Video of the day: a goaty guide to pronouncing foreign cheeses

by Laurel Miller on

The holidays are Cheese Season. At no other time of the year are cheese and specialty food shops as thronged by dairy-seeking customers. They’re hungry for a fix or searching for a gift, recipe ingredient, or the makings of a cheese plate. Cheese is love, and one of the easiest, most elegant ways to kick off a cocktail party or conclude (or make) a memorable meal.

With that in mind, the folks at Culture: the word on cheese magazine (full disclosure: I’m a contributing editor) have produced this clever (and utterly adorable) video to aid you in pronouncing some of those delectable but tricky foreign cheeses from France, Spain, and Switzerland. Happy Hoch Ybrig, everyone!


Navy museum receives 111 year old pudding from the Boer War

by Jessica Festa on

One hundred and eleven years ago, a batch of Christmas pudding was made to cheer up a soldier fighting in the Boer War. While most would assume it would have been eaten long ago, it has actually turned up in a kitchen cupboard. The batch is thought to be one made by Victorian philanthropist Agnes Weston, often known as “the mother of the Navy” for her goodwill work writing to soldiers and sailors, visiting hospitals and prisons, and starting rest homes for sailors.

The pudding tin even contains the original instructions: “This pudding is ready for use but may be boiled for an hour if required hot”. Of course, being that the treat is way past its expiration date, it will not be served cold or hot but has been donated to the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

The story of how the pudding was donated to the museum begins with a phone call from a woman who had found the tin in her kitchen cupboard. She knew that it had been in her deceased husband’s family for years, but did not know how much history it held, having actually been sent overseas from South Africa.

If you would like to check out the 111 year old pudding yourself, you can attend the Historic Dockyard’s Victorian Christmas Festival from November 25-27, 2011, where the exhibit will be on temporary display.

Eating history at Manganaro’s Hero Boy in New York

by Jessica Festa on

When finding a restaurant in New York, it’s pretty easy to find crowded, quirky themed restaurants with high-priced menus geared toured tourists. It’s actually easy to dine with aliens, ninjas, monsters, drag queens, and just about anyone or anything else when you’re in the Big Apple. But what about when you’re looking for somewhere unique to dine that is both historical and can give you a local experience?

Manganaro’s Hero Boy in Hell’s Kitchen is the perfect budget-friendly place. The eatery has been around for more than 50 years and began as a family tradition. In 1956 a man named James Dell’Orto, who ran Manganaro’s with his mother Nina, came up with the brilliant idea to create a sandwich that could feed the 30-40 people. It was the birth of the Six Foot Hero Boy.

I stopped in Manganaro’s for dinner the other night and order the Grilled Chicken Parmigiana hero with homemade potato chips. Small subs run from $6.50-$7.75, while a large sub will give you more meat and can be purchased for $8.50-$12.00. Some of the other sub choices include Meatball Parmigiana, Grilled Vegetables and Mozzarella, Prosciutto di Parma, and the Mile High Special, the meatiest of them all with Prosciutto di Parma, Genoa salami, mortadella, sopresata, cooked salami, provolone, marinated peppers, lettuce, tomato, extra virgin olive oil, and imported red wine or balsamic vinegar.

While you should not come here if you’re looking for an Italian restaurant with overly pleasant waiters, crowds of people, and Tuscan-inspired music and decorations, you should come here if you want to grab a bite by yourself or with a few friends and enjoy a delicious sub made by the people who invented the 6-foot Italian-style sub.

Located at 488 Ninth Avenue near 38th.

Inca Kola: Peru’s tasty soda

by Sean McLachlan on

One fun aspect of travel is discovering cool local brands. When I visited Peru back in 1998 I first learned of Inca Kola, a neon-yellow soda produced there. I was curious so I ordered some at a cafe. The waiter was surprised and delighted that I chose his nation’s drink over Coca-Cola and told me proudly that it was the only local soda that had a bigger market share in its home country than Coke.

He brought me my Inca Kola and I took a sip. It was wonderful, an ultrasweet bubblegum flavor that my girlfriend couldn’t stand but I immediately fell in love with. I brought two liters back with me on the plane and served it to all my friends.

Peruvians are pretty proud of this soda, and that’s reflected by its advertising, with lines like La bebida del Perú (“The drink of Peru”) and ¡Es nuestra! (“It’s ours”). Sadly, the Coca-Cola corporation got its global tentacles wrapped around Inca Kola in 1999 and it’s no longer a completely independent company. Several Peruvian-owned rival brands have since taken up the banner.

I haven’t seen Inca Kola much outside of Peru. Some Latino shops in the U.S. stock it under the name Golden Kola, but it can be hard to find. Today I discovered it here in Santander, Spain, under its own name. The local long-distance phone bank, where people use Skype for a small fee rather than racking up huge phone bills to South America, had it for sale. Strangely, the shop is owned by Pakistanis. Santander is pretty cosmopolitan for such a small city!

After I bought some I went next door to a Chinese-owned convenience store, generally called Chinos here because most convenience stores are owned by the Chinese. As I picked up some beer the owner asked me how much I paid for my Inca Kola. Turns out he sells it for five centimos less. Live and learn.

In many ways the world is getting smaller, and that can be a good thing.

Tickets for the Nomading Film Festival in New York go on sale Friday

by Jessica Festa on

After a successful run this past June, the Nomading Film Festival is returning to New York this summer, June 23, 2012. Nomading Film Festival is an event that showcases stories caught on film during peoples’ travels, giving new talent a chance to share their stories and viewers a chance to travel all over the world without leaving Brooklyn.

The really early bird tickets will be sold at a very discounted price this Friday, November 11, 2011. Not only that, but travelers of all ages from all over the world can begin submitting their travel videos (must be under 15 minutes). Until April 30, 2012, submissions are only $10, and selected filmmakers will be notified by May 15, 2012. Prizes, such as trips, flights, and gear, are awarded in three categories:

  • The nomad I want to travel with
  • The most enlightening trip
  • Simply put, that trip makes me want to travel, now!

Guest speakers, workshops, games, and music will also be part of the fun. For more information, visit their official website. To get a better idea of what to expect, check out one of Nomading’s travel-inspired films: