A Taste of Turkey

After returning to sunny West Philadelphia and working on adjusting back from a semester abroad in Istanbul, Turkey, I’ve started to become reflective. What about my experience in Turkey was so profoundly different from life at Penn? It could have been the language – Turkish is unlike any language I’ve ever studied, and is definitely hard to get a grip on (don’t worry though; I managed to work out the most important words - names of foods, fruits, vegetables, etc. and became proficient in ordering in restaurants). Was it life on two continents? (Istanbul straddles both Europe and Asia, and is divided by a narrow body of water called the Bosporus Straight that connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea.) Was it the traffic? No, alas, it was the food.

With influences from the Mediterranean diet, Middle Eastern cuisine, European tastes and some uniquely Turkish delicacies, Turkish culture is obsessed with food, and much of their culture is defined by their dishes. Turkish cuisine boasts a heavy emphasis on meat, fish, bread, olive oil, and sugary, nutty delights, and is sprinkled with distinctive spices and tastes from near and far.

Today I am bringing you a classical Turkish dessert: muhallebi, or milk pudding. I found a wonderful pudding establishment in the heart of Sultanahmet, the historical district of Istanbul. After exploring the jaw dropping beauty of the Harem of the old Ottoman sultans and ogling their jewels in the treasury of the Topkapi Palace, I stopped for a quick break at a cafe that had the most beautiful and exotic looking puddings lining the windows. Hoşgeldiniz, or Welcome to Turkey!

Top layer: Dark chocolate pudding with garnish  Bottom layer: Classic Turkish milk pudding

Top layer: Pistachio pudding with garnish

 Bottom layer: Dark chocolate pudding

Top layer: Fruit pudding with orange zest and figs, and garnished with ground walnuts, pistachios, coconut, and sprinkles. Bottom layer: Milk chocolate pudding

I found a recipe here for classic muhallebi - try it on your own or get yourself a plane ticket to Istanbul!

If you are interested in an easy but excellent pudding recipe (not Turkish), I would highly recommend checking out this one.

-Alexandra Golub

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Lovin' Levain

If Cookie Monster didn’t live on Sesame Street, he would be stationed right above Levain Bakery.

Founded in 1994 by friends Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes, Levain Bakery is a cozy neighborhood spot located in New York City’s Upper West Side. The bakery’s legendary baked goods draw locals and tourists alike. The overwhelming demand inspired Levain to open locations in the Hamptons and Harlem, as well as offer shipping of their world-famous cookies around the globe.

The bakery’s name comes from the French word levain, a natural leavening agent that traditionally consists of flour, water, and wild yeasts; it is also known as sourdough starter in the U.S. McDonald and Weekes thought that the French term for a natural starter was the perfect fit for their new bakery.

Levain prepares a variety of tantalizing baked goods that are baked on-site, including breads, sticky buns, and muffins, but what puts them on the map are their cookies. Four types of cookies are available: chocolate chip walnut, oatmeal raisin, dark chocolate chocolate chip, and dark chocolate peanut butter chip. With their $4 price tag, you are most definitely getting your money’s worth; each massive six-ounce cookie is literally the size of your fist and can easily replace a meal. Levain’s staff bakes trays upon trays of these decadent mountains throughout the day, so they always come out fresh, warm, and delightfully gooey.

The Levain cookie experience stimulates all five senses. Smelling the mouthwatering aroma of fresh-baked cookies as you wait in a line that stretches out the door. Hearing the constant clatter of metal trays as they are pulled off towering racks, laden with hulking mounds of cookie dough, and shuttled to ovens nearby. Seeing staff members transfer the hulking masterpieces directly from an oven tray into a brown paper bag for customers. Feeling the cookie’s steady warmth and satisfying heft in your palm upon extracting it from the bag.

And the taste... oh, the taste. Levain’s cookies can only be described as heavenly. They are by far some of the best cookies I have ever sunk my teeth into. Each cookie has tremendous depth of flavor. The exterior is just crisp enough to hold the whole cookie package together, giving way to an incredibly soft, chewy interior slightly reminiscent of cookie dough. My personal favorite is the dark chocolate chocolate chip; it is a rich and decadent treat, with huge chunks of dark chocolate chips studded throughout the cookie that slightly melt all over your fingers as you dig in. A chilly glass of ice-cold milk is practically necessary to complete the experience.

If you can’t finish these enormous treats in one sitting (and I don’t blame you), not a problem—the chips and insides stay soft and melted for hours. The cookies taste just as incredible if you pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds later on.

Cookie Monster may croon “Share It Maybe”, but Levain’s scrumptious cookies will make you want to keep them all for yourself. After one bite, you’ll be going back for seconds, thirds, fourths…

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The Fractured Prune

Ocean City, Maryland is more than just a town of sand and sea. All along Coastal Highway, the main drag of the city, lie rows and rows of places to eat- fast food, sit-down, bars, cafés. Although some are certainly tacky, apropos of a beach town, there are some gems tucked amongst all the crab shacks. To my surprise, it wasn’t the Maryland crabs that struck me most, but instead, donuts from The Fractured Prune.

The shop was small and cramped, but nevertheless cute. The line went out the door during the morning rush, past the shop’s signature sign of a quirky cartoon prune wearing shades and a bandage. As more and more people ordered, they had to crowd to the sides to wait for their donuts. Behind the counter, employees worked swiftly and efficiently filling boxes with hand-dipped donuts. Each customer was given a playing card from a deck when they ordered and was called by the number and suit instead of by name. When the king of clubs was called, I went to get my donuts. To my surprise, the box was hot—not luke warm, but hot! At that point, I couldn’t wait any longer to sink my teeth into a donut. Fortunately, it did not disappoint. The donuts were warm and golden throughout. When I bit into the first one, I could taste the soft buttery cake on the inside, complemented by the crisp perfectly fried outside. When I looked at it, I could even see the butter glistening off the dough. Although the wait felt long, I decided that in the end it was well worth it.

Each donut at The Fractured Prune is made fresh to order. They are churned individually out of a machine. Then, still hot, they are dipped by hand in a glaze and a topping. Glazes include, but are not limited to, caramel, chocolate, peanut butter, mixed berry, banana, and maple, while toppings consist of chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate jimmies, coconut flakes, graham crackers, and Oreo cookie pieces. There is also a choice of sugars: powdered, granulated, or cinnamon sugar. You can choose your own combination of toppings or select from a list of specialties that have already been created. The pre-made combinations range from simple, like mocha glaze with Oreo pieces, to more complex, such as banana glaze with cinnamon sugar and peanuts. There is even one called Plain Jane, which is just a plain donut without any toppings. Frankly, the donuts have such a rich flavor on their own that they would taste great even without any toppings or glazes at all.

I tried a maple glaze with cinnamon sugar and graham cracker pieces, as well as a peanut butter glaze with rainbow sprinkles. The maple glaze was subtle. It gave the donut a hint of extra flavor, but the buttery taste of the donut itself was stronger than that of the glaze. The cinnamon sugar gave the donut more texture, as the sugar crystals added some crunch, while the graham crackers were crushed so small that they were closer to a powder than pieces, not providing much added texture. The peanut butter glaze was a little more palpable, but still not overpowering. I think that peanut butter flavor in general is just more robust than maple. And the sprinkles gave the donut a nice extra chewiness. Overall, the glazes were subtle. They were not thick frostings, so the flavor of the donut didn't rely on that of the frosting. The toppings gave the donuts a little character, some more striking than others, but the taste and texture of a plain one would still be delectable.

The donuts at The Fractured Prune were the best donuts I have ever had. They were served hot and fresh, fried perfectly crisp with a supple center. And the flavor combinations were endless. On the one hand, it is atrocious that there is no Fractured Prune in New York or Philadelphia, depriving such substantial cities of this delicious fried goodness. On the other hand, it is probably a good thing, as it would be difficult for me to resist buying a donut every day.

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Smorgasburg: Your Summer Mission

Are you near New York right now? Even better, are you in it? And if not, can you catch a bus to the Big Apple in the next few days? Well mark your calendar for next Saturday because you have a date with the L-train or your car- you're going to Smorgasburg!

Smorgasburg is a food market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Located right on the water, it's full of hipsters and incredible food. Only here would you find skinny, vegetarian girls in head scarves selling the most decadent grilled cheese, huge lines for tempeh, Arnold Palmer slushies, and much more. Smorgasburg was created by the same masterminds behind Brooklyn Flea, which has been described as a "Etsy-in-person". Smorgasburg happens every Saturday and has incredible offerings. For around $20, you can try a diverse range of foods. I went this week for the first time, some of which were definitely worth repeating. However, the strength of Smorgasburg is that there are so many options, I could also go back and eat totally different things. There was so much variety and range in price, ethnic cuisines, and type of customer.

Here are a few snippets of what I ate:




From Dough in Bed Stuy. I want to visit their brick and mortar shop. Cafe au lait is a flavor I've never seen in a doughnut and it deserves more recognition. The doughnut was not greasy and had great coffee flavor. It was one of those doughnuts that makes you think it's illegal for Dunkin Donuts to claim its dessert items are doughnuts.

















From The Milk Truck. This breakfast sandwich grilled cheese was the last one! It had a fried egg, pickled onions, and lots of cheese on Balthazar rye bread. My friend ordered one with apples, three types of cheese, and rosemary bread that I could probably eat an entire loaf of.

















Blue Bottle Iced Coffee. SO SO SO GOOD. I stopped by their brick-and-mortar store while wandering around Williamsburg and was so impressed by the cold brewing apparatus. I got the style with milk but there is another black version. The coffee was so rich tasting with the perfect amount of whole milk (don't even ask for skim).














The company was called Rob and Anna's Bananas but I can't find their website. As explained by the caption, they literally frozen bananas put through a cold press. They make them to order and have a variety of sauces to go. I chose nutella, my friend got berry. The bananas have no added sugar, dairy etc. They're vegan and healthy and actually taste good. This was the perfect second dessert at Smorgasburg because it didn't make us feel too full. We passed lots of ice cream sandwich shops but had no room.











Smorgasburg was a great way to spend Saturday morning. Get there early because the most popular items do run out. Bring your appetite, a taste for adventure, and your most alternative outfit. Smorgasburg is also a great spot to look at food trends. If this place is any indication, cupcakes are totally out, cookies are coming back, cold brewed iced coffee is major, and iced tea/slushies/homemade sodas are having moments.

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LA's the Place (to eat)

Earlier this summer I explored Los Angeles, with a focus on food. My host and I ate mostly outside, puncturing our afternoons with iced coffee and pastries. What follows is a highlight reel of the bites of Los Angeles, with an eye towards the unique, the summery, and the fun.

The Sweet:
I’m a firm believer in multiple dessert days during vacation months. Los Angeles, land of yoga and coconut water, also has a sweet tooth.





















Grab ice cream at Sweet Rose Creamery in Brentwood. They’re known for salted caramel, but you can get salt as a topping on any flavor. The blueberry muffin flavor that I tried was excellent and unusual. The crumbly muffin and blueberry bits fit nicely into an ice cream.

Most cakes are a little dull, a little dry, and rely heavily on icing. Not so at Sweet Lady Jane bakery on Melrose (they also have a Santa Monica location). This bakery is open late and serves HUGE slices of cake, from vegan berry to cappuccino cheesecake. We tried red velvet and chocolate almond mocha, and could not stop raving about the moist cakes and their flavorful frostings. These cakes are decadent, but not too sweet. Bonus: We were there near closing, so they offered us some free day-old bread and croissants. Breakfast the next morning was excellent!












Short Cake Bakery at the Original Farmer's Market
This relatively new stand came recommended from The Amateur Gourmet, so we had to check it out. The decor is adorable and there are lots of sweet food and drink options. We had a peanut butter bar that was good, but not revelatory. I'd try something different next time (we came late in the day so choices were limited).














Cool Haus Ice Cream Sandwiches
This food truck (which exists in multiple cities) was at the Yamashiro Farmer's Market, a wonderful summer Thursday confluence of food trucks, farm stands, live music, and views of the Hollywood Hills. There are even shuttles to take you to the top! Coincidentally, I went on the same day as Philly's Night Market and it was a great substitute. At Cool Haus you design your own ice cream sandwich with their array of cookies and ice creams. We tried chocolate chip sea salt cookies with red velvet ice cream! So decadent, and so good.











Fruit grows better in a warm climate.  California nectarines, cherries, and strawberries are sweet and juicy, begging to freshen a hot afternoon. Farmers markets proliferate widely, and Mexican food back east just can’t compare.
















The Savory:
In-N-Out: One of the first things I ate in LA was In-N-Out. This West Coast Burger Stand deserves all the press it receives. The burgers are so fresh and the animal style toppings (a special sauce and pickles) are delicious. I don't eat red meat often but I had no regrets about my animal style cheeseburger. I didn't even mind eating it at 11 AM.














Cube: My first dinner in LA was at Cube, a restaurant that bases its ever changing menu on different regions of Italy. I was there for Umbria and had a lovely dinner. They greet each diner with a special cheese pairing presented on a cute chalkboard. Also, their onion rings were amazing (they served them with a special spicy ketchup).






























Loteria Grill at the Original Farmer's Market
Loteria Grill was some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. They have a menu that goes way beyond tacos and burritos. I ordered chilequiles, a Mexican breakfast dish that consists of layered tortilla strips, eggs, and various sauces. I first tried the dish in rural Mexico over 6 years ago and it's something I could eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.














Lasagna Cupcakes from Heirloom LA. Heirloom LA had a truck at the Yamashiro Farmer's Market and everyone was talking about their lasagna cupcakes. They had lots of flavors (the person in front of us on line got the last heirloom tomato) and the size was perfect. We had the roasted vegetable one and it was, aside from the cute presentation, very good lasagna.


Los Angeles may be the cleanse capital of the world but it's also a diverse place full of great food, creative chefs, and some of the best desserts I've had in a while. Maybe a good slice of cake is just the ticket to enduring Los Angeles' crazy traffic!

For more LA suggestions, check out our foursquare list of suggestions. We have ideas for New York and DC too.

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A Reason to Shout "Opa!"

Move over, Greek Lady: Uncle Nick's in New York, NY, proves that Greek cuisine is so much more than gyros and souvlaki.

Nothing much has changed since Uncle Nick's first opened its doors in the 1980s, vowing to bring fresh, moderately priced Greek food to the island of Manhattan. The menu boasts a mix of familiar and exotic Greek specialties with plenty of carnivorous and vegetarian options to boot. Family-size portions are large and can easily be shared, making this a true "big fat Greek" experience!

While the meat selection--sliced directly off the spit or pulled straight from the grill--is succulent and flavorful, Uncle Nick's does its seafood best.

Since the true stars of this meal take about 30 minutes for the kitchen to prepare, appetizers are key. Swirling tentacles and chunky rings of barely-dusted baby squid take a dip in the fryer, ready to be popped into your mouth at a moment's notice; the accompanying marinara sauce is an unnecessary addition to these light bite-size pieces. The inherent smokiness imbued in the tender grilled octopus harmonizes well with the sweet and tangy notes of an inky balsamic dressing. Thick slices of fried peppers and eggplant grace the top of a heap of scordalia dip, a a savory potato- and garlic-based blend studded with kalamata olives. The biggest spectacle by far, though, is the Saganaki-Tiri, a wedge of sharp goat's milk cheese that is lit on fire before being placed ceremonially on your table. Perhaps more for theatrics, the cheese is still decadently rich and the perfect warm, creamy spread for the standard bread basket.

What makes the seafood at Uncle Nick's so special is--perhaps surprisingly--the inherent simplicity: your fish of choice for eating; lemon, oil, salt, and pepper for taste; and a charcoal grill for cooking. Fillets and steak cuts of fish are readily available (and excellent choices), but the best way to experience Uncle Nick's is to truly "order a fish": head to tail, skin, bone, and all. As if that wasn't enough food, the gargantuan platter of fish is joined by plates of potatoes, mixed vegetables, and rice. Picking the buttery-soft flesh from the fish bones is half the fun; simply dine on the meat on one side, cleanly remove the spinal cord, and finish it off! For a true delicacy, nosh on the fish's cheeks, which offer the most tender and succulent meat. Devouring the delectable feast makes up the other half. Each bite evokes images of Greece's cerulean coastline, brightened by a sunny sparkle of fresh lemon. The species of fish also contributes its own unique flavor, from the the mild and delicate red snapper to the robust and hearty swordfish.

After cleaning your plate, you surely won't be left hungry, but you'll be ready to come back and try another of their authentic dishes. With two locations in New York (one in Hell's Kitchen and one in Chelsea), there's no excuse to not check out Uncle Nick's.

Check this out for more pictures from my dining experience!
















~~

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Seattle's Best

Ever since Starbucks' global explosion, Seattle has become synonymous with coffee. But there is more to the city than the purveyor of burnt beans and Norah Jones. A longtime tea lover, I asked friends for suggestions on where to truly find Seattle's best coffee, in the hopes of becoming the stereotypical Seattleite: a java-drinking bean snob. While I didn't succeed in the latter, I still managed to discover three fantastic Starbucks alternatives.


Lighthouse Roasters



Lighthouse Roasters is located in Fremont, the quirky Seattle neighborhood that calls itself "The Center of the Universe". Among the many oddities found in Fremont include a Soviet-era statue of Lenin from Slovakia and an eighteen-foot troll statue under a bridge, clutching a real Volkswagen Beetle in his hand.  In comparison, Lighthouse Roasters seems quite tame. The shop is open, spacious, and sparsely decorated. As it was a balmy day, I ordered an iced Americano. It was rich without being overpowering, and not even a bit acidic. Usually I have to add sugar and lots of cream to make coffee palatable, but with this Americano I added only a splash of half-and-half and that was all I needed.

Lighthouse Roasters roasts their beans daily in small, vintage cast-iron roasters. You can order their blends and varietals from their website.






Stumptown Coffee

First let me add a disclaimer: Stumptown isn't a Seattle-based coffee shop. It started in Portland, before opening two locations in Seattle and one in Manhattan. I'm still a bit sore about that, since when it comes to Northwest subculture, Seattle is often overshadowed by its hipper city to the south. And for good reason, Portland has Powell's Books and Voodoo Donuts and even inspired the comedy-show Portlandia. I was really hoping Seattle could beat Portland with coffee, but I guess not.

Despite its "Portlandishness", many Seattleites believe that Stumptown has the best beans in the city, and they certainly win for their sheer number of varieties, from South America to Africa to Indonesia.
 When I stopped by the Stumptown on Capitol Hill, I was feeling a bit over-adventurous and ordered a con panna, an espresso shot topped with whipped cream. Big mistake. I'm not very good at stomaching incredibly bitter things, even in small quantities. I was about to call my trip to Stumptown a failure, when the barista mentioned they were roasting beans in the basement if I wanted to go see. Turns out I had also arrived just in time for a free cupping, where a barista walks you through the roasting process and lets you try some of Stumptown's different blends. Mission Stumptown: success!

You can order Stumptown's coffees online, or if you're on the East Coast check out their Manhattan location at 29th and Broadway.


Local Color

Another disclaimer: I had already been to Local Color. In fact, it's my favorite coffee shop in Seattle, and I always make sure to hit it up when I'm in my hometown. No, they don't roast their own beans. However, their ambiance and location can't be beat.

Local Color is located within a stone's throw of the original Starbucks in the Pike Place Market, one of the nation's oldest and largest public markets. I think it's this proximity to Starbucks that keeps Local Color practically devoid of tourists in one of the city's top tourist destinations, making the experience at Local Color "local" indeed.

However, I hold Local Color near-and-dear to my heart for two other reasons. Firstly, it's also an art gallery, and I always enjoy looking at the selected artists works displayed in the back. Secondly, they serve my favorite coffee drink in the city, their Aztec mocha. True, I don't like their Aztec mocha because of the quality of their coffee, but because of the added chocolate and spices (add enough chocolate and spices and I'll drink anything!) Nevertheless, all my friends have agreed the Aztec mocha is quite decadent, and certainly worth trying if you're ever in the great tourist-trap Pike Place Market.

-Elliott Brooks

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Belgian Chocolates

This is a continuation of our Belgian food series.

Belgians love their chocolate. Order a coffee at any cafe and you'll be given a piece of chocolate to accompany it. Walk into any grocery store and observe the numerous brands of chocolate and chocolate hazelnut spreads. You can even get a chocolate beer, though this is mostly a gimmick for tourists. Nevertheless, chocolate is as ubiquitous as mayonnaise in this tiny country.

Belgium was first introduced to chocolate in the 17th century by Spanish rulers. Since, Belgian chocolatiers have become internationally renowned for their high quality chocolate and pralines—chocolates filled with various flavors of nougats or cream. Instead of the mass production techniques used by American companies like Hershey's, most Belgian chocolatiers hand make their chocolates in the shops where they are sold.

Whether in fairytale-like Bruges or bustling Brussels, entering a Belgian chocolate shop is like going to the Willy Wonka factory. Mounds of truffles, pralines, and every chocolate-dipped food you can imagine fill the counters. Nearing winter, chocolate molds of Sinterklaas and intricate fruit-shaped marzipan also begin appear on shelves. White-gloved employees navigate the stacks of goodies assembling boxes for customers who look on drooling. Observing the mix of shoppers, you see tourists with bags from other chocolatiers, presumably preparing for a highly caloric comparison between the various shops, and locals picking out their favorites. There is something magical about the experience that undeniably adds another dimension to enjoying the chocolates.

While abroad in Leuven, Belgium, I enjoyed trying and re-trying the most famous Belgian chocolatiers like Neuhaus, Godiva, and Leonidas. Even the grocery store brands like Côte d'Or and Galler are notoriously good, and, of course, I tried these as well to validate the hype. When my chocolate-saturated, among other Belgian delicacies, semester ended, I checked a 36-pound bag of chocolate on my flight home. You can imagine I was definitely the favorite cousin at Christmas.

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Rice and Beans, Yes Please: The Cuisine of Alternate Spring Break Nicaragua

Penn students are constantly fraught with confusion. Decisions lurk around every corner. A simple act such as buying lunch becomes a dilemma. Healthy or not? Dining hall or real money? Can I bursar this? Do I want to be late for class? How many cups of coffee are advisable at this moment? Why are they out of feta cheese? Is the Sweetgreen fro-yo machine working again?

Over spring break, however, I made none of these decisions. I surrendered control over my meals and headed to Nicaragua for Hillel's Alternate Spring Break. I spent a week in the San Juan del Sur region of Nicaragua, a coastal region in southern Nicaragua, constructing a school and learning about Servicios Medicos Comunales. Penn Hillel organized the eye-opening trip. Kosher meat seems to be nonexistent in Nicaragua so our diet was vegetarian. For seven days, I ate rice and beans at every meal. The beans were black. The rice was white. The plates were plastic. We were the dishwashers. The setting was indoors or outdoors, depending on the time of day. The main source of variety came from the combination. Sometimes the elements were premixed, giving you a set ratio. Other times, the components were separate, able to be combined at will. Little extras added freshness and texture. We often had sides of sliced tomatoes and beets and fresh scrambled eggs for breakfast. The freshness of the vegetables is not to be matched anywhere at Penn. On several occasions, potatoes and pasta made appearances, but rice and beans ran the show.


On my first night in Nicaragua I entered the kitchen to see if the staff needed help preparing dinner. I found myself slicing cucumbers in a tiny kitchen, chattering with Nicaraguan women about national dishes and cooking methods. The women told of national dishes based around pork and corn, including a delicious sounding tamale that I would love to try (removed from the auspices of Hillel, of course). The cultural exchange went both ways, as we celebrated two Jewish holidays during our trip: Purim and Shabbat. For Purim, we made hamantashen, the triangular cookies that commemorate the hat shape of Haman, the holiday’s villain that tried to kill all the Jews. I grew up making fillings of chocolate, apricot and peanut butter chips. In Nicaragua, we used plantain and pineapple, with mixed results. They got a tad bit burnt but the effort was notable. One of the culinary highlights of the trip came on Friday, when we made challah, the braided bread eaten at the Sabbath. With yeast brought all the way from Philadelphia and our leader Debbie’s challah expertise, we managed to knead dough, let it rise and braid six challot. They baked to a golden brown and were rationed to last through the day long Shabbat. To say the challah was well received is an understatement.


Another highlight of the food was the fruit. From my first bite in the country, a slice of a watermelon on the ride from the airport, I realized the fruit was special. Mornings of pushing wheelbarrows up a very steep hill were punctuated with fruit breaks. The sight of a slice of pineapple or watermelon was most anticipated. For the uninitiated, Nicaraguan fruit is really good (and local!). The pineapple is pale and sweet, with only a hint of starch. We had fresh juice at every meal, in flavors from mango to pineapple to passion fruit. The brown bananas at Starbucks hardly look appealing now.

Although we often forget it, food is fuel. Never before have I so keenly felt that food was so crucial to my energy level. I knew I needed the protein from the beans to get through an afternoon of hammering nails. I knew the sugar and vitamins of the fruit would help me haul water up a hill until lunch. I knew that my dinner would help my sore muscles recover as I slept.  An ice cream cone on a trip to town may have been the only food that had no direct purpose, besides a chance to explore the region and spend some Nicaraguan cordobas. I haven’t eaten rice and beans since returning from Nicaragua, and am sometimes overwhelmed by the choices we have at every meal. I need to wait a little while to reintroduce those foods into my diet. The concept, however, of appreciating even the simplest morsel of food and the context and company in which you eat it, will stay with me for meals to come. A week without electronics, meat, hot water, or food produced outside of a narrow region is akin to a jolt. It wakes you up from your funk, sheds you of your collegiate ennui and spits you back into the real world with thoughts racing through your mind, hungrier than ever.

Welcome to Nicaragua. Here's the best watermelon ever.

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Bloggers' Bites: Best Spring Break Food

Bloggers' Bites is a series of posts chronicling the foodie adventures of Penn Appetit's blog staff. During spring break, our staff traveled back home or ventured on exciting foodie adventures, delighting in both comfort foods and culinary masterpieces.

The question: What was your favorite food experience this spring break?

Leyla Mocan: Over spring break I went to Magnolia Cafe in the small town of St. Francisville, Louisiana. It's about a 45 minute drive from my native Baton Rouge and is fun for a quick day trip. For lunch we had a "Spicy Shrimp Poboy" which was a sandwich with shrimp cooked in garlic butter with peppers and onions. The best part was the gooey pepper jack cheese which gave the sandwich just the right amount of spice and kick. I also really enjoyed having real Louisiana shrimp, I had forgotten what a delicious, intense taste real shrimp had when they're fresh from the gulf. Topped with the classic poboy dressings of lettuce and tomato this was one awesome sandwich.

Laura Sluyter: I love carrot cake, but I’m very particular. While I’ve had delicious desserts at many, many restaurants and bakeries, there are only two carrot cakes that I like: my mom’s carrot cake and the carrot cake at Baker’s Treat in Flemington, New Jersey. As a result, I found myself making a very difficult decision when I went out to dinner with my parents over spring break. Should I take a risk and order carrot cake or go for the safer choice of chocolate chip cake? The best resolution, I decided, was to have both! That night I ordered the chocolate chip cake, and later in the week, my mom and I made carrot cake. As always, it was delicious and perfectly moist. Eating that classic carrot cake was the gustatory highlight of my break (although the chocolate chip cake was pretty delicious as well).

Rachel Marc: Over spring break, I ate dinner with my family at Trattoria L' Incontro, a delicious restaurant in Astoria, Queens. An overall fantastic dining experience, all tables are started off with a brick oven baked flat bread accompanied by a sun-dried tomato dip, followed by a visit from the waiter who recites a memorized special list that contains at least 25 options. All dishes consumed by the table were delectable, and my personal favorite was my mom's nut-encrusted chicken paillard topped with a tomato and avocado salad, slightly beating out my brother's eggplant parmigiana for the top place in my heart...and stomach. We were too full for dessert and sadly had to pass up a chocolate hazelnut pizza served with a chocolate hazelnut ice cream. If looking for a high end meal in a lively atmosphere, L'Incontro is the place to be!

Heejae Lim: During this spring break, I had a wonderful food experience in Boston! Since Boston is famous for its fresh seafood especially lobsters, I searched for restaurants noted for serving lobsters. I went to "Legal Seafood Harborside" at 210 Northern Ave. and tried the Lobster Roll, New England Clam Chowder and Linguini and Clams Pasta. The seafood, especially the lobster, was tasty and fresh. The restaurant was spacious and had a kitchen at the center that was visible and also had a huge bar with wide range of wines and cocktails. I sat at the window side, so I could see the calm harbor while eating, which was a very pleasant experience.

Carissa Gilbert: I enjoyed eating at various frozen yogurt places in California the most! I tried at least 6 different places including Pinkberry, Berrysweet, Yogurtland, and Yogurt Escape. Overall, however, a psychedelic frozen yogurt shop, called Sweet Things, in San Diego was the best. Walking into the yogurt shop, I immediately felt like I had traveled back in time to the 1970s. Not only did the music consist of popular 70s artists but the walls were tie dyed and the chairs were a groovy orange. I ate the flavors banana pudding, cinnamon, and cake batter. I also enjoyed their topping bar which had colored mochi!

Emma Silverman: Me and my Spring Break were filled with amazing meals. I went home to Chicago for the break after visiting New York for the weekend, so I definitely had my fill but I think that my favorite food experience was at my favorite burger restaurant in Chicago. The place is called Urban Burner and my mom and I go there pretty much every time I'm home. It sounds basic, but they do burgers right. I actually love the veggie burger. Veggie burgers can either be disgusting or amazing. You have to treat the patty itself as what it is: veggies and rice. It cannot go around masquerading as meat when it's just not. Their veggie burger is light and flavorful, and is topped off with chipotle mayo, avocado, some fresh arugula, and goat cheese. With a side of sweet potato fries and fried pickles (trust me) there's nothing better.

Katie Behrman: Over spring break, I went to Seed, a modern American restaurant in Marietta, GA, where I tried pork belly for the first time. Paired with pickled organic cucumbers, hoisin, and scallions and enclosed in a slider, the scrumptious pork-belly enlivened my taste buds. The crispiness of the pork-belly contrasted perfectly with the soft, gooey bun; the hoisin sauce spilled over the edges, its sweet flavor enhancing and blending each ingredient together. If you’re ever in Marietta, I highly recommend Seed and its delicious sliders!

Elliott Brooks: I went on a Penn Alternate Spring Break trip to a farm animal rescue shelter and organic farm in Paris, Virginia. Rescued farm animals mean rescued hens and rescued hens mean eggs. I spent each morning delighting in a breakfast of farm fresh eggs, harvested that morning from the barn beneath my feet. They were delicate, creamy and simply delicious without needing any pepper or salt. I tried them hard-boiled, scrambled and fried, but my favorite preparation was when I accidentally soft-boiled them.

Nicole Woon: Spring Break for me meant going home and having access to a real kitchen! At last, I could cook and bake to my heart's content with an actual stovetop, oven, and pots and pans. I had a blast cooking and baking up a storm, making everything from coconut macaroons to unctuous braised pork belly to rich chocolate French macarons. My favorite recipe over break, though, was for challah bread. Last winter, a friend of mine made the most amazing challah bread for dinner and I knew I had to try my hand at it. I had never made bread before, so it was definitely an experience baking it for the first time! I went through multiple trial runs; one time I didn't add enough yeast, another time the dried fruit I studded the bread with burnt to a crisp. Experimentation, however, is the key to discovery. Indeed, I finally arrived at a close rendition to her version by the end of break. I put my own spin on the eggy bread with plenty of plump raisins and fragrant cinnamon. The simple egg wash brushed on before baking added a beautiful glimmer on the crust of the bread; the bread itself was soft and tasted excellent spread with a bit of butter and honey. I can't wait to return home and continue perfecting the recipe in my kitchen.

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Seafood on Spring Break

I spent my Spring Break soaking up the sun in República Dominicana. In about the middle of the week our group rented a car and took a trip down to a restaurant about twenty minutes’ drive from the villa we were staying at that was reputed to have the best lobster in Las Terrenas, the city we stayed in.

And it probably was the best lobster I’d ever had.

The place didn’t have menus, but the waiter briefed us on the food that they served – a seafood salad, barbecued lobster, fries and banana fries (that’s right!) So we ordered a bit of everything, since we were extremely hungry.

For drinks some of us had Presidente, which seems to be the national beer down there, but the rest had virgin Pina Coladas, which were mixed inside an actual pineapple. For me, those were the highlight. I mean, I love seafood, but these were just so refreshing on a hot and humid day, and I just know I’ll probably never have anything like that again.

The place was all outdoors, as with most venues in the Dominican Republic, and it had a tiny little shack to hold the drinks. They even do all their cooking on a few outdoor stoves, just behind the shack.

The seafood salad was delicious – shrimp, calamari, fresh fish and bits of lobster mixed in with avocado, tomato, red onion and a tasty, slightly spicy vinaigrette. The fries were chunky and crispy too.

We were really excited for the banana fries, but we were sure what to expect. They were a slightly different breed of bananas, like plantains, so they weren’t sweet, but they had a rougher texture than potatoes. Basically they were mashed and then deep fried  and they were delicious.

Then we ate the lobster, which was so good. We’d ordered four, but our waiter said that because they were so small he’d cooked another two for us, for free – how sweet is that?!

All this, washed down with that beautiful Pina-Colada-in-a-pineapple, made for such a satisfying lunch that we weren’t hungry again until 10pm that night. Delicioso!

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A Taste of New Orleans: Café Hope

Last week, I participated in an Alternate Spring Break trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. While obviously I was eager for many aspects of the trip, I was extremely excited to try the distinctive and colorful New Orleans cuisine. From the beignets and chicory coffee at Café du Monde to spicy shrimp rémoulade and po-boys, the food was indeed amazing. However, my lasting food memory of the trip is of Café Hope.

Café Hope is not the typical tourist stop in the same way that Café du Monde is, but as a program invested in helping those in need, it was a prime destination for my group’s lunch break. Café Hope is a lunch restaurant and catering business under the auspices of Catholic Charities that provides twelve-week training and certification in the food and hospitality industries for disadvantaged young adults between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. The students all come from low-income families and are not currently enrolled in school. The Café also works with the Jefferson Parish of New Orleans Juvenile Services to take in adolescents with juvenile justice system exposure. In addition to teaching the students and paying them for their contribution to the restaurant, the program helps them find work upon completion of training and pairs them with mentors. The restaurant offers lunch Monday-Friday from 11:00-2:00, and at about $10-$13 per entrée, is an amazing deal for the traditional Cajun/Creole food served.

I ordered a light garden salad, herbed chicken with pan-roasted vegetables, and delicious New Orleans bread pudding. All in all, I would say it was one of the best meals I had on my trip. Café Hope is a truly innovative program that addresses the needs of at-risk young adults while simultaneously passing on New Orleans cuisine and healthy food habits. It is an inspiration in many ways, and has made a lasting impression with me about similar possibilities in Philadelphia and elsewhere.

*picture and logo from Café Hope's website: cafehope.org

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Fine Belgian Beer

This is a continuation of our Belgian food series.

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

Any beer connoisseur knows Belgium brews some of the finest beers in the world. Beers of every variety are brewed in Belgium, from cherry-flavored to those with upwards of 11% alcohol by volume (ABV)—nearly the same ABV as a glass of wine! Visiting breweries is a popular tourist attraction in Belgium, and a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Fun fact = Belgians consume, according to one estimate, 93 liters of beer per person a year, compared to the US at 81.6 liters per person

During the 19th century, there were over 3,000 registered breweries in the country. But after two World Wars and a depression in the first half of the 20th century, the number of breweries dropped to 755. Later, with the growth of industrialization, many breweries merged and were taken over my larger concerns, dropping the number of remaining breweries today to around 100.

Fun fact = In Belgium and other parts of Europe, the words "café" and "bar" are used interchangeably to denote what we would call a bar in the US.

Belgian beers can be classified by their style, differences in taste and color created by variants of the brewing process, and type, details like the brewing location and alcohol content.

Styles:

• Blonde, Amber, and Brown ales are beers differentiated based on their color. A beer's color is dependent on the color of the malts (the germinated and dried grains like barely used to make beer) used in brewing, and is unrelated to the alcohol content. My favorite of these ales were the Blondes; I recommend trying Leffe Blonde, La Chouffe Achouffe, and Delirium Tremens.

Fun fact = Délirium Café in Brussels holds the Guinness World Record for the bar with most beers available at 2,004.

• Pilsner is another popular style of beer and is characterized by its light color and hop flavor. Stella Artois, Jupiler, Maes pils, and Cristal are all Belgian Pilsners. Stella Artois originates from Leuven, the town I studied abroad in, and is still brewed there today. In student bars you could get a glass for 80 Euro cents, about $1.05 US dollars—much cheaper than the $5 and upwards you’ll pay for a Stella in the US!

Fun Fact = Belgians, as I observed, drink beer around the clock. On sunny days, the Oude Markt (an historic central square filled with bars/cafes and restaurants) would be full of people drinking at tables by 11 a.m..

• Lambic beers are produced using spontaneous fermentation by exposing the beer to wild yeast in the air in large, open vats. This unusual process results in a characteristic cidery flavor with a sour aftertaste. Some of the more interesting Lambics I tried in Belgium were fruit flavored, like cherry-flavored Kriek and raspberry-favored Framboos.

Fun fact = Almost every brand of beer has its own unique glass, ranging from elaborate hour-glass shapes that require a stand (see photo), to branded chalices and goblets. Broken glassware, as you can imagine, is a huge expense for the bars, who have to stock the different glasses for all of their beers.

• The last style, but certainly not the least, of beer I’ll describe are White beers, which are made with a blend of herbs (mainly of coriander, orange, bitter orange, and hops), wheat, and barely. They get their name from the pale, cloudy color they have when cold. My favorite of this variety was Hoegaarden.

Types:

• Some will be familiar with the term “Trappist beer,” but fewer know the history behind it. Trappist is a Roman Catholic religious order of cloistered monks, and it was Trappist monks who first brewed beer in Belgium during the Middle Ages. There are strict criteria to label a beer as Trappist, and today only six Belgian monasteries selling Trappist beer remain: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westvleteren. I tried the famous Westmalle Tripel, a strong pale ale; it was the most alcoholic beer I had while in Belgium at 9.5% ABV.

Fun fact = “Cheers!” in Dutch is “Proost!”

• Certified Abbey beers are beers brewed by other non-Trappist monasteries, or by commercial breweries in connection with an existing or abandoned monastery. (Remember, neither the terms Trappist nor Abbey signify a style of beer, but rather they tell where the beers come from.)

Fun fact = In 2008, Anheuser-Busch, an American brewery known for its brands like Budweiser and Natural Light, was acquired by Brazilian-Belgian brewing company InBev (which brews Stella Artois and Hoegaarden, among other beers) for a total value of $52 billion

•The terms Tripel and Dubbel indicate the percentage alcohol content of the beer. A Dubbel has double the alcohol content of your average beer at 6 – 7.5% ABV, and a Tripel, you guessed it, has triple the alcohol content at 7% - 10% ABV. My favorite Tripel was the Tripel Karmeliet (8.4% ABV).

Luckily, Philadelphia is full of bars offering a variety of fine Belgian beers. City Tap House in West Philly serves an impressive 11 Belgian beers, including Tripel Karmeliet!

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