Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour

by Neil Woodburn on

For
such a small state, Vermont sure does its part in making us all very large.  I suppose you can’t exactly
blame the state itself, but you can blame two hirsute Dead Heads, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, for choosing Vermont
as the headquarters of their wonderfully popular, ever-fattening Ben &
Jerry’s ice cream empire. 

Their main factory, located near the town of Waterbury is a must-see for anyone visiting Vermont.  Sure, the
state has great skiing and produces wonderful maple syrup, but the absolute highlight is undeniably a factory tour of Ben & Jerry’s. 

Only three dollars buys you a 30-minute tour through the ice cream making facilities.  When I went, I expected
more of a Willy Wonka type of factory with trained squirrels cracking nuts, but everything is actually quite white and
sterile and manned by employees dressed in what looked like medical smocks.  Nonetheless, it was still pretty cool
to see how the ice cream is produced. 

Frankly, however, we all know the real reason anyone visits a factory: free samples.  Ben &
Jerry’s is no exception.  The tour concludes in the FlavoRoom where little scoops are waiting to be inhaled
by wide-eyed kids and adults acting like wide-eyed kids.  I was hoping for a big barrel of the stuff myself and a
large soup spoon, but alas, I had to bat the little kids aside and settle for the junior scoops instead. 
Mmmmmmm…

Nantucket Wine Festival

by Erik Olsen on

The folks over at Luxist, with whom we often seem to overlap in
terms of thematic posts…since they do a fair number of travel or journey-related postings, have got a nice little bit
about the upcoming Nantucket Wine Festival, which take place on May
17 through 21. You’ll get to sip some excellent vino (and probably some crap as well, and hobnob with some "East
Coast luminaries"…who? I have no idea. But wineries from around the world converge on Nantucket from which a man
comes who…oh, never mind.

Anyway, the cost can set you back a bit as the the Showstopper dinner runs
almost $1000…but it seems that may be sold out anyway. Otherwise, a two-hour session costs $65, which isn’t too bad
for both the ambiance and the vino. For more info check out this
link,

Casanova's Pizzeria – Oakford, PA

by Adrienne Wilson on

If you’re searching for the best breakfast in all
of Oakford, Pennsylvania and want your two eggs scrambled hard with a side of mystery meat you can find that and more
at Casanova’s Pizzeria. Honestly, I never would have thought to give a pizzeria the time of day for breakfast, yet the
sign boasted the best fare in the neighborhood so it was worth giving it a shot. Not a single space could be found in
the entire parking lot and the place was jam packed inside, which made making the decision a hundred times easier. No
questions asked.

Casanova’s is a cozy casual family-style restaurant where everyone seems to know one
another and the wait staff even feels like close relatives. Established in 1980 the interior is small and decorated
with simple wall hangings of vintage Coca-Cola ads and the windows out looking the road, a combination of regular glass
and stained glass. The atmosphere is warm and the plates even warmer. Try the peanut butter pancakes should your
taste-buds desire something sweet or feast on a huge omelet and home fries covered in onions. If you’re bold and brave
take a stab at some  mouth-watering ‘scrapple’. Ask
the waitress what it is and she’ll tell you most people don’t want to know. Ask her if she likes it and she’ll tell you
with ketchup. Ask me what I think and I’ll tell you the same and only add that it’s a different type of delicious. (To
give you an idea it is pork, cornmeal, more pork scraps, other meat scraps, and Lord knows what else.)

Though the breakfast dishes are large, your bill should remain small in comparison. Casanova’s is easy on the pockets
for certain with most plates ranging in the $5-$8 area. If there’s any confusion in the name let it be known the sign
outside reads Casanova’s Pizzeria and the menu inside says Casanova’s Kitchen. The restaurant is located at
4944 Bristol Road, Oakford, PA. Make a mental note to carry cash since they do not accept checks or
credit cards of any fashion. To phone your order in dial (215) 322-0225.

Gummi Bear Porn

by Erik Olsen on

Sorry, not entirely
travel-related, but the Karma Sutra is the epic love-making guide interpreted by Sir Richard Francis Burton,
and so, in a sense is foreign.

Gummi Bears, well, they were invented in Germany and might be considered foreign food,
so there are two fine international connections. But now onto the site. This Flickr photo gallery shows various gummi bear
characters, one might even call them porn stars in various stages of, shall we say, repose.

No matter how
silly and/or offensive you may find the photos here, they are definitely entertaining. And the idea is damn creative.
(note: we never said we were a family-oriented site ;-)).

(via Gothamist)

Blessed are the Cheese Makers

by Neil Woodburn on

If you like
cheese like I like cheese, and I like cheese a lot, then you should think about booking a flight to the state of
Washington where you can immerse yourself in the Seattle Cheese
Festival and all the wonderful cheeses contained therein. 

Taking place May 12-14 at Pike Place Market in Seattle, the festival is free, and so are the samples! Last year one
million toothpicks were used in the sampling (and purchase) of 10,000 pounds of creamy, sharp, mild, smooth, stinky,
veined, moldy, stringy, crumbly, aged, and artesian cheese. 

This year, since Kraft is the sponsor, the only samples available will be individually wrapped slices of American
cheese.  Ho ho, just kidding folks!  The Cheese Concourse will feature hundreds of fantastic cheeses from all
over this planet.  All I need is a plane ticket and a box of toothpicks and I’m ready to go!