I’m about to sing the praises of a burger I had from the breath-taking Mammoth Mountains. However, I didn’t have to travel to Mammoth to get my mouth around it.
We recently spent a week with my husband’s family at Rollins Lakeside Inn in Colfax. It’s an annual vacation that reunites my husband’s father and his four brothers and their families. We spend a week on one of Northern California’s many lakes, playing on the water by day and eating (and eating and eating) by night.
Each family is assigned dinner one of the nights, and Uncle Ed and Aunt Kathy brought “Burgers” all the way from Mammoth. Ed and Kathy Hurley own the famous restaurant Burgers, a Mammoth institution for generations. I’d heard about the famous burger, but this was my first opportunity to taste one.
It did not disappoint. Uncle Ed cooked the patty (with cheese) a perfect medium-rare, and Aunt Kathy’s toppings bar (also brought from Burgers) allowed us to make our burger exactly to our liking. I personally love lettuce, tomatoes and onion. Burgers special sauce was simply amazing.
According to Uncle Ed, the real secret is that the beef is delivered daily, as fresh from the farm as you can get.
I was lucky enough to get a special Burgers delivery, but I promise it’s well worth the trip to Mammoth. Not to mention the scenery and all the other amazing attractions.
Burgers
6118 Minaret Rd
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
(760) 934-6622
Byward Market
When I booked our trip to Ottawa, Canada for my cousin’s wedding, I had no idea I was in for a culinary adventure! After a lovely stroll through the breathtaking Parliament and over the Rideau Canal, we stumbled on the Byward Market.
Like any true foodie, I had researched restaurants before my travels and many of them were in the ByWard Market. I was intrigued, but I had no idea how amazing the Market would be. It is anchored by one main indoor market featuring a variety of worldly vendors much like the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace, NYC’s Chelsea Market and Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. However, the ByWard Market is surrounded by permanent tented street vendors that extended the culinary journey for blocks. Plus, there are hundreds of restaurants (70-plus) and fashion, food and home retailers that circumference the Market.
We stopped at Stella to enjoy the 75-degree weather on the outdoor patio. While sipping the signature “Stella-tini,” Smirnoff Strawberry, Lemoncello & Cranberries, we enjoyed the sites and sounds of all the other packed outdoor cafes on the street.
Before leaving, we made sure to pick up a wonderful custard and berry dessert at Le Moulin de Provence to bring to my Aunt’s home for dinner that evening. Nothing beats homemade Italian cooking, but I would have loved to eat my way through the ByWard Market. I snapped some photos instead.
The Cheese Does Not Stand Alone
When you bring in a selection of California cheeses to the office, the lunch room is never empty. Patty Mastracco, an honorary member of our Fleishman-Hillard team, just returned from the National Association of the Specialty Food Trade’s Fancy Food Show in San Diego and brought back some delicious cheeses not even on retail shelves yet, plus an assortment of a few recent award winners. I was a fan of them all, but there’s a hardly a cheese I meet that I don’t like.
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Fiscalini Purple Moon – a cabernet soaked cheddar combining two of my favorite vices
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Marin French Cheese Company Triple Crème Brie – triple crème brie says it all, not to mention all the awards
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Bravo Farms Silver Mountain – a bandaged-wrapped cheese that paired so nicely with a Sunsweet dried apricot
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Vella Dry Jack – definitely harder than a traditional Monterey Jack and equally as good
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Fiscalini Hopscotch – a brand new scotch ale cheddar with a hoppy bite
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Bellwether Farms Carmody – another award winner and for good reason
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Point Reyes Blue – we enjoyed this with honeycomb and walnuts
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Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold – unique to the brand, they don’t call it gold for nothin’
Hole-in-the-Wall Foodie Finds are a Good Thing!
I traveled to New York for Thanksgiving again this year on behalf of our U.S. Potato Board client. Healthy MR. POTATO HEAD made his final run down Broadway in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was a bittersweet business trip as I had to say good-bye to our favorite spokespud but I also got to hang with potato industry members who were balloon handlers in the Parade. Getting to know the industry and their families is one of the great perks of my job.
I also dragged my family along, and following a week of fun in NYC, we headed upstate to Troy, NY to visit my grandmother and the rest of my mom’s family. There aren’t too many culinary hot spots in this old and charming college town, but my mom made sure we hit her three most memorable foodie finds. First, we had a traditional Friday night fish fry at Ted’s. A fish fry at Ted’s is a long and meaty piece of fried cod placed in a hot dog bun served with your choice of tartar sauce or Ted’s famous cocktail sauce (I preferred the tartar sauce and sans bun, but I’m not really a hot dog girl). We ordered sides of onion rings, fries and cole slaw. Far from healthy but delicious!
I know I just said I don’t love hot dogs, but our next stop was an exception. While cruising around showing the sites (there aren’t many) to my husband, we crossed the Hudson River into a town called Watervliet. Gus’s Hot Dogs is a true down-and-dirty hot dog stand. There is a walk-up window but it was too cold to slither down mini hot dogs outside. We walked inside and the six counter seats were packed, but one of the two booths were available. This was more of a mid-afternoon snack than a meal so we each ordered two hot dogs with “the works” – mustard, onions and chili sauce. The beauty of Gus’s is that the hot dogs are about a third of the size of a traditional hot dog. I can polish one in about four bites (my husband can do it in two, of course) and the works combination is truly a treat. We saw people with 10 or more hot dogs on their plates. The best is the pricing list posted on the wall.
Finally, we hit the Notty Pine, another Troy oldie-but-goodie that my parents used to frequent when they met in college over 30 years ago. We ordered the pizza which was served in a rectangular cookie sheet with a 1-inch lip. The crust was perfectly golden and the toppings were flavorful. The group was torn on our favorite. I enjoyed the pepperoni and sausage with a red sauce and others rallied behind the fresh tomato and basil with a white garlic sauce. Both were good and justify why “the Pine” has been open for so many years.
If you ever find yourself in Troy (why would you??), I’d recommend all three places. Tie and jacket not required.
Aloha!
Aloha! As you may have guessed, my summer vacation was a trip to Maui with my hubby, 7-month old son, and my parents (babysitters!). My husband and I hadn’t been back to Maui since our honeymoon four years ago, and one thing we remembered fondly was the food. We were looking forward to enjoying the wonderfully fresh seafood and tropical cocktails again. Here’s a few highlights!
Our first stop was the touristy Hula Grill in Whalers Village. Our condo wasn’t quite ready yet and we were absolutely starving after the five hour flight. It was barely lunch time so we got a table quickly before the lunch crowd took over the “barefoot bar.” It was my first Mai Tai of the trip and I ordered the Kapulu Joe with Mac Nut Slaw (barbecued pork, grilled onions, toasted ciabatta bun and mango barbecue sauce). Both were superb. What a way to kick off a great trip!
The nearest restaurant to our quaint little condo was an Italian grill called Basil Tomatoes. I was hesitant to try Italian in Maui, but I remembered how much I love the seafood in Italy so we went for it. I’m glad we did! The plantation-style architecture overlooking the Kaanapali golf course we were staying on was incredibly charming. The food was great too! I tried the special, a pan-fried monchong (I hadn’t heard of this native Hawaiian fish before) served with artichoke risotto and asparagus. It was decadent and delicious!
Josh and I celebrated our anniversary at the highly recommended Sansei in Kapalua. Maui’s #1 sushi restaurant doesn’t take reservations so we knew we had a wait ahead of us. While waiting for a table and sipping on Sauvignon Blanc at the bar, we struck up conversations with other guests and the bartender, Trudy. Trudy ordered us an amazing appetizer of mango and crab wrapped in a mamenori served with a Thai chili sauce. She offered to order the rest of our dinner and we took her up on it. We had no idea what was coming next but Trudy’s choices were magnificent and it sure made for a fun dining experience!
The one reservation we did make was at our favorite Maui restaurant, Mama’s Fish House. We wanted to take my parents there so they could experience the spectacular sunset and fabulous food. We weren’t disappointed! I enjoyed my favorite meal of the trip, the Bouillabaisse. Lobster, prawns, scallops, mahi mahi, and mussels swam in an herb and butter broth that was deliciously drinkable. The garlic butter toast that accompanied the dish melted in your mouth after a quick dunk in the broth. It was heaven in a bowl.
My final highlight was breakfast at the Castaway Café. My mom and I walked along the coast every morning and passed this delightful restaurant daily. On our final morning in Kaanapali, we dragged the boys over to the hidden gem. My mom splurged and ordered the combo pancake platter, a combination of macadamia nut, pineapple and banana pancakes served with Lanai sauce, a coconut-like syrup. To-die-for!
All in all, Maui food no ka oi!
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