Friday, April 30, 2010

Banh Mi Battel-Lawrence MA

NO PHOTO HERE

Banh Mi Battel-Lawrence NOT!!!!

What: Beef Banh Mi
Where: Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwiches

Banh Mi.  The words bring gambling into my life.

This day's travels took me ultimately to Lawrence MA.  Well, the day's travels took me to Lowell earlier in the day.

(readers, pull up iTunes and cue The Buzzcocks - Something's Gone Wrong Again)
(clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return)

The bottom line is there is no Banh Mi in Lawrence MA (hence the lack of address or pricing).

So I get up early, get a bunch of work done, rearrange the day, plan for a great day, plan for a better lunch.  Then I get the call.  I need to juggle some other work goals.  I need to visit Lawrence MA.  GREAT.  Really, it was great.  In researching some things for an earlier blog, I found info that Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwiches apparently had a location in Lawrence.  I love the Lowell location.  Why not try it as I had business nearby?
Then I made the mistake.  I drove past the exit for the other Banh Mi place in Lowell (not Nhu Y).  Lawrence is locked into the GPS and I'm closing fast.

"Destination on the left in .5 miles" teases the GPS.

"You have arrived" declares the GPS triumphantly (anthropomorphism brought on by a serious Banh Mi jones).

I look left.  I look right.  Nothing.

I drive past the block, past the intersection.

I turn the vehicle around and circle back.

I stop the vehicle in the middle of the road in front of the address.  It is some sort of Latin American cuisine. WTH?

I park down a block and go into the Pho restaurant.

"Do you sell Banh Mi?"
"no"
"Where can I get Banh Mi around here?"
(shrug of sholders)
"Wasn't there a Bahn Mi place over there?" pointing up the street.
"go out of business"

I drove past a sure thing in the name of discovery.

Sometimes you find America.  Sometimes you find the edge of the world.

I'd give it .B/6.  Well, it gave me the butt crack.


Other events worth noting.  My DVR did not record the 201th episode of South Park.  Instead, all I got was a recording error.  I think there some sort of conspiracy going on, given the subject matter.  And I can't stream it off the web until 5/22.  Those Bastards!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Banh Mi Battel-Quincy MA #1



Monday night blogging.  I'll try to make it quick.

What: #4 Beef Banh Mi
Where: Ba Le Vietnamese Sandwiches
219 Quincy Avenue
Quincy  MA 02169
How much: $3.00

Yeay, yeah, yeah...mixed Asian reference. Not a spelling mistake...

Banh Mi. The words turn the wheels in my tiny brain....

(readers, cue Gary Clail & On-U Sound System - Human Nature)

This day's travels took me to quaint Quincy.  Quincy is always in mind because it is the location of the falafel place that I love.  Details are coming soon.  Honestly, to get to Ba Le, I had to drive by the legendary falafel place.  It took my ENTIRE being to control my animal instincts and not stop and have falafel for lunch.  Why take a chance?  Banh Mi, that is why.  I spoke to POTN (Pepe (of the North) )) earlier in the day.  I'll blame him and his casual "I scored some over the weekend" junkie-bragging as my reason to pass up a sure thing and take a header.

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Summa Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect. (Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture)  Bread was very good, but not perfect.  It was crusty on the outside as expected, but just lacked that slightly chewy inside that I prefer.  The meat was there in quantity and VERY tasty.  Meat appeared to be grilled with obvious char marks. The size of the beef pieces was slightly larger/thicker than average.  Plant material was outstanding.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves.  Carrots and daikon also very crisp and tasty.  The cucumber was long and large and very fresh. One piece took up the whole length of the sandwich.  There were even some scallions.  The smear of mayo was a little light.  The counter person asked ME if I wanted peppers.  I said yes and if you can see in the picture, I did not get jalapenos.  I got Thai green chili slices.  Killer touch.  The first bite had a no bite, but  the burn snuck up on me through the whole sandwich. Burn was full on by the time I finished.  Sandwich size was comparable to most.  The thing that really hooked me was a sweet taste that contrasted with the hot and salty.  It seemed to be something in the liquid poured on top of the sandwich.   This was also the fastest I've ever been served at a Banh Mi place before (and there was someone in line in front of me).  No Sriracha in sight, but no need for it.  Great value for the money.

Things worth noting.  Ba Le is INSIDE of Kam Man Supermaket, not the Viet restuarant opposite Kam Man in the same plaza.  Go in the doors and immediately take a right like you are headed toward the grocery and just before you get to the supermarket entrance, Ba Le is on the right.  They serve several other types of Banh Mi as well as a bunch of other items.  It is strictly take out with no place to sit down.  I looked at the other Viet restaurant and they did not appear to serve Banh Mi, but did have Pho.

I'd give it 5.5B/6. (Units have changed slightly as K explained that technically it was a maximum score of 12 BC.
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A near perfect score!  I'm glad I passed up falafel (at least for today) and kept driving.  I guess I'll have to go back to Quincy later this week to get the falafel fix


Ba Le Sandwich on Urbanspoon

Friday, April 23, 2010

Cryptozoology

What: "Razzberry" M&M's
Where: Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwiches
How much: $.50

Part chocolate, part myth.

Cue Sufjan Stevens-GodbirdNo, not Raspberry Beret.

These are the items that got me in the game.  Edzo happened to mention that he had come across some M&M's that were Raspberry flavored.  I was aghast.  I was disbelieving.  Well, I always am disbelieving.  Ask YM.  Not in just the "Oh, Gertrude can you believe what this horrible world has come to..." disbelief.  Not in just the "that cracker has been listening to too much Fox News/Rush Limbaugh or Jay Severin talk radio/paranoid rantings of some Tea Party teabagger" (apologies to the non-Tea Party teabaggers) disbelief.  Not in just the "Can you believe the tastiness of the beef or perfect crusty outside and chewy inside of that Banh Mi?" disbelief. All the types of disbelief.  Knowing better and not knowing any better.  Being the smartest guy in the room and not seeing the obvious.  I've been it all.  And I believe none of it.  Life must be experienced to believe...to have knowledge.  Taste life to know it.  But remember one's truth is really only one's own perception.  Don't believe that fat pompous bastard and his rantings about how good it is.  Or how Obama was born in the good ol' US of A.

Anyway, so Ezdo gets me hooked on this Yeti/Loch Ness Monster/Sasquatch myth.  I wanted to believe (if I was married to Tea Leoni and was working with Gillian Anderson, I'd sure believe I was the luckiest dude in the world despite me already being one of the luckiest dudes in the world).  It seemed so seductive a thought.  It made sense.  Chocolate and raspberry.  In an M&M.  Why had they not done it before?  Why would have evolution not yet created a specimen developed to the point of perfection that would bridge the gap.  Had it not developed speech?  Had it not found fire and learned to cook?  Had it not developed agriculture?  Or had it and failed?  Did evolution reach a point and for some reason reach a dead end?  Existing for a geological moment and passing into the fossil record.

As I waited for my Banh Mi at Nhu Y Vietmanese Sandwiches several months ago, an impatient yet respectful Buttali wanders around looking at all the cool grocery items.  I try to ignore the guy making the sandwiches and let him do his job.  Oh yeah, I was a bit hungry despite the fact I just ordered TWO entire Banh Mi (yes this was the trip I tried both beef and Pork Skin), so I looked at the candy just in case I needed something to take the edge off the burn I hoped to have shortly.  In the back of my mind, ever since Edzo had told me about this mythical unicorn that melts in your mouth, not in your hands, I half-checked any candy display I casually ran into.  Hoping...not expecting...but ready should the opportunity to catch a glimpse of my Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.

There..alone..in a sea of yellow packaging.  A hint of fuscia.  That's a pretty odd color. What could have fell into the Peanut M&M's display?  What would want to be in the Peanut M&M's display?  (Well, truth be told if the display was large enough and contained loose M&M's that were Peanut Butter flavor I might be tempted to take off my clothes and jump into the said display and see if and where they melted).  I grab the one I see on the top.  I start digging down through and find another underneath the flood of yellow packaging. I grab both, holding them close and march to the counter, exultant in triumph, and unbelieving, this time in my luck.  Unbelieving how good life can be.  Dwelling in the spirit of the joy brought on by intersection of knowledge, plan and opportunity.  Expectant in a salvation from hunger delivered by a Banh Mi.

Only colors were raspberryish fushia.  Color is suitable for this flavor.

Price was right at half the price I paid at the local super grocery chain for the latest coconut version.

Typical M&M texture, perhaps a bit crunchier (see note below).  Just like regular M&M's, perhaps a bit fatter, along the size of the Peanut Butter M&M's.

Taters says overall just OK ..."It tastes like K's birthday cake...chocolate AND raspberry".  K says "really good...just enough raspberry flavor".  YM says "Y(u)Mmy".

I'd give it 4B/6.

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Peanut Butter (not peanut) M&M's get 5BC/6.  That is if you can pry them away from Red Bullmoose...

Score could have been higher.  I checked out the M&M's website.  Nothing about the limited edition of Razzberry M&M's anywhere.  They listed the coconut M&M's that I reviewed earlier as well as a wild cherry.  I guess these are old or imported from someplace else.  A quick web search found some sources from 2007/2008 talking about them.  Age would account for the slightly crunchy texture.  Oh well.  I found the Coelacanth.

The rest of the story.  So I go back to Nhu Y last week as an excuse to buy a Banh Mi and get a picture of it for TGITF Banh Mi Battel.  I look in the peanut M&M box that I had cleaned out last time.  Nothing there.  I dejectedly twirl around, disappointed yet not surprised that the Moa was now extinct.  I gaze at my shoes, my brain cueing some Shoegaze (well, it was more along the lines of some stuff by We Were Promised Jetpacks but the genre title fit the situation better), melancholy, unsurprised, yet satisfied that better things were in my immediate future.

Wait...A glint of fuschia!  Was it a reflection in the anti-glare coating on the inside of my eyeglasses?  Was my mind playing tricks?  Was I having a vision?  Had as I lost my faith my brain decided it needed to restore a belief system?  Did I need to have a hope?  Just when I thought everything both chocolaty and "razzberry" together in a candy shell was gone, had I just given up? Should I have given up?  Should I have continued my quest with more vigor?  Was the Castle Anthrax still able to be found?

A box full.  Yes, full. All "razzberry"  I buy two.  One more for the family. One for Edzo.  I had to pay it forward.  After all, he got me in this mess.

Cue Journey-Don't Stop Believin'
Nope, wait.  What the heck am I thinking.
Cue The Call-I Still Believe (Great Design)

Breaking concert news.  Courtney Love/Hole is playing at House of Blues Boston on Wednesday June 23rd.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Banh Mi Battel-Lowell MA#1

What: Beef Banh Mi
Where: Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwiches
707 Merrimack Street
Lowell  MA 01854
How much: $2.50
Yeay, yeah, yeah...mixed Asian reference. Not a spelling mistake...

Banh Mi. The words bring a spring to my step and saliva to my pie Banh Mi hole.

This day's travels took me to lovely Lowell.  It is always in mind because it has two (that I know of) Banh Mi shops.  I'll get around to featuring the other place in a couple of weeks.  The other reason why Lowell stick in my brain is because of this same Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwich shop.  I will feature the reason late next week, but suffice it to say, it was one of the food items that gave me reason to start this blog.

(readers, pull up iTunes and cue Iggy Pop & The Stooges - Search and Destroy)

I've been here several times.  I have never been disappointed.  I love the place inside.  It is a regular corner market/bodega selling all sorts of soda/candy/groceries/sundries/lottery tickets.  Oh yeah they had the requisite cans of Cafe du Monde chicory coffee that I have noticed in most Banh Mi shops  To the left of the counter is the Banh Mi prep area.  They have a "meatball"  which I have not tried and a pork skin which I have tried.  It was ok, but I like the beef better.

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect. (Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture)  Bread was excellent.  The meat was there in quantity, but not particularly tasty.  Plant material was outstanding.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves.  Carrots and onions also very crisp and tasty.  The cucumber was long and large and very fresh. One piece took up the whole length of the sandwich.  The smear of mayo was a little light.  I did ask the counter person to make it spicy.  I was distracted by the sheer variety of cool Asian product including dried cuttlefish strips to notice what he was doing to the sandwich.  The first bite had a good bite and kept up through the whole sandwich.  It was not a jalapeno smoky burn, but more of a spicy/vinegary chili bite.  Sandwich size was larger than most.  Sandwich was cheaper than most.  Great value for the money.

I'd give it 4.B/6.
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Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwich Shop on Urbanspoon

WOW!  This just found.  Nhu Y has another location (according to the interweb) in Lawrence MA. I'll let you know as soon as I get there.

Thanks to all those who came out for the Miracle on Ice 2010, especially Sissita, Sunshine, Tyre, Slim/None, Educatrix, Eatawholecake, Jengelic and their children. We appreciate your support.  We missed you Dunette, hope you can make it next time.

Other events worth noting.  My DVR did not record the 200th episode of South Park.  Instead, all I got was a recording error.  While I should chalk it up to bungled technology, it was the episode that was supposed to feature a cartoon image of Mohammad.  A great episode with a not so great (or lack of) ending.  It does delve into the great philosophical/political/religious question of just what an image of the prophet is and what it represents.

Hot Tub Time Machine.  Great soundtrack.  Unapologetically crass.  Drugs portrayed in a non-negative light.  Seriously adult situations that if filmed with a softer lens focus and a different context could have made for C grade softcore.  Edzo, Brighton Blackie and I say thumbs up.  Bakin', YM and Catholic Schoolgirl give it mixed reviews.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Banh Mi Battel-Portland ME



What: Beef Banh Mi
Where: Kim's Gifts
261 Saint John St
Portland, ME  04102-3015
How much: $2.75

Yes I know I have mixed Asian heritage references in the title.  Apologies to the folks over at Kaiju.

Banh Mi.  The words echo in my ears like the song of the Sirens.

Oh yeah, that sounds familiar.  I guess I used that before...
Banh Mi.  The words bring a rumble to my stomach.

My travels took me to quaint, scenic Portland ME.  It was in mind more than usual because of it's feature in the Travel Channel show No Reservations.  While Tony does not go for Banh Mi, he does get to some interesting places in Maine.

So I figure it is my turn to taste the best of Maine.  I will be blogging in the future about Great Lost Bear, a great food destination in Portland, but today's quest finest foods visit drops in on Kim's Gifts.

(readers, pull up iTunes and cue the Velvet Underground - Heroin)

A call goes out the previous day to Pepe (of the North).  Is he available for the trip, can he help me get the stuff?  Rumor has it that he is getting too close to the source, dropping by at all hours, hoping his source of sustenance will be there late, to feed his filthy habit.  But, no, he is "busy", something has come up, can't make it.  He's has to go to the top of a mountain or his Mrs. is going to South America or something.  I guess that I just don't know...

I have not had one here in a while.  I believe it was sometime in February after a trip to the North Pole (or so) with Bakin', Edzo, Cesius, Ocho, Red Bullmoose, Sunshine, young Alces, Tyre, YM, K, Taters and Slim/None.  The group split up and K and YM had my back and lived the dream with me.

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Magna Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect. (Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture)  The meat was some of the best that I've had.  Definitely a note of sweet and spicy with absolutely NO fat.  Plant material was outstanding.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves.  Carrots and onions also very crisp and tasty.  The smear of mayo was just right, enough to moisten and flavor, not enough to overwhelm and make the items slippery eject themselves out the side as you bite into the Banh Mi.  I did ask the person who I can only assume was Kim to make it spicy.  She put only two slices of jalapenos, but did pour some marinade on it as well as a but of chili sauce.  The first bite did not seem hot enough, but half way through I did start to get a nice deep smoky burn.

The sandwich was a only bit smaller than others that I have had and the amount of meat was a bit scant, but quality of meat and plant material and the fact the Kim actually but the bread in heating device to give it that extra crisp outside made it stand out.  The best $2.75 I've spent in ME.

I'd give it 4B/6.
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As I was waiting for my meal, I wandered around the place and my eye was caught by some of the Asian groceries they carried.  You all know about ramen noodles.  I found some instant Pho (which is a Viet noodle soup like ramen).  The noodles are rice, not wheat based.  But alas, the mixture did say that it did contain wheat products. Close but no cigar for you non-gluten crowd. Check back here for a review of the exotic product soon.

Off the food subject, I did update my links with my friend SurGGGe's (with not much help from Surge) blog.  Check it out.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Best canned beer EVER? And a wonderful idea for a dinner party



Yes.
Red Racer India Pale Ale is the best canned beer EVER!
What is there not to like? Not a thing not to like (not too many negative statements in one line? Never!).

YM picked this up solely based on a picture of a bicycle and "India Pale Ale" just before out last outing into the city with the Edzo, Bakin', Red Bullmoose, Sunshine and some other friends.  It must have been fate.  Points for initiative, since we did not even need beer. Points for going outside the usual options. Extra points for semi-pornographic label.  Bonus points because I loved it.

Taste: Great. On par with very hoppy beers that I love including Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and Blue Point Hoptical Illusion.

Packaging: Great.  Cool picture of a bicycle.  Cool picture of a bicycle rider (note: rider has no helmet, but she has really long hair that may get messy if she had to wear one and it doesn't look like she was planning on a very long ride, so she gets a pass.  I don't think she has kids and has to worry about being a role model.). Nice use of colors on label.  Proudly proclaims product of Canada and has a little logo for British Columbia.  I guess my list of canned beers that I drink is fairly short.  I'll admit that I'm the first to skip the metal containers and look for all the glass bottles.  Unearned prejudice.  Apparently so.  Well, well earned up until now.  I just don't think beers of this taste and quality are usually bottled in cans.  Most canned beers are ..well.. watery domestics.

Price:  Don't know, but worth it. Life is too short for bad beer.

6 B/6-PERFECTION!
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Maybe not BC's number one export, but certainly BC's best tasting liquid export.

Perhaps South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut saw the future and this is the Canadian's first wave attack in  their attempt at world (or at least North American) domination.  Get the Americans hooked on great tasting beer, so they start drinking in excess, then the Canadians politely pour across the border (like little Maple Leaf seed pod helicopter thingies) while we are glued to our televisions watching the finale of Lost, Red Racer IPAs in hand, buzzed and confused, and the youth of our country are too busy with Facebook or texting to notice.

On a different front, wonderful idea from Bakin' tonight.  She, Edzo, Cesius and Ocho hosted dinner this evening for Taters and I.  Discussion came up about past dinners and dinners missed.  They were unable to make the last hot dog throwdown I had. Of course we have to do it again and somehow raise the bar.  Bakin' suggested including other hot dog type grilled things, including bratwurst.  Cesius added a request for wieners (knowing full well how fun it is to say wieners and that wieners and hot dogs and franks are all different preparations or at least frames of mind).  Upon further consideration, I think May will be prime time for the Meatobacillus Throwdown (correction from Fez.  We may have to change this Carnebacillus).  All meats (or meat-like substances) served must be a a rod/tube/cylindrical shape.  Sharing the name for a dinner party with a bacteria is just the type of irony (I hope) that I love.  Remember bacillus is a Greek (correction from Fez-Latin) derivation for rod-shaped.
Hot dogs, weiners, franks, bratwurst, Andouille, chicken sausage, red hots, chourico, linguica, hot Italian sausage and kielbasa.
What is your favor hot dog brand/variety?  I vote for Kayem Deli Dogs.  Any other suggestions/favorites/requests for rod/tube/cylindrically shaped meats?  Send them in.
(Note to readers: The first person to suggest tofu pups is going to get beaten with an all-beef cylindrically shaped meat product.)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Banh Mi Battel-Worcester MA#1

What:#7 Banh Mi
Where:
Vietnam Cafe
148 Chandler Street
Worcester MA 01609
How much: $3.00

Yes I know I have mixed Asian heritage references in the title.  Apologies to the folks over at Kaiju.

Banh Mi.  The words echo in my ears like the song of the Sirens.  They pull me to the ends of New England in a desperate bid to satiate my cravings.  Junkies got crack.  I got Banh Mi. There is no doubt in my mind that there exists a warlord in the Golden Triangle who invented these things, put some secret Uncle Ho's Magical Unicorn Sauce in it and got me hooked.  Some know my pain.  Pepe (of the north) and his Mrs. are hooked.  I showed him one of my dealers and now he can't even go cross town without getting his fix.  More on that one soon.  I am starting to worry about him.  In the culinary equivalent of a homemade meth lab, he found this to keep up his habit when he is hitting bottom.

K says its the best type of sandwich she has ever had (it was from Pho Viet-review to come later). Taters, as we say, not so much.

I had not had one in several weeks.  I was around to see Folk Star Peter, Rock Star Dave and Just Brian.  All I had to do is walk in and they knew the drill.  A quick phone call and Rock Star Dave was off on the chariot to pick up the goods.

I had two.  You can see them above. Yes, EVERY Banh Mi I have ever had is wrapped in the same way. The white deli wrap and an elastic to keep all the goodness intact.  I find it somehow oddly reassuring that there is a code for Banh Mi presentation. Is there a Banh Mi university that all Viet food shop owners go to?  I'll leave it to Banh Mi to go into more discussion of all things Banh Mi.

Was it good?  To quote Eric Cartman "Is the Pope Catholic...and making the world safe for pedophiles?"  The beef was tasty.  One piece was a bit fatty, but in a nicely textured way.  The bread was excellent. Decent amount of cilantro and carrots and other daikon/onion type things.  Only one bite of the two sandwiches achieved the hotness I crave.  That is the one problem with takeout.  No grabbing the bottle of Sriracha to perk it up.  Rock Star Dave was flirting with the help during the exchange, so maybe the composition/attention to detail was not up to usual standards.  Maybe it was their conversion to Windows 7.  It certainly screwed up their printer (I asked RSD to get a menu and that is the story I got upon his menuless return).  The first time we got take out at Vietnam Cafe and remembered to ask for "spicy",  it was.

I'd give it 4.5B/6.
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Vietnam Cafe on Urbanspoon

Pho Viet (also known as Viet Cafe) on Urbanspoon

It is not the gold standard for New England Banh Mi, but it is a good reason to visit Worcester (especially if you combine it with a visit to Coney Island Lunch).

Expect many more Banh Mi posts as I can get to them.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Mahalo from Mars

What: Coconut M&M's
Where: Shop & Shop
How much: $.99

Part chocolate, part myth.

I had heard of a Lost type parallel universe where M&M's existed in alternate flavors.  This rumored product seemed to be the product of Charles Widmore and Eloise Hawking co-owning a chocoltier on a tropical island.  Well, that reality has entered my world without an EMP to propel it.

As I was scouring the shelves of the local grocery with K searching for fermented black beans and other foodstuffs, cursing all the while that I should have gone to Super 88 (or whatever it is now called and picking myself up a Banh Mi), I came face to face with a product of intense market research (and maybe some stimulus $$ - Thanks President Obama).  Coconut M&M's!!!

Only colors were white, brown and green.  Maybe this is were all the green M&M's have been hidden.  Personally, I'd vote to add a least one other color to portray tropical goodness.  I guess the brown, white and green make sense from the coconut palm pallet, but it just seems missing some color.  Hey haoles, how about fuschia to represent the hibiscus in the hair of the natives that collected the coconuts.

No typical dried coconut flake texture.  No smooth baby coconut texture like the inside of a  Lychee Jelly cup.  Just like regular M&M's, perhaps a bit fatter, just coconuttier.

Taters didn't like them, but he doesn't like coconut (a fact forgotten by me).  I was so dazzled by the new taste sensation, I wouldn't tell him what they were.  I just kept insisting he try them.  Hold out chocolate to most anyone (except double A Mario), and they gobble it up like ... well ... chocolate.  Taters did.  He was not so dazzled.  YM says very good.

I'd give it 4B/6.
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Peanut Butter (not peanut) M&M's get 5BC/6.  That is if you can pry them away from Red Bullmoose...

The island has moved before.  I found something just as interesting in a most unexpected place.  But that is another post (check back in a few days)...

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Buona Pasqua!






























The Easter basket contained a legendary treat today.
Lychee jelly is a wonderful experience.  I prefer mine chilled. Imagine Jello-O favored with Lychee juice with some bits of baby coconut mixed in and bathed in a sweet, slippery syrup, so when you squeeze the plastic cup, it spits right out.  All packaged in a neat little container with great graphics.  My father turned us onto these.  As K said, "It tastes like my childhood."

http://www.jellicofood.com/mini_cup.htm

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Music that you need to know about

Before we get to my food adventures, there are some sonic events in my area that you need to know about.  May sure looks to be a busy month.
Go out and get tickets, kids!

Sunday May 2nd
Johann Johannsson at The Brattle Theater
http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/movie_detail/100502.html#a
Listen/watch http://www.johannjohannsson.com/media/

Tuesday May 4th
John Doe and Exene at The Paradise
http://www.thedise.com/rockclub/index.html

Tuesday/Wednesday May 4th and 5th
Public Imagine Ltd at Royale (was the Roxy)

Friday May 7th
Xmortis at TT's
http://www.xmortis.com/

Saturday May 8th
Heroes at TT's
http://www.myspace.com/heroes80s

Sunday May 16th
Public Imagine Ltd at Pearl Street
http://www.iheg.com/pearl_street_main.asp

Monday May 17th
The Buzzcocks at The Paradise
http://www.thedise.com/rockclub/index.html

Saturday May 22nd
Rev. Horton Heat at Wolfs Den/Mohegan Sun (free show)

Saturday June 12th
Dead Milkmen at Middle East downstairs (Thanks Geoff, I will go)
http://www.mideastclub.com/