Don’t know how many fans of Vietnamese food there are out there, but I have to myself admit that I sometimes get a big-time hankering for Pho, the delicious Vietnamese soup. So folks who aren’t aware of this great blog should check it out. Noodlepie bills itself as “a blog about scoff & swill in Saigon”, which I think means they do food, with a ‘tude, as it were. The blog is written by the cheeky, but well-informed British journalist Graham Holliday, and features not only some superb write-ups on all that is edible around Saigon, but also provides photos and even video. He visits his favorite restaurants and marketplaces, and dines on an assortment of what we might call odd dishes, but which the Vietnamese call their standard cuisine. The best thing about this blog is how funny it is. Who knew that fish porridge could make you laugh.
The Turkey Testicle Festival
In the famous words of my old dear aunt, “Gag me with a spoon, please!” Thanks to Jaunted I’ve just learned of a festival that has been taking place in the town of Huntley, IL for 24 years now, the Turkey Testicle Festival. Gulps. The event has already passed (it was held yesterday according to the dates on the site), but appears to be rather popular with um, Chicagoland locals and other Illinois residents? Can someone out there confirm? Staged at the Parkside Pub in Huntley they not only serve hot turkey nuts – they give you some brewskies to wash all of it down! Yum?
While I love trying new things, you’d probably have to lie to me to get gobbling up or down on turkey testicles. Just call me on the traditional side and hand me a leg. That’ll do just fine.
La Fusta Restaurant
Since I only went into to La Fusta to pick up my carry-out order I can only go into detail about the menu item I ordered two days in a row. (It was just that good!) If you’re in search for a light yet filling dish and wanting to avoid pastas and steak for whatever reason try La Fusta’s avocado & shrimp salad. One serving is good for either one or two people, but if you like it anywhere close to as much as I did, you’ll want it for yourself or you’ll go back for greedy seconds. Sliced egg, tomato, red onion, beans, lettuce, avocado and shrimp are all found in the salad and with a dash of salt, pepper and their lemon dressing, a simple leafy dish becomes a mouth-watering masterpiece.
I had a full sample of the salad at La Fusta’s North Bergen, NJ location while camping out at the Comfort Suites for work. It’s in an industrial, slightly sketchy part of town, which makes it easy to miss if you’re trying to make it to an area more pleasing on the eyes. Check them out if you’re in North Bergen or if you’re in New York at their Elmhurst location. See the website for more details.
La Fusta is located at 1110 Tonnelle Avenue, North Bergen, NJ 07047. Ph. 201.770.1950.
Best Parisian Baguettes
One of the more amusing sights of Paris is the numerous locals making their way through the city with a baguette sticking out of their bags. I’m not sure why I always found this funny, perhaps because that long loaf of bread always seemed so out of place amongst the fashionable Parisians.
The baguette is literally an accessory in Paris; one hardly leaves the house without one. Unlike the latest pairs of shoes or stylish hat, however, the fashionable baguette is eventually intended to be consumed–and the sooner this happens, the better.
When a tourist takes a bite of a baguette for the first time, he quickly understands why this simple loaf of bread has such a magical appeal.
Finding the perfect, flaky masterpiece amongst the hundreds of boulangeries which populate the streets of Paris, however, is a truly Herculean task. Thankfully, the fine folks at Budget Travel have done the homework for us and have come up with a list of the city’s five best boulangeries in which to find the perfect baguette. Make sure to visit at least one on your next trip, pick up a golden loaf, and then parade it about for a few hours like the locals do before devouring it with a bit of cheese and wine.
Celebrity Leftovers, um, Museum
Our obsession with the wiles, guiles and, well, every damn move, of celebrities is one of the things I least like about American culture. A friend of mine who vigorously celebrates capitalism and its no-holds-barred, free market approach to everything, recently asked me why I hated celebrity culture so much. Because, I said, their contribution is incommensurate with the compensation. Of course, you could say that about a million different occupations, but celebrities are just some of the worst offenders.
Why the morning rant? Dunno, I just feel a bit off this morning. It’s Monday. And I was also reading this article over at the BBC about a little restaurant that is making a name for itself by building a museum of celebrity leftovers. That is, they have preserved the various bits and crumbs of meals that celebrities who vested did NOT eat (yes, I know you know what a leftover is…sorry for being patronizing). I know nary a name among the list here, since most of them are British celebs who haven’t much broken out of Britain. AND, I actually think these restaurant owners and rather clever, so don’t take my ire above and assume I’m angry at them.
So take a look at yet another level of goofiness reached by humankind.
(via Jaunted)