AOA 3.0/ Van’s (Albany, NY)

Yeah, the party was weeks ago… but I figured I’d mention that I was there. For a quick second. I don’t do well being in a room of strangers, and I wasn’t in the mood to go up to random people and strike up conversation.

Besides, I really wanted some pho.

I know. I left a party with some tasty bites (and cupcakes!) to get more food.

What can I say… I’m an eater.

It’s How Much? (Take Two)

This “dish” is called Tostadita Nachos.

Really?

Because that doesn’t look like nachos. They should call it scraps. Why? Because it’s five corn chips topped with cheese, salsa, lettuce, avocado, and crema fresca. Normally it comes with seasoned ground beef, but I was going to share with M, and he doesn’t eat things that once had a face.

Do you want to know how much this cost? $8.99.  I could have just ordered the nachos and asked for no meat, and salsa and guacamole on the side… and the price for it would have been reasonable. Hell, what you see on that plate would make up one… maybe one and half of a taco and the price for one of those is still half of what they’re asking for with these “nachos.”

Here is what M thinks about the whole “nachos” fiasco:

They tasted pretty good… I’ll give them that. They reminded me of what I make after I come home from work. Except when I make mine, I make enough to fill me up, or at least satiate my appetite. This didn’t. I could buy a head of lettuce, a bag of tortilla chips, jar of salsa, block of cheese, and some 'fancy'-sounding sour cream for nine bucks and eat these things every day, for every meal, for a month. Five chips at a time.

I should have known better and asked the server how big it was. I should have just stuck to the tableside guacamole.

Not cool, Chevy’s. Tsk… tsk.
Refunds welcome.

Party Snacks

Geez... talk about blog neglect! But I'm on vacation, so now I have more time to catch up. The other weekend we threw a big party for the March birthdays (me, my grandmother, my uncle, my aunt). And knowing my family, I was hesitant on making too much. Since my dad was making dinuguan, it was absolutely necessary to make puto.

This puto is the quick-fix style, using Bisquick. I really do plan on making it from scratch, but it's a matter of finding the right recipe. Most were plain, and just a dozen or so had cheddar cheese. Instead of using the small medicine cups, I used the silicone baking cups I got for Christmas. They worked great, and I should really buy more of those cups.

I always thought kutsinta would be a PITA to make. Turns out, it is as easy as making puto. And just like the puto, I used the silicone cups. However, the first batch I found that it was sticking to the cups. After tinkering around a bit, I found that if you wet the cups before adding the batter and then tossing them in a bowl of ice water led to easy removal.

FYI - toasting shredded coconut can be dangerous! Whatever they add to the coconut does not mix with an oven toasting. I opened the oven door and was overwhelmed with some fumes that burned my eyes. Not once, but twice... because I forgot on the second batch. But now I know. And now you know.

And knowing is half the battle.

Sliders

I was finishing up my assignments for the day when one of the gentlemen in the room asked what I was doing when I left.

"I'm going to White Castle."

"Of all the places you can eat... you want White Castle?"

"What can I say? It's that time of year."

I always regret my decision afterward, but that was one great lunch. And of course, as I type about WC, I get the WC burps.

Breadfruit

I was rifling through my parents fridge one day when I noticed two large foil wrapped spheres. I asked my dad what it was and he told me it was breadfruit.

Breadfruit?

cue Wikipedia - Breadfruit is from the Moraceae tree, which is related to the Mulberry family. It is a native fruit of the Malay Peninsula and Western Pacific islands, but has spread to other warm tropical regions. The ones in question came from Jamaica. Don't ask me how it made its way to my parent's fridge, but it did. The outer skin looks very similar to jackfruit, but instead of having a pointy skin (little spikes, but not as spiky as durian) the outside is smooth-ish.

This one had no skin and was smoked. You could smell the smokiness wafting out from under the foil. Apparently you you have to cook it in order for it to be edible. And if you're curious, it doesn't taste like bread (to me anyways). The smokiness was overwhelming and I couldn't finish it. I hardly think it's one of those things that's an "acquired taste." My dad says it's normally cooked with lots of coconut milk, but I'm sure there are other recipes out there.

Here are breadfruit recipes on Recipezaar.

How Long Will This Last?

A new food stand has opened up in the Palisades Mall. The name of it?

Cup It!

I thought it was a little weird, but when I mentioned it to M, he immediately thought of a very guy oriented thing. As did my friend S, when I mentioned the name.

You can order a cup of corn, or a cup of potatoes, or a mix of the two.

WTH. Is this really necessary? Who would buy a cup of corn?

I would, that's who. You can too, but it looks like they're only open on the weekends.