetan restaurant in the U.S.. Tibetans eat a great deal of yak meat (including even yak jerky) and apparently it can't be imported into this country.
Sugar Rush: Kulfi at Dawat
Thanks to my love of Indian food, I discovered kulfi (not to mention chai) long before most anyone else on these shores did. Generally speaking, one should go for the uncomplicated "malai" versions over riskier flavors like mango and coconut. If your neighborhood isn't so blessed with decent Indian restaurants a Canadian company called "Kool Freeze" produces a nice line of frozen kulfi bars (stocked at Whole Food markets)- I'd especially recommend the "Chikoo" variation, made from the sapodilla fruit. Indian desserts have long been regarded as an "acquired taste" (which essentially means "we don't do chocolate"). High-quality kulfi, on the other hand, is at least as good as any gelato, cheesecake or tiramisu you're likely to encounter- and "ras malai" (condensed milk sweetened with rosewater) is even better still!
12 Burgers in 8 Hours, a Burger Bender
Sorry, guys: you missed the boat on this one. I've been consuming burgers in NYC for 57 years and the best (most CONSISTENTLY best) I've encountered are served at the Riviera Cafe on Sheridan Square in Manhattan. I believe they're grilled as opposed to griddled, but...who cares? Good is good.
Taco Bell's Volcano Taco with Lava Sauce Returns to Menus Nationwide
i love love love love love taco bell, and i have never had any digestive problems from this vendor. I have tried the volcano taco, and found it spicy-for spicy's sake, but not flavorful at all! Although I am curious about the burrito's higher meat content, which may make up for the lack-luster flavor of the taco. I guess I am just lucky to have low blood pressure and can have as much sodium as I want, and that my husband has banned me from taco bell except for every 1/300 urges. Haha.
Taco Bell's Volcano Taco with Lava Sauce Returns to Menus Nationwide
I ate a volcano taco and thought it was too hot. I live in Texas and love love love spicy food...go figure.
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
Silver Moon's Praline Irish Creme .... out of this world and favorite sorbet is Silver Moon's Mango Mimosa, so delicious.
Taco Bell's Volcano Taco with Lava Sauce Returns to Menus Nationwide
taco bell isn't that bad for fast food. I'll eat some of the items on the menu, I just make sure i don't get the sour cream. it doesn't taste that great and just adds calories. i still feel better (less full and gross) than when i eat at a "burger" joint. maybe once every two months.
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
Maple Walnut ice cream from Christinas in Boston. Blood Orange sorbet from Ciao Bella.
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
Ditto on the pp who mentioned Publix ice cream. It's awesome! I recently made butterscotch ice cream. In fact. I'm going to finish it off RIGHT NOW.
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
Homemade strawberry ice-cream-although I recently made a great coconut ice-cream http://chocolateandcroissants.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html#5812076674809242402
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
On second thought I wonder why you "need to convince my spouse that "fancy" flavored ice cream." Let your spouse stick to the basics. Nothing wrong with that.
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
Ben and Jerry's Karamel Sutra -- amazing dark chocolate ice cream on one side, very subtle caramel ice cream on the other, and a core of divine gooey caramel stuff. Perfect mixture of tastes.
On the other hand, worth going to Emack and Bolio on 78th and Amsterdam for Cosmic Crunch -- vanilla, I think, with chocolate chunks and pieces of ice cream cone, and maybe some kind of nut -- can't remember, but it's great -- especially with their sublime hot fudge sauce...
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
if you are in texas, anything by blue bell is wonderful.....my faves are key lime pie, mint choc chip and banana pudding. If you are in the Dallas area, try Milwalkee Joe's ice cream parlors..."Grandma Fred's New York Cheesecake" will change your life!
What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
@Embackus - Yes it is indeed a newer flavor and oh so good. I love Kopp's and don't know what I would ever do without them. Their German Apple Struesel is awesome too. We are getting into our ethnic fesitivals season here and Kopps' now runs their Festival of Flavors to correspond with those. This weekend is Polish Fest and on Friday they have Kolacki Custard. I had it last year and it was really, really good. Methinks I'm going to have to get a pint of it this year!
Off the Beaten Path: Java Village, an Indonesian Epiphany in Elmhurst
Not really off the beaten path but rather off the Grand Ave station. The really neat part is is open 'til 1am. Most meals under 6 bucks. Delivery available. If only they @twitter'd.
12 Burgers in 8 Hours, a Burger Bender
You are not a nut, Kenji !!
I, too, had a VERY BLAND burger at the CORNER BISTRO..
and I DID take mine out in that brown PAPER BAG !
The place is so tiny, nowhere hardly to stand, much less sit, so I took it out, and ate it on a nearby sidewalk...
I found the burger VERY mediocre!
And I like your comparison , when you said that one can still tell a supermodel looks like a supermodel even on her worst day!
I write lots of trip reports, complete with pics on Roadfood.com
mostly regarding burgers and pastrami...
ellen4641
eatwithellen.blogspot.com
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
Moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Northern Michigan late last fall, and it seems I miss something else every week...dreaming of falafel this time around. Last week it was Chinese food...Doesn't anyone eat anything but fish or burgers in restaurants up here?
Seems like I have to go from Traverse City to Petoskey to Gaylord just to find somewhat mildly comparable items that I could get in one trip to Trader Joe's. (I could weep thinking of Trader Joe's.) The produce up here is abhorrent.
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
When I lived in France for my job, I desparately missed the all-American backyard burger! They seem to think that a burger was what passed as a burger at McDonald's (which were even a poorer quality than in the US)! Even the restaurants served poor-quality beef. I also missed the quality of meat in general at the local grocery stores. I went to a local grocery store in Behoust France with some collegues from the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. They were amazed at the quality of the meat at the market. I looked at it and thought in the US we wouldn't even sell it to the jails! I have said it before and I will say it again, you don't appreciate what we have in the US until you have traveled to other countries! However, I have spent a lot of time in Australia - and their grocery stores and meat rock!
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
I was born in Texas and when I was six we moved to St. Louis. It was during the depression and my mom was a wonderful cook. Because of her Texas upbringing, chili and tamales were a good part of our diet.
Making tamales was a family affair, on a weekend, my brother and sister and I would help my mom and dad roll the tamales and put them a cooker and it would take most of Sat. and Sun. to complete that job. Than we would eat em and share them with family and friends.
Breakfast, growing up was quiet different than breakfast today or even when my kids were growing up. Biscuit, (homemade) were everyday- Than we would have American cheese melted in butter to spoon on top of the biscuits or cream gravy with chicken fried steak with the biscuits. It's a wonder that my brother, sister or myself did'nt end up weighing a jellion pounds. I guess it was because we walked, rode our bikes or rollerskated everywhere- played baseball and swam all summer each year.
I still have my mothers recipes for her chile and tamales.I've changed them a bit and have won several awards for chili. I must say I make some of the best. Dave Johnson
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
I was born in Texas and when I was six we moved to St. Louis. It was during the depression and my mom was a wonderful cook. Because of her Texas upbringing, chili and tamales were a good part of our diet.
Making tamales was a family affair, on a weekend, my brother and sister and I would help my mom and dad roll the tamales and put them a cooker and it would take most of Sat. and Sun. to complete that job. Than we would eat em and share them with family and friends.
Breakfast, growing up was quiet different than breakfast today or even when my kids were growing up. Biscuit, (homemade) were everyday- Than we would have American cheese melted in butter to spoon on top of the biscuits or cream gravy with chicken fried steak with the biscuits. It's a wonder that my brother, sister or myself did'nt end up weighing a jellion pounds. I guess it was because we walked, rode our bikes or rollerskated everywhere- played baseball and swam all summer each year.
I still have my mothers recipes for her chile and tamales.I've changed them a bit and have won several awards for chili. I must say I make some of the best. Dave Johnson
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
American who was an exchange student to Australia and still seriously misses (even decades later)...
Vegemite (don't hate me for that!)
Milo drink mix
Cadbury's Violet Crumble
meat and mushroom pies
homemade sticky toffee pudding or syrup pudding
Arnott's biscuits (any and all of them!)
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
Venezuelan missing ..... las panaderias = venezuelan bakeries where you can find all kinds of delicious and fresh products anytime of the day!
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
I am a German, living in the US for the past 30 yrs. I miss having so many kinds of yummy breads and rolls the most,
also Nuernberg sausages,
Kohl und Pinkel (a northern German specialty of kale cooked with barley and sausages),
Apfelkuchen (applecake),
the yummy yogurt flavors we don't have here,
turkish Doener Kebab,
mache lettuce,
creamed spinach.
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
Speaking as an American who's traveled extensively:
I miss Knoppers, cheese toasties, sticky toffee pudding, real ale pubs, White Castles, In N Out's and Houston Tex Mex and Texas barbeque.
And since I no longer live in Tampa, FL, I miss Cuban food - it's the greatest there!
MiraFoto - Please send me some Knoppers!!! I was also surprised when my veal I ordered was the consistency of round steak!
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
I am an American (from Texas-Arizona-SoCal) living in Berlin, and while you can get lots of great food here, I would kill for:
Real Mexican food. omg I am dying for a fish taco or a bowl of Posole ...or a Torta from Rancho Mercado in Phoenix...even just some fresh corn tortillas would be heaven.
A decent Burger (they use beef mixed with pork most places here its drives me mad). Mostly I crave In N Out.
Diet Dr. Pepper
A decent cut of beef. I am not even a big meat eater but they cut the beef differently here and its all super tough.
Beans other than Kidney. I actually bring black, pinto, and red beans in my suitcase back with me from the states.
When I leave, I will miss:
the beer, the bakeries, and all the Turkish restaurants.
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
@elvinwei:
Have you tried shopping in Asian markets? Many an import there. Maybe not quite as good as what you remember, but I know they sell several brands of cuttlefish balls at most of them.
If you're near a Chinatown, maybe there's a restaurant or an individual who makes them.
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
i lived in Hong Kong for ten years, there are A LOT of foods that we don't have here in the US, but most of all i miss the cuttlefish balls. they are made from cuttlefish meat, just like meatballs. it makes me want to cry that we don't have them here. i have almost forgotten how they taste. it has been 5 years since i tasted one.
but when i was in Hong Kong i missed Taco Bell, as they don't have any over there. also note that the only good American, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai food there is in high priced restaurants. and none of the "Mexican food" (If you can call it that) is actually anything like Mexican food. as my friends say, "we Chinese people don't like eating them beans" i guess Mexican is not popular there. it sucks.
but still, why would they not have Taco Bell. they have more McDonnald's per square feet than anywhere in the world and not one Taco Bell. curse you.
What do you miss? (to: expats and others!)
from la belle suisse....
zweifel paprika chips and migros ice tea!!!
that stuff is addictive!
ahhh and chocolat chaud.... mmmm
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Taco Bell isn't bad as far as fast food is concerned. But under no circumstances should it be confused with Mexican food!