Tools I Use: our Xtreme cooler

Today we were on the road. The turkey got its own seat in the back, right next to the cooler. I know, you’d think it should be in the cooler but, well, it wouldn’t fit. It’s safely back in the refrigerator now.

It’s ok though, the cooler held other important stuff like the filling for the chocolate cream pie and the green beans, and the whipping cream. It didn’t have to hold it for all that long today, but should we have been waylaid, the chocolate cream pie filling and the green beans and the whipping cream would have been just fine because our cooler keeps stuff cold for 3-5 days. It’s pretty amazing, actually.

I almost left this fine cooler on the store shelf for the dumb name alone; as if there weren’t enough missing “e”s out there in internet land,  now there’s one living in my basement as well. The other reason I almost did not buy my favorite cooler is because it seemed way, way too expensive, but I’m here to tell you it has been totally worth it.

me, sleeping soundly with the knowledge my coffee will have real cream when I wake up

When we go on vacation it often involves car camping, or sometimes boat camping if we’re lucky. We not only travel with snacks, we travel with bacon and cheese and cucumbers and with 1/2 & 1/2 for our coffee. Other, cheaper coolers meant we were constantly looking for ice, draining water, and trying to revive soggy cheese. The Coleman Xtreme coolers have extra insulation (including in the lid) so a block of ice will keep the contents cool for 3 to 5 days depending on how hot it is outside and how frequently you open it (in other words, you might want to keep your current cooler for the beer.)

This isn’t a paid testimonial or anything, I really do just love my cooler that much. My only regret is that I didn’t get the next size larger because that extra insulation does result in less space inside.

Hot chocolate weather and I dream of Mexico

We’re having one of our first real cold spells, so after an errand in the dark this evening it was definitely time for a hot drink. I know this time last year I was singing the virtues of Swiss Miss but tonight I was in the mood for something a little more substantial. I broke out the last box of Mayordomo chocolate we toted back from Mexico almost two years ago and made some real Mexican-style hot chocolate.

We’re lucky enough to be visiting our southern neighbor again in January and I’m already looking forward to the warm weather, of course, but also to one of my favorite tourist activities: grocery shopping. The grocery stores in Puerto Vallarta were our main source for souvenirs the last time we went, and we toted back fun finds like “salsa en polvo,” a salt/chile/lime mixture that tastes great on sprinkled on popcorn and corn on the cob, and cajeta, goats’ milk caramel candies. We also brought back a tortilla press and a gift for my brother of a really fine bottle of tequila (really, you could sip it like scotch!) I searched for a molinillo, the wooden tool used to froth up the hot chocolate, but I didn’t know what it was called (and didn’t have much of a voice, thanks to a nasty cold I managed to catch on the plane there) so I’m not sure if I couldn’t find it because we were in the wrong region of Mexico or because I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. I’ll certainly try again this time!

We do have a few Mexican grocery stores here in town and even our regular grocery stores carry quite a selection of Mexican items both local and imported, but nothing beats deciphering labels and exploring the aisles of other peoples’ markets, shops, and stores. Any favorite grocery finds from your travels? Anything we shouldn’t leave Mexico without?

Breakfast in Mexico

Eating my way through not-quite-DC

The last time I was in DC I didn’t make it through my restaurant list, though I put a good dent in it. This time the first restaurant I hit was…McDonalds.

Ouch. (Really. I cut myself on a plastic knife trying to remove it from its protective plastic bag.)

Thing is, we weren’t quite in DC. We were in Crystal City, VA, pretty much just across the street from Reagan National Airport in one direction and McD’s in the other. Our presentation was in the first timeslot after lunch, and the in-hotel food options were all swarmed with fellow librarians. Eating something seemed like a better option than not eating at all, so there we were. Luckily, once we had a bit more time to explore we found some far more interesting food options just out of sight from the hotel.

One of the things I really wanted to try on this trip were pupusas. Conveniently, we found Sombrero, a “Salvatex and Peruvian” restaurant just up the street that served these tasty filled corn cakes along with fried plantains. I had one filled with cheese and loroco–a fresh, green, blandish herb I had never heard of before–and one filled with rebueltas–cheese and pork. They were quite tasty and I think they will make an appearance on our weekly menu sometime soon.

We also found some nearby Ethiopian food, cuisine a DC colleague once described to me as “the closest thing we have to our own regional food.” The restaurant we found, Harar Mesob, ended up being quite good.

Finally, I have to give a shout out to the quick lunch we grabbed from the French Meadow Bakery Cafe in the Minneapolis Airport. That’s right, the airport. Normally it’s hard to find tasty airport food, let alone stuff that you’d willingly select if you weren’t in an airport, but this place fit the bill. The menu includes organic, omnivorous, veggie, and vegan choices including fresh soups and salads, made-to-order sandwiches, and crazy looking baked goods. The next time I fly through Minneapolis I hope I have enough time to eat there again.

World’s best sandwich found in Philadelphia

Granted, this might not sound like news…Philly Cheesesteaks are pretty famous, and they’re pretty good. But this fabulous sandwich was no cheesesteak.

This is a roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe from DiNics in Reading Terminal Market. So good I actually ate one (well, half of one, to be honest) two days in a row. And I’d eat another one right now if they weren’t almost 3000 miles away….

Eating my way through Victoria, BC

OK, I’ve been sitting on this unfinished post for awhile.

I’m all about food when I travel (heck, I’m mostly about food when I’m home!) and traveling for a half marathon only adds to the eating fun. Victoria BC has both the Canada thing and the British connection thing happening, so there are some fun food options that aren’t easily available on this side of the border.

First off, no trip to Canada is complete without a bar (or two, or…) of Mackintosh’s toffee. I’ve occasionally been able to locate this in the states, but I’m really glad I can’t find it more often. Once I smack the package and start eating those toffee shards it’s all over–it gets sticky if you save it for later! There is also something hilarious about the French version of the tagline “On craque pour Mack.” Yeah.

In contrast to my toffee addiction, I’ve made it in and out of Canada at least 10 times without ever trying poutine. I have used the excuse that I have not yet been to Quebec, but also poutine just didn’t sound very good to me. Of course I was wrong–it looks nasty, but it tastes fabulous. This version comes from the Canoe Brewpub where we also had reasonably priced food, excellent service, and good beer. Worth seeking out.

Back to Victoria’s British influence: Murchie’s is another required visit when we hit Victoria. Folks on Chowhound will tell you to head to the White Heather Tea Room in Oak Bay for high tea, but we didn’t have time for that on this trip. Besides, the tea at Murchie’s is really, really good–I wasn’t there for the finger sandwiches–and I did enjoy my little lemon meringue tart. Competition for a table was fierce, but I’m sure that was at least partially because we were there on Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend.

My cousin Matt had Red Fish, Blue Fish scoped out before we got off the boat. This is a restaurant built in a re-purposed shipping container on the dock with a menu dedicated to sustainable seafood and other locally-sourced products. Their take out containers are all recyclable, and there’s even a garden growing on the roof of the container to help regulate the temperature inside. They also make a really yummy “Pacific Rim” chowder, hand cut fries with delectable dipping sauces, and lots more good stuff we didn’t get a chance to try. If we had stayed in the marina any longer I would have worked my way on through their menu.

Finally, a boat trip always involves some meals prepared in the galley. This was a big boat, so the kitchen was not so tiny as you might expect (and the oven did not rock, so sad.) Here is brother Jay, cooking up the leftover post-(half) marathon burgers before we cross back into the US. Figuring out what foods can and cannot be taken across the border is actually quite confusing. I had a hard time finding clear guidelines and I wish I had found this Washington/BC border crossing information guide before we left. We went through customs over the phone both times, but we were trying to do the right thing, I swear!

Eating my way through Washington

Thanks mainly to Chowhound, I always travel with a list of restaurants and local specialties to try. Washington DC has an active board, and I found lots to try.

I had some paperwork to finish on Thursday and needed to grab a quick lunch. Since we stayed near the National Museum of the American Indian we decided to try Mitsitam, their cafe (really an upscale cafeteria, if there is such a thing.) Food in Mitsitam is arranged by region of influence; I chose the Northern Woodlands where I had a lobster roll and roasted corn, and mom chose Meso America where she had a chicken and green chili tamale and some kind of pickled bean and corn salad. The food was good, if a bit overpriced, and it was fun to see the unusual choices. I’m a pretty adventurous eater, but the “heirloom beans in spiced strawberry butter”, one of the choices at the station where I chose my meal, sounded too weird for me. I would have liked to at least try them though!

For dinner we headed to Zaytinya, a trendy Middle Eastern restaurant. The food, all mezze-style, was fantastic and the waiter matched an excellent glass of wine for me, though I have no idea what it was. Something from Lebanon, I think. The place was kind of a scene though. We waited a long time (about an hour) for a table on a Thursday night. Also, the noise level was really high, I often couldn’t hear my colleague across the table.

Friday we were going to the ‘burbs to have dinner with some family members, but a last minute change of plans gave us a chance to try Etete, an Ethiopian restaurant near the U Street metro stop. Our tiny table for two was barely big enough for the enormous plate of food we ordered, let alone our Ethiopian beer. Our waitress kept encouraging us to clean our plate…I tried, I really did! I was worried it might be bad form to not finish all that was in front of you in Ethiopia, but with all that injera (there were two baskets of rolled up injera in addition to the piece under the food) there was no way.

When we got off the metro to go to Etete, I noticed Ben’s Chili Bowl was right across the street. I can’t even remember the first time I heard of Ben’s–some long-ago magazine article that included a photo of Bill Cosby. It hadn’t occurred to me to seek it out on this trip, but since it was so easy to find we went back for lunch the next day. I’m no chili dog gourmet–in fact I’m not sure if I’ve ever eaten one before–but these were good. The best part of the meal though, were the chips. No wonder folks get nostalgic for Utz’s potato chips! Next time I’d skip the fries and maybe try a piece of cake or a milkshake. Or more chips….

Our final chowhound-find was Teaism, a local “chain” (do three restaurants make a chain?) with foods from “tea cultures” both Asian and British and, of course, lots of tea. The food was good, though not amazing, but the calm, quiet restaurant, the light fare, and the reasonable prices were just what we were looking for. We had to try their salty oat cookie since it earns big raves. I’m a big fan of slightly salty baked goods and even have a friend who calls my oatmeal cookies “salty”. I liked these cookies a lot, but not better than my own–the texture was a little dry for my tastes.

I don’t think of DC as a food destination (contrasted with New Orleans, for example, where my conference was held last year) but I still ran out of time to try all the restaurants on my list.  I’m sure I’ll be back!

Eating my way through Baltimore (part two)

I never did get my crabcake. I was hoping to go to Faidley’s in the Lexington Market and was actually there on Thursday morning, but 10 am seemed a little early for fried seafood. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to go back until Sunday and the market was all locked up. On my walk back though, I passed the Dutch Pot Caribbean Cafe. It smelled so good I nearly forgot about my crabcake woes; I ended up with jerk chicken, rice & “peas”, fried plantains, a coco beef pattie, and a really good ginger beer. Way too much food, but really good. I was sorry I didn’t shake a little of the “scotch bonnet hot sauce” on my food before I carried it away, but other than that (and having to leave half my leftovers in the hotel refrigerator!) I have no complaints.

Even though it looks like I probably went to enough restaurants to keep me well fed for my five days in Baltimore, I didn’t eat every meal in a restaurant. I always like to pick up a few groceries like fruits and vegetables, whole grain bread, and dark-roast coffee, for the times I don’t feel like a big restaurant meal. Luckily the “SuperFresh” grocery store was not far from my hotel. This was a fun, tiny grocery store that seemed to live up to its name.

There was also the ubiquitous conference luncheon; although it was nothing I would ever have ordered in a restaurant, I was surprised at the edibility of the meal we were served. In particular I was impressed that anyone could cook broccoli for 3000 without reducing it to an unappetizing mush. Unfortunately the conference organizers seemed to have forgotten the many vegetarian librarians out there. I heard later there was a vegetarian option available, but this wasn’t at all clear at our table and several folks ended up basically eating cake for lunch.

I’m always excited to try new foods when I travel and this trip was no exception. I came home with a few extra pounds as a souvenir, so next week’s menu will take full advantage of all the new spring greens arriving in the grocery stores.

Eating my way through Baltimore (part one)

I haven’t managed to get a crabcake yet (well, ok, I think there was something that was supposed to be a crabcake on a buffet line Friday, but that doesn’t count). Other than that, I’ve eaten pretty well so far.

Our hotel, the Marriott Residence Inn Inner Harbor has an impressive free breakfast, but this morning I was in a hurry to get to an 8am session and didn’t have time to make my toast. This gave me a great excuse to pick up a vanilla kreme doughnut at Dunkin Doughnuts. I’m sure I could get one of these at home, but for me this is an East Coast guilty pleasure and I plan to keep it that way.

Even with my long list of restaurants to try I’ve managed to eat at the same place twice. The Afghan Kabob restaurant is close to the convention center, inexpensive, and good. I tried a lamb special on Thursday, then ate an entire kofta gyro today. If you ever find yourself at the Baltimore convention center this is definitely worth a stop.

Last night some fellow librarians were adventurous enough to walk to the Fells Point neighborhood with me to try an Eastern European restaurant, Ze Mean Bean. I had a “slavic sampler plate” that included pierogies, halumki (cabbage roll), a latke, and kielbasa. Since this food was designed to be consumed with a beer nearby,I also tried a beer from a Baltimore brewery. The beer was good, but the label was even better.

I don’t think I’ll find my pit beef on this trip, but I still have a few meals left, plus a long list of places to try next time….