I just got a reservation for Chris and I at Del Posto for winter break!! I am super excited.
Real posts to come after finals are over.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Last foliage?
Being senior is pretty emotionally draining. Aside from all the typical academic and what-am-I-going-to-do-for-the-rest-of-my-life worries, there are times when I walk around campus and think to myself, oh my god, this is the last time I'm going to be on this particular carrel in McCabe library. Ever. Today is the last day I will sit in this chair in Sci 101, dozing off to the drone of microeconomics. Ever.
Forget honors. These constant reminders of "lasts" are scary.
Forget honors. These constant reminders of "lasts" are scary.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Philly and its food karts
This particular trip into Philly was inspired by this article from Gourmet. I first got to know the food karts the summer of my sophomore year when I stayed at Swarthmore to do research and Chris was living near the UPenn campus. There was this Halal kart right outside his apartment with excellent fallafels and schwarmas and such. I also visited the Crepe shop in Houston Hall in UPenn which used to be a kart but has since moved on. Since then, I've wanted go back and try more karts. This fall break at Swat provided the perfect opportunity.
A couple friends and I ventured into Philly in the morning for a quick tour of the Franklin Institute. It felt more run down than other museums of a similar nature such as the Boston Museum. Many of its exhibits were out of service. But overall, it was still super fun to do silly things like walk through a ginormous human heart and watch an eye dissection.
Exercising to improve our heart, health, and mood!
Jimmy, the chief investigator:
We walked to 33rd and Market, where there were about 5 karts parked pretty close to each other. As we explored our options, we settled on the strategy of divide and conquer. We got something from three karts: Mikey D's Grill (a hoagie stand), Ton-Ton (Japanese), and La Dominique Crepes.
The pork bento box from Ton-Ton:
It was a pretty standard Japanese thing, with pork kebabs over rice. The skewer had pork and onion on it and was deep fried. And frankly, I find it hard to dislike fried pork as a genre, so I thought it was pretty good. Their other items on the menu also looked interesting, including rice omelets (Crazy! I guess fritattas are also rice and eggs, but for some reason a rice omelet just seems so odd. Must try it next time), onigiri (rice balls), and pork dumplings.
I got a veal stew crepe from La Dominique, and it was SO DELICIOUS. First of all, the stew itself was just amazing. It was flavorful, rich, and dotted with vegetables. The guy must have made it at home and brought it over because it definitely tasted homemade. And I hate to say this in case it makes it sound any less good than it actually was, but the stew almost tasted like it was not made that day, like leftovers. But you know how soups and stews always taste better after a day or two after the flavors had melded. Well, it was like that, in the best possible way.
And once the stew's wrapped in the crepe, he topped it with a light salsa of cilantro, which made the entire thing. The taste of cilantro lightened the whole dish and gave it a citrus kick. It was fantastic. Who knew that stews can go in crepes and be so fantastic?
From Mikey's we got a chicken and prosciutto hoagie, heavily flavored with balsamic vinegar. Sounds odd, for sure, but it was actually pretty fantastic. The chicken was tender and the prosciutto added a lot of flavor. The only complaint here was that there was not enough cheese.
We also got a lemon crepe from La Dominique, which had lemon juice, powdered sugar, and lemon zest on it. Simple and delicious. We passed it around the table but I was lucky enough to get the last bite, which was pretty much drenched in lemony, sugary goodness.
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
A couple friends and I ventured into Philly in the morning for a quick tour of the Franklin Institute. It felt more run down than other museums of a similar nature such as the Boston Museum. Many of its exhibits were out of service. But overall, it was still super fun to do silly things like walk through a ginormous human heart and watch an eye dissection.
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
Exercising to improve our heart, health, and mood!
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
Jimmy, the chief investigator:
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
We walked to 33rd and Market, where there were about 5 karts parked pretty close to each other. As we explored our options, we settled on the strategy of divide and conquer. We got something from three karts: Mikey D's Grill (a hoagie stand), Ton-Ton (Japanese), and La Dominique Crepes.
The pork bento box from Ton-Ton:
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
It was a pretty standard Japanese thing, with pork kebabs over rice. The skewer had pork and onion on it and was deep fried. And frankly, I find it hard to dislike fried pork as a genre, so I thought it was pretty good. Their other items on the menu also looked interesting, including rice omelets (Crazy! I guess fritattas are also rice and eggs, but for some reason a rice omelet just seems so odd. Must try it next time), onigiri (rice balls), and pork dumplings.
I got a veal stew crepe from La Dominique, and it was SO DELICIOUS. First of all, the stew itself was just amazing. It was flavorful, rich, and dotted with vegetables. The guy must have made it at home and brought it over because it definitely tasted homemade. And I hate to say this in case it makes it sound any less good than it actually was, but the stew almost tasted like it was not made that day, like leftovers. But you know how soups and stews always taste better after a day or two after the flavors had melded. Well, it was like that, in the best possible way.
And once the stew's wrapped in the crepe, he topped it with a light salsa of cilantro, which made the entire thing. The taste of cilantro lightened the whole dish and gave it a citrus kick. It was fantastic. Who knew that stews can go in crepes and be so fantastic?
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
From Mikey's we got a chicken and prosciutto hoagie, heavily flavored with balsamic vinegar. Sounds odd, for sure, but it was actually pretty fantastic. The chicken was tender and the prosciutto added a lot of flavor. The only complaint here was that there was not enough cheese.
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
We also got a lemon crepe from La Dominique, which had lemon juice, powdered sugar, and lemon zest on it. Simple and delicious. We passed it around the table but I was lucky enough to get the last bite, which was pretty much drenched in lemony, sugary goodness.
 |
| From Fall Break 2009 |
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wursts
This blog is terribly, terribly out of date. Which goes to show just how unstressed I've been this semester. I've mentioned before that it's only when I have something big due and need a lot of procrastination to keep me going do I update this blog. And now, finally, while working on a Spanish essay, do I decide to finish up my three-part series on Austrian food. I know, I know... That was MAY. How dare I talk about something I've had a whole five months ago?? Well, because they're too good to not mention. And once I'm done with this, I can fiiinally write about my trip to China the next time I have a paper due.
Anyway, traveling Austria was super fun, but it was also the most expensive week I've spent anywhere, I think. Maybe it's just because I had to pay for the whole trip myself, but I really think the amount of money spent per day for that week was higher than any other trip I've done. Sure, the flights to Asian may be marginally more expensive, but once you're there, the accommodations are pretty cheap (or free! Gotta love family) and the food even cheaper. But I swear, I spent almost another round trip flight's worth of money on food and lodgings for a week in Austria. Pretty terrifying. But who can turn down delicious food and tortes?
The cheapest meals Chris and I had in Austria took the form of sausages (2-3 Euros per delicious meal? Count me in!). When we were in Innsbruck, there was a wurstkart parked in the middle of the touristy square, next to the golden roof.
There was a huge crowd of tourists ordering in every language imaginable. Naturally, Chris and I joined the crowd of tourists and ordered from their huge selection of sausages.
Chris ordered a St. Johannes, which looked like any old sausage, except it was super long and skinny (coincidence that Chris ordered that one?).
I got a weisswurst, which is literally a white sausage. The reason it's white is that it doesn't have the nitrite preservative. Because of this, it's usually eaten as a mid-morning snack and never left for later in the day. Apparently it can be so liquidy that the traditional way of eating it is to open the sausage and suck the meat out of its casing. That was not the state of the sausage that I got, thankfully, but it was way more tender than any other sausage I've had before. Inside, you can see small flecks of herbs and spices that its made with.
The interesting thing about buying wursts in Austria is that they're usually not served on a bun, like hot dogs, but are given to you cut up on a plate with a squirt of mustard and a thick slice of brown bread. The brown bread is a much better accompaniment to the sausage given its heartiness, as opposed to the flimsy and blank white bread buns.
After we got back to Vienna, I went looking for another wurstkart, and ordered Hungerwurst (Hungarian sausage), which was spicy and bright red from the paprika. Also very delicious.
Anyway, traveling Austria was super fun, but it was also the most expensive week I've spent anywhere, I think. Maybe it's just because I had to pay for the whole trip myself, but I really think the amount of money spent per day for that week was higher than any other trip I've done. Sure, the flights to Asian may be marginally more expensive, but once you're there, the accommodations are pretty cheap (or free! Gotta love family) and the food even cheaper. But I swear, I spent almost another round trip flight's worth of money on food and lodgings for a week in Austria. Pretty terrifying. But who can turn down delicious food and tortes?
The cheapest meals Chris and I had in Austria took the form of sausages (2-3 Euros per delicious meal? Count me in!). When we were in Innsbruck, there was a wurstkart parked in the middle of the touristy square, next to the golden roof.
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
There was a huge crowd of tourists ordering in every language imaginable. Naturally, Chris and I joined the crowd of tourists and ordered from their huge selection of sausages.
 |
| From Austria |
Chris ordered a St. Johannes, which looked like any old sausage, except it was super long and skinny (coincidence that Chris ordered that one?).
 |
| From Austria |
I got a weisswurst, which is literally a white sausage. The reason it's white is that it doesn't have the nitrite preservative. Because of this, it's usually eaten as a mid-morning snack and never left for later in the day. Apparently it can be so liquidy that the traditional way of eating it is to open the sausage and suck the meat out of its casing. That was not the state of the sausage that I got, thankfully, but it was way more tender than any other sausage I've had before. Inside, you can see small flecks of herbs and spices that its made with.
 |
| From Austria |
The interesting thing about buying wursts in Austria is that they're usually not served on a bun, like hot dogs, but are given to you cut up on a plate with a squirt of mustard and a thick slice of brown bread. The brown bread is a much better accompaniment to the sausage given its heartiness, as opposed to the flimsy and blank white bread buns.
After we got back to Vienna, I went looking for another wurstkart, and ordered Hungerwurst (Hungarian sausage), which was spicy and bright red from the paprika. Also very delicious.
 |
| From Austria |
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tortes of Austria
Cakes are a big deal in Austria. There are konditoreis (pastry shops) everywhere. And it would've been a shame to leave all those cakes uneaten at the end of a meal, wouldn't it?
Cakes at the Cafe Dommeyer:
A particularly appetizing Erdbeer (strawberry)-Souffle Torte:
The cake we actually ate at Dommeyer. It was a nutty chocolate layer cake. I can't remember the name though:
Cakes at the Cafe Demel:
The last one is not a cake, but marzipan.
The official cake of Vienna is the Sachertoarte, which is this amazingly rich and dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. It turns out that a while back there was an issue about its origins. Both the Hotel Sacher and the Cafe Demel claim to have invented it. So Sacher wanted it to be called the Sachertorte while the Deme wanted to call it the Demeltorte. Obviously Hotel Sacher won the lawsuit. Now Hotel Sacher now proudly drives their Sachertorte Van all over Vienna to deliver these delicious cakes:
And yes, there are Sachertorte Vans. Apparently the tortes can be delivered all over the world. Best present ever? Perhaps.
And now Cafe Demel has to call their cake Demels Sachertorte. Sad.
On my last day there, Chris and I finally shared a piece:
It was amazingly delicious. The chocolate layer cake's texture was less moist than the conventional American chocolate cake and more crumbly. But the flavor was rich and chocolate-y but not overly sweet. The layer of apricot worked perfectly with the dark chocolate flavor despite my initial doubts about the flavor combination (I'm usually not a huge fan of fruit preserves with chocolate).
PS Let it be known that I will happily provide my mailing address should you feel the inclination to send me a Sachertorte.
Cakes at the Cafe Dommeyer:
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
The cake we actually ate at Dommeyer. It was a nutty chocolate layer cake. I can't remember the name though:
 |
| From Austria |
Cakes at the Cafe Demel:
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
The official cake of Vienna is the Sachertoarte, which is this amazingly rich and dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. It turns out that a while back there was an issue about its origins. Both the Hotel Sacher and the Cafe Demel claim to have invented it. So Sacher wanted it to be called the Sachertorte while the Deme wanted to call it the Demeltorte. Obviously Hotel Sacher won the lawsuit. Now Hotel Sacher now proudly drives their Sachertorte Van all over Vienna to deliver these delicious cakes:
 |
| From Austria |
And yes, there are Sachertorte Vans. Apparently the tortes can be delivered all over the world. Best present ever? Perhaps.
And now Cafe Demel has to call their cake Demels Sachertorte. Sad.
 |
| From Austria |
On my last day there, Chris and I finally shared a piece:
 |
| From Austria |
PS Let it be known that I will happily provide my mailing address should you feel the inclination to send me a Sachertorte.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Knodel
Austria is amazing. I want to retire there. I’m pretty sure I’ve had the best time of my life in that week after school. The scenery was gorgeous, the company wonderful, and the food was totally out of this world. Who know that eating nothing but meat and potatoes and cakes for a whole week could make this “crunchy” blogger so happy?
I guess I could start with all the meat that I ate, or the delicious cakes vying for attention behind every single konditorei (pastry shop) counter, or the kraut that they serve in buckets at markets. But nope, I’m going to write about balls of boiled white dough. I’m pretty sure this dish is going to be a staple of my diet as soon as I figure out how to make it. I swore that I’ll serve it every week in my future home and if my future kids don’t like it I will actually consider disowning them.
Seriously, knodels are amazing. They are just boiled dumplings (the Western kind) made of wheat flour or potato. My first real encounter with them was in the middle of my trip, when Chris and I spent the day walking through Tiergarten. By the time we reached the top of the mountain we were both starving. Conveniently, there was a restaurant right by serving traditional Austrian fare of slaps of meat with the usual sides. After sharing a bowl of barlasche (some kind of mustard green) soup, we both got our respective slabs of meat with sides. I got a plate of ham, kraut, and of course, the lovely knodel. Maybe it was just because I was hungry and could have eaten anything, but I think that was one of the best meals I had in Austria. It was simple but absolutely delicious. The ham was cooked perfectly and not dry or salty at all, the kraut was crunchy and flavorful, and the knodel was filling and tasty.
It must be something about mountains, because the second time I had knodel was also on a mountain, this time in the Alps. Chris and I had just escaped a potentially disastrous thunderstorm on the Alps by running into Thaur Alm, one of the cabins set up along the trails for the exact purpose of providing shelter against the unpredictable mountain weather. The fact that they served delicious knodel was a definite bonus. This time, both Chris and I got knodelsuppe, essentially knodel in a clear broth. I got the kaseknodel, which is a knodel filled with cheese, and it was delicious. Exactly what you need after racing through the mountains with a thunderstorm at your back.
And it turns out that knodeln aren’t hard to make at all. All you have to do is to sauté some onions, mix in some breadcrumbs and milk and whatever else you want, shape them into balls and boil them. Perfect.
I guess I could start with all the meat that I ate, or the delicious cakes vying for attention behind every single konditorei (pastry shop) counter, or the kraut that they serve in buckets at markets. But nope, I’m going to write about balls of boiled white dough. I’m pretty sure this dish is going to be a staple of my diet as soon as I figure out how to make it. I swore that I’ll serve it every week in my future home and if my future kids don’t like it I will actually consider disowning them.
Seriously, knodels are amazing. They are just boiled dumplings (the Western kind) made of wheat flour or potato. My first real encounter with them was in the middle of my trip, when Chris and I spent the day walking through Tiergarten. By the time we reached the top of the mountain we were both starving. Conveniently, there was a restaurant right by serving traditional Austrian fare of slaps of meat with the usual sides. After sharing a bowl of barlasche (some kind of mustard green) soup, we both got our respective slabs of meat with sides. I got a plate of ham, kraut, and of course, the lovely knodel. Maybe it was just because I was hungry and could have eaten anything, but I think that was one of the best meals I had in Austria. It was simple but absolutely delicious. The ham was cooked perfectly and not dry or salty at all, the kraut was crunchy and flavorful, and the knodel was filling and tasty.
 |
| From Austria |
 |
| From Austria |
It must be something about mountains, because the second time I had knodel was also on a mountain, this time in the Alps. Chris and I had just escaped a potentially disastrous thunderstorm on the Alps by running into Thaur Alm, one of the cabins set up along the trails for the exact purpose of providing shelter against the unpredictable mountain weather. The fact that they served delicious knodel was a definite bonus. This time, both Chris and I got knodelsuppe, essentially knodel in a clear broth. I got the kaseknodel, which is a knodel filled with cheese, and it was delicious. Exactly what you need after racing through the mountains with a thunderstorm at your back.
 |
| From Austria |
And it turns out that knodeln aren’t hard to make at all. All you have to do is to sauté some onions, mix in some breadcrumbs and milk and whatever else you want, shape them into balls and boil them. Perfect.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Chicken of the Woods
I keep meaning to write about my week in Austria, but I just keep forgetting with the crazy hours that I work in this lab. But meanwhile, I've been introduced to something else really cool.
The food at Mountain Lake Biological Station is comparable with Sharples, except with less variety. Today, after eating two stuffed pasta shells and the same spinach salad I've been eating since forever, I was looking for something else. And this was when two girls from the station brought in woks of these orange slices that looked like chicken stir-fry from far away. It turns out that they found a huge shelf fungus in the woods called chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus).
The fungus has the same texture as very lean chicken but is like most mushroom in that it tastes like whatever it's cooked in, which in this case, is salt, butter, and a little bit of garlic. It was super filling and super delicious. Look out for it in the woods!
The food at Mountain Lake Biological Station is comparable with Sharples, except with less variety. Today, after eating two stuffed pasta shells and the same spinach salad I've been eating since forever, I was looking for something else. And this was when two girls from the station brought in woks of these orange slices that looked like chicken stir-fry from far away. It turns out that they found a huge shelf fungus in the woods called chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus).
 |
| From Edacious Eatings |
The fungus has the same texture as very lean chicken but is like most mushroom in that it tastes like whatever it's cooked in, which in this case, is salt, butter, and a little bit of garlic. It was super filling and super delicious. Look out for it in the woods!
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