Tofurkey: Where Did It Come From?

by Brenda Yun on

I knew about tofurkey about seven years ago, when Sam, my hippie next door neighbor in Boulder, needed a vegetarian alternative to turkey and went so far as to prepare our friends a tofurkey feast for Thanksgiving. Aside from the smooth slices this mock-turkey has opposed to the sometimes dry and stringy quality some Thanksgiving birds have possessed, my rather bland taste buds were not able to tell the difference at all. I never bothered to ask where Sam purchased this honking piece of pseudo-bird. It really did look, smell, and taste like a turkey fresh from the oven.

Since then, I discovered a brand of manufactured tofurkey in stores called “Tofurky” (trademarked without the “e”), which is owned by Turtle Island Foods and can be found at essentially every Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe’s. The Tofurky brand carries all kinds of vegan delights, but specializes in its Tofurky Jurky, Franks, and Holiday Products.Yes, it is possible to buy a turkey-sized Tofurky with stuffing – and maybe your guests won’t even know the difference! I was also quite surprised to discover that turkey and tofurkey have shockingly similar nutritional value, which therefore leaves me slightly compelled to pop a Tofurky in the oven tomorrow!

The question remains: Where did this ingenious concoction called tofurkey come from? Did the masterminds at Turtle Island Foods in Hood River, Oregon create this new vegan staple back in 1980, or did some Chinese-American with a lot of time on his/her hands decide to take all that Chinatown tofu and make it taste like turkey one Thanksgiving, long long ago? The investigation continues and right now your guess is as good as mine. I’m selfishly rooting for the Chinese-American to claim his/her recipe, but Seth Tibbott over at Turtle Island Foods certainly made tofurkey a commercial product worth gobbling for every November!

Oh, and if you’re head over heels in love with Tofurky, why not order a custom (and classic) Tofurky lunchbox for just $20? All your friends will be jealous! Or, in the spirit of travel, Turtle Island Foods has an annual Travels with Tofurky Contest. Tofurky lovers just need to snap a photo with their Tofurky box of choice and submit it every fall for a chance to win a styling Tofurky Care Kit including a Tofurky t-shirt, a case of Tofurky Jurky and other cool stuff.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another Thanksgiving special about “Turducken: Where Did It Come From?”

A Self – Indulgent Interview With Mike Lee of Studiofeast

by Mike Barish on

Last year, Gadling’s own Grant Martin wrote about Studiofeast, a New York-based underground eating club. Since then, Studiofeast has thrown several more semi-secret culinary events that have occasionally included guest chefs such as Ilan Hall (winner of Top Chef Season 2). This past weekend, Studiofeast joined forces with four other eating clubs to throw the two-night Undergrounds Unite event at a secret location in Manhattan.

Now seemed like the perfect time to revisit Studiofeast and learn more about the seductive world of underground eating. And what better way to do that than with an interview with the creator of Studiofeast, Mike Lee?

(Full disclosure: I am friends with Mike and his Studiofeast partner, Derrick Yuen. I usually help out at Studiofeast events and get drunk for free with great regularity.)

For people who have never heard of an underground eating club, give us the simplest definition you can. The bastard child of your next door neighbor’s dinner party and a restaurant.

Now describe your eating club, Studiofeast, in a haiku.
Two Asians cook food
Thirty one people enter a loft
Mike Barish is here?

How did you end up joining forces with four other underground eating clubs to throw Undergrounds Unite? The girls at Homeslice West approached me about bringing Studiofeast to this event they were planning, Undergrounds Unite. I’m not sure how they first heard of Studiofeast and I didn’t know a lot about Homeslice West at the time, but I think we quickly passed each other’s basic, level 1 foodie litmus tests with a shared love for quality BBQ, Mac & Cheese, and Fried Chicken. From there, I started throwing ideas into the pot about Undergrounds Unite, created the logo and website, etc. But they were the marshmallow of the rice krispie treat the whole time. They did great work pulling everything together, and getting our hands all sticky.

So was it more like the Justice League or Voltron? The other supperclubs cook with a decidedly more western style, while Studiofeast leans heavily on the Asian side. So I guess it was the Justice League granting a work visa for Voltron to come over from Japan. I have 6 more weeks left in the group, unless I marry one of them.

Is the underground food scene in New York as competitive as the restaurant business is? I don’t think so, and I hope it doesn’t get that way. The thing is, we aren’t actually restaurants where we should be fighting tooth and nail for customers. It’s all about fostering something with more of a communal feel. Even though we seem exclusive with passwords and guestlists, it’s only because we: a) operate occasionally, so we’re limited in terms of capacity, and b) we need a little more control over who gets into the door because it’s a clandestine sort of operation (and to filter out douchebags).

In the end, we’re all rooted in making something that’s interesting and connects people. Even though we strive for great food to hit the table, this isn’t about Michelin stars, Zagat ratings, or getting Frank Bruni to love you. It’s about packaging an experience that’s uniquely compelling and honest.

How is Studiofeast different than the other clubs out there? The collection of people that help me run Studiofeast as well as the people that end up at our feasts. That’s the difference. I’ve been very fortunate to have chanced upon some great individuals over the course of this project and it’s those people who put the color in Studiofeast. One of our hosts (who shall remain nameless) recently quipped to a guest that he’d “bring out farm animals” to the table just in case his attention waned between courses. How great is that? What a commitment to excellence. It’s too bad the offer was made after the beef entree was served. Old Bessie was cute (and tasty).

People throw the word “foodie” around a lot when these clubs come up in conversation. And foodie has taken on a bit of a pretentious connotation. I guess my question is, Why are you so pretentious? I am so totally above this question.

Gadling is a travel blog, so let’s talk travel a little bit so that my bosses don’t get too pissed off. What place that you’ve visited has the most interesting food scene? Japan all the way! For me, one of the most notable examples of how interesting Japanese food culture is comes from visiting a department store Depachika in Tokyo, like Isetan or Takashimaya. There are probably a hundred or more food counters in one of those, each just focusing on a narrow category of food. I love that, because they’ve just committed themselves to one thing and doing it really, really well. And since they’re all in one place, you can literally graze for hours and pick up so many new things in one spot. It’s so opposite to what we have in America, where we have the mall food court, and it mostly sucks. If I told you to visit New York and have a serious meal in the basement of Macy’s, you’d laugh your ass off. There’s simply nothing like a Depachika in the States, and there are probably only a few dozen equivalents to it around the world in other countries.

Underground eating clubs are, by definition, not mainstream. How do you find similarly clandestine activities when you’re outside of New York? I’d suggest visiting the Ghetto Gourmet site to see what’s happening underground eating club-wise in your area of interest. They’re a great resource for this sort of thing and have a wide reach across the country. Also, to the extent possible, latch onto someone who’s a local and just follow without asking questions for a while. Even if that person has no idea what he/she is doing in terms of food, you’re bound to gain some kernel of truth about how other people live. This especially applies when traveling internationally. Talk to your Japanese bartender, or the Icelandic girl at the fermented shark counter and you’ll rarely be led astray. And if you do, then it makes for an even better story, doesn’t it?

Let’s play food word association. I’ll name a place and you tell me your thoughts on their food in one word.

Italy: Delicious

Spain: Reallydelicious
Japan: Reallyreallydelicious
Your kitchen: Reallyreallydeliciousinaporkysortofway

If you could take one dish that you’ve eaten from each place you have traveled in order to create your ultimate international menu, what would you pick?
This is by no means a complete list, but from recent travels:
Spain: Jamon Iberico & Manchego Cheese
Morocco: Merguez sausages straight off the grill in the central market
Iceland: Skyr & an Icelandic Hot Dog with remoulade and crunions
Sweden: Fish stew from Salu Hall and the meatballs from Pelikan
Tokyo: Daiwa Sushi and, of course, the Ramen.
Osaka: Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki
Sterling Heights, Michigan: The shrimp fried rice and egg roll from my parents’ restaurant, the Golden Wheel. I’ve been eating this all my life and it keeps me centered.

When you’re not being a pretentious foodie, what foods do you slum it with? My girlfriend makes the best Buffalo Wings with the Blue Cheese baked into skin. It’s only categorically slumming it, because they’re absolutely amazing and I’d pay top dollar for them anywhere. Also of note are Spam, Slim Jims, Cup of Noodles, General Tso’ Chicken, and Gray’s Papaya.

And to close us out, an SAT-style analogy for you. Studiofeast is to food as ________ is to sex. A Caligula-style Roman orgy…with farm animals.

You can sign up for Studiofeast’s mailing list at their website. And you can read more about the first Undergrounds Unite event here.

New Haven ‘Restaurant Week’ is here and now

by Jerry Guo on

Now that my head is a bit less fuzzy (from drinking six glasses of Joe Bastianich‘s Italian wine, topped off by one–and that’s one too many–glass of grappa), I want to recap the wonderful wine dinner I had last night at Zinc.

Zinc is one of New Haven‘s brightest stars on the culinary scene. Now, this modest town, sandwiched between its big brothers Boston and New York, can easily be forgotten as an increasingly exotic and vibrant foodie destination. But I would say, like the general renaissance that is New Haven, this town’s food scene really deserves to be on the national radar (at least least on the radar if you’re in New England).

New Haven’s makeover could get bogged down by its reputation as one of the original homes of pizza (Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana) and hamburgers (Louis’ Lunch). That’s where the city’s first Restaurant Week comes in–but more on that later and how you can get some of the country’s best dinners, including what the New York Times called the best Spanish restaurant in the states, for $29.

Take Zinc, which serves modern American cuisine that chef Denise Appel (and co-owner) describes as “market inspired and globally infused.” What sets this place apart is the cuisine is top-rated and sourced from local ingredients. That, however, doesn’t mean you’re just left with potatoes and whatever else Connecticut grows (I’m not even sure we grow potatoes).
Last night’s four-course meal started with an airy Bastianich Rosato from Friuli, Italy (his family’s hometown). The first course was a Maine Diver sea scallop (paired with a Sauvignon Blanc and Picolit, also from Friuli), followed by an absolutely delicious wild boar ragu (a white wine that was pretty good), a hangar steak with golden raisin caponata and fried capers (a full-bodied La Mozza “Aragone from Grosseto, Italy), and one of the best desserts I’ve had in recent memory: a honey cake with Mascarpone gelato and lemon marmalade (there was olive oil mixed in, which I had doubts about .. but not after I had stuffed my face). Oh, and then some grappa. Yeek!

For lunch, I was over at Union League, which is always a safe choice if you’re looking for top-rated cuisine. Their coffee ice cream dessert is particularly memorable (if you haven’t guessed, I have the palate of a six-year-old). Ted Sorenson, JFK’s close adviser, was there giving a very captivating Q&A on his thoughts about the Cuban missile crisis, this election, Obama’s first year, etc.

Info on restaurant week

Running Nov. 9 to 14, the week features prix-fixe lunches for $16.38 (a spin on the town’s year of birth) and three-course dinners for $29 (taxes and gratuities not included). Some of the 18 restaurants involved are tried-and-true favorites – Pacifico, Thali, Zinc. Others are new to the scene – the much-anticipated fromagerie Caseus and the upscale lounge 116 Crown. They range from Italian (Consiglio’s) and Spanish (Barcelona) to experimental Japanese (Miya’s) and spicy Malaysian (Bentara).

“Restaurant Week was designed to showcase New Haven’s very diverse culinary offerings,” said Anne Worcester, of Market New Haven, the event’s organizer. “There’s no denying the city’s recent culinary boom.”

She said the promotional menus represent an average 20 to 25 percent savings. Some solid-value dinner entrees: the duck breast in a coriander sauce at Ibiza, the 10-ounce New York strip at Central Steakhouse, the pan-roasted pike fillet with leek fondue at Union League Café. Intriguing lunch options include the Mee Istimewa peanut-based soup at Bentara and salmon teriyaki at Miso.

At Zinc, Donna Curran, the co-owner, said her chef designed a special menu for the week. For lunch she recommended the roasted salmon with a house-made vindaloo sauce (“so much flavor”) and the chai crème brûlée for dessert. “We certainly didn’t dumb our menu down,” she said.

For a complete list of restaurants and their prix-fixe menus, see here. Reservations strongly recommended.

Vahrehvah.com: A superb resource for Indian cooking

by Abha Malpani on

Finding this Indian cooking website has changed my world. I can cook basic Indian food, thanks to my mum, but when it comes to anything a little complicated, I get a lazy — especially because (from experience) — after a hours of work, the end result has not been worth the effort. I would also blame the disaster dish on me living in Spain: “All the spices are not available and what are available just don’t taste the same.” It’s all rubbish. What I needed was a good guide and I think this is it!

A bad translation of “vah reh vah” in English would be “that’s just awesome”, but it’s enough to give you the gist. The website has recipes of over 230 Indian dishes, but the best part is that many of the Indian recipes have a video guide to go with them.

The “Vah chef” Sanjay Thumma is a great host. Very Indian. But great. His passion and talent for cooking is evident in the videos. For example, in his video that teaches you how to prepare Hydrabadi Biryani (one my favorite Indian dishes), he gets a little emotional in the end; when he tastes what he made, I’m pretty sure that his eyes welled-up with joy!

Another element key in making this website a super hit: Since it is targeted towards non-resident Indians, he often mentions in his recipes ingredient replacements should you not be able to find something specific in your country. You can also help yourself on this front by checking out the site’s Cook’s Thesaurus.

You can also access Sanjay Thumma’s video channel on YouTube. He is quite a personality, you will enjoy watching him. He has won a gold medal for his recipes in the All-India Chefs competition for culinary arts, and all the video work is his own production done in his digital studio, that by the way, has just gone HD!

Other than Indian food, there are recipes for other cuisines; however they don’t have video content. A must visit if you want to cook some good Indian food.

A Slice of Japan in New Jersey: Mitsuwa Market

by Mike Barish on

Everything about Japan is unique. The people, the culture, the media and the food are all reflections of the how incredibly fascinating the entire country truly is. Having visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka back in May, I have been jonesing for an authentic Japanese experience ever since I returned home. Sure, I can find great ramen joints and sushi counters in New York City but no place can make me feel like I have somehow teleported myself to the Pacific Rim. I was getting the shakes. I needed a fix. I was losing all hope. Until I went to Mitsuwa.

Located in Edgewater, NJ (just across the Hudson River from Manhattan), Mitsuwa is a big ol’ slice of Japan in the land of diners, strip malls and other bastions of generic American suburbia. It’s a supermarket, a food court and the center of a Japanese shopping complex that will satisfy so many of your Japanese cravings. I had been eager to visit Mitsuwa for some time now, and this weekend provided the perfect opportunity to make the trip from Manhattan to [shudder] New Jersey.

Acting as my guides for my pseudo-Japanese jaunt were my friend Matt, his Japanese girlfriend Nodoka and her sister Asami. With their help, no product would be beyond my comprehension. But, perhaps harder than understanding Japanese marketing gimmicks, I had to get myself to Edgewater, NJ.

Luckily for all of us New Yorkers, Mitsuwa runs shuttle buses from the Port Authority Bus Terminal directly to Mitsuwa for $3 each way ($2 for children). During the week, buses leave Gate 51 of the Port Authority Bus Terminal once an hour and return hourly from Mitsuwa. On weekends, buses leave from Manhattan and Mitsuwa every half-hour. You can find detailed instructions for taking the shuttle bus along with schedules and helpful photographs on Mitsuwa’s shuttle bus information page. The ride takes about 20 minutes and you spend most of the time in the Lincoln Tunnel. A word to the wise: It’s a mini-bus and they don’t allow people to stand. Arrive 15 minutes early to ensure you get a seat rather than having to wait for the next bus.

Once you arrive, you’ll notice that Mitsuwa is more than just a supermarket. You will immediately find yourself in the food court. And I’m not talking about Manchu Wok and Cinnabon. You’ll have your choice of ramen, tempura, katsudon and so much more. Lining the walls are display cases filled with lacquered prepared foods that provide visual evidence of the artistry of the food that awaits you. The sight of those shiny, preserved culinary specimens transported me to Japan (in my mind, at least). My guides directed me right to Santoka, a Hokkaido-based ramen restaurant with outposts throughout Japan.

The salty broth and tender pork were everything you hope to find in a quality bowl of ramen. And looking around, there’s absolutely nothing that would remind you that you are in New Jersey. The whole experience would be disorienting if your mind wasn’t so focused on how damn good the noodles are. Once you’ve satisfied your need for instant gratification, it’s time to get shopping. Here’s where it pays to have some Japanese speakers with you.

All of the signage on Mitsuwa is in English and Japanese, but almost all of the products are Japanese imports. As such, most have Japanese labels with no indication in English of what the item is, does or why you should own it. You’ll find Japanese juices, teas, beers, frozen foods, produce, meats, fish, household goods and appliances. And most of the items are very reasonably priced. Still, you will encounter the occasional specialty item that has been marked up. I was in the market for my favorite Japanese beer, Yebisu, and was disappointed to find that it was $18 for a six-pack. Hardly seemed worth it. I was, thankfully, cheered up by the discovery that a 750ml bottle of Suntory Whiskey was less than $40.

I grabbed some homemade karaage (fried chicken), some fish snacks (literally tiny dehydrated fish that I last enjoyed at a sumo tournament in Tokyo), a few bottles of Pocari Sweat (my hangover cure of choice), frozen ramen, miso soup mixes and a peanut butter spread in a tube. At least that’s what Nodoka told me it is. Time will tell on that one. Truth be told, I could have spent several hundred dollars in Mitsuwa if I didn’t exert some self-control. And it’s not because I’m drawn to gimmicks or novelty items (except for peanut butter in a tube). It’s because you can’t find these products in most places and they’re delicious.

A few things worth noting: Come hungry. Between the food court and the staff walking around with free samples, you’ll be full before you reach the register. As I meandered the aisles, I was offered samples of Wagyu beef, miso soup and grilled salmon. If you intend to buy a rice cooker or any other appliances, do not make the trip on a Sunday. Bergen County (NJ) has odd Blue Laws that prohibit the sale of appliances on Sundays. Something about Jesus not wanting us to enjoy onigiri on “his day.” If you are a fan of seafood, visit the fish mongers in the back of the market. The fish is fresh, the knives are sharp and the staff is incredibly gifted.

When you’re done in Mitsuwa, check out some of the other shops in the complex. There’s a bookstore where you can stock up on all of the manga that your heart desires, a ceramic shop with beautiful housewares and a shop that sells everything from Hello Kitty backpacks to Hello Kitty bento boxes. Then hop on the bus that’s waiting for you right outside the door of Mitsuwa, pay your $3 and say goodbye to Japan…er, New Jersey.

All in all, I spent more than two hours eating, shopping, browsing and relishing my “return” to Japan. Everything from the lighting to the pop music made me feel like I had taken a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. But my passport was safely tucked away in my apartment and the Port Authority Bus Terminal will never be mistaken for Shinjuku Station.

Get to Mitsuwa ASAP. They have several locations in California and one outpost in Chicago, all of which you can find here.

Now, I’m sure some of you are doubting my accounts of the authenticity of Mitsuwa. For those of you still questioning whether anything in the States could successfully recreate the look and feel of a Japanese shopping experience, well, take a look below and guess where this photo was taken.

Yep, New Jersey. Crazy, huh?
(And you can see all of the photos from my trip to Mitsuwa here.)