Great American Food and Music Fest - June 26, 2010

The night before the Fest, I checked out the weather forecast:

Tomorrow: Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

• Tomorrow night: Scattered thunderstorms, especially in the evening. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Not horrible, but not great. Umbrellas are on the Gillette Stadium's prohibited items list, and a raincoat doesn't sound like a great idea for a hot and humid and a maybe rain day, so, what to do?

Anyhow, I also took a look-see at the official website of the festival, and discovered that while the menu was now up (yay!), that Melinda Doolittle (Season 6 American Idol Finalist) had disappeared from her 4:30-5:30 time slot (boo!).

It turns out the cancellation of Ms. Doolittle was only the tip of the iceberg...

When we arrived at Gillette Stadium shortly after the noon start time and walked out onto the covered football field, I quickly realized several things:

1) The crowd was sparse, with the only decent line for food being in front of Jim's Steaks.

2) There was a band playing on the stage at the far end of the field... but where's the 2nd advertised stage?

3) I counted 10 food tents on the field along with the stadium's drink stands... missing were Anchor Bar, Neely's, Southside Market & BBQ, Tony Luke's Philly Steaks, Turtle Alley, and Willie Mae's Scotch House... and found Junior's Cheesecake and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard up a level where the larger bathrooms were, along with the surprise make your own sundae bar with Rancatore's ice cream.

4) The "Front Room" (duck confit, goat cheese, grilled onion jam grilled cheese on brioche) $10 was sadly missing from the menu at Harding Lee Smith.

5) The Fest staff knew only of the one single stage, but had no idea what the show schedule was.

Well, we were already there, so we began grazing:
1) All Star Sandwich Bar's Fried Scallop Po'Boy (Lettuce, Tomatoes, Sweet Corn/Mango Remoulade on Ciabatta) $11 had perhaps 5 fat tender fried scallops on a chewy crusty ciabatta
2) Hell's Kitchen's Mega Beef Rib $12 - an impressive meaty rib about a foot long reminiscent of the Disney park turkey leg
3) Ted Drewes Frozen Custard $6 - I preferred the Oreo & Cream Concrete over the Strawberry, both of which were at a perfectly creamy consistency
4) Junior's Cheesecake $5 for a slice of the nice smooth and creamy Original with a thin cake layer for the crust
5) Jim's Steak's Cheese Steak $8 with peppers for 50 cents - unfortunately it got soggy in the wrapping before we had the chance to eat them, and besides, the add ins were slapped onto the cooked beef rather than cooked together, and I don't remember tasting any actual cheese
6) Goldie's Churros with Cinnamon Sugar $6 - the lady coating the churros heard me ask for a fresher batch, and brought them right over; they were so light inside the crispy outer shell!



The performances finally began at 2:30pm (a half hour late?) with TV Diner's Billy Costa introducing the Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman and his crew. Duff revealed that for every minute of the show 400 minutes are taped, so you can imagine how slow their 45 minutes of live cake decorating was for folks used to watching the Food Network show on their tv's. But they tried to keep us entertained with chit-chat and Q&A. This was followed after by an EepyBird live Diet Coke & Mentos show up at Level 100 which drenched the folks downwind (hey, can't say they weren't warned!).

With only a single stage, we faced periods of non-entertainment or of piped in music inbetween performances where we snacked or napped in the shade up in the stands.

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes were later than their 4:15pm starting time, but I enjoyed that they had a neat little brass section. Buckwheat Zydeco, however, got some folks moving to the music.

The draw, however, turned out to be Paula Dean, who was scheduled to finish at 8pm so that she could make it to her 9pm flight which was an hour away, but she kept asking for more minutes and so didn't finish till nearly 8:15pm... her poor transportation coordinator (whom she introduced during the Q&A)! Also, while entertaining, Paula didn't do any of the cooking - that was the task of her lady-helper (didn't catch her name), her husband, and a child volunteer. At the end of her show, the bulk of the remaining audience headed out the door, while we stayed to watch a 2nd EepyBird demo from a different point of view.

We left as they announced that Tom Colicchio had taken sick (I found it tough to believe this after everything else that had changed) and that Duff Goldman would handle a Q&A in his place from 8:45 - 9pm. The Stompers were scheduled to go on at 9:30-10:30pm, but I seriously doubted that there'd be much of an audience left by then. In fact, I read afterwards that the remaining people were asked to leave at around 9:30pm...

Definitely not as advertised. I kind of felt sorry for the organizers though since they seem to be caught in a downward spiral - too many attendees with too few food stands and trouble with the cashless system out in CA in 2009, which may have resulted in fewer attendees in NJ 2010 who weren't happy with the parking charges nor with the standstill caused by the rain, which may have resulted in the cancellation of food vendors and performances at Gillette 2010 which definitely caused disappointment among those who attended this festival.

My suggestions other than fully committed vendors and performers would be for more shaded areas and more (and more solid) chairs (or to allow attendees to bring their own seats), a better informed staff (ie. what's the schedule?, you mean there's an elevator to the upper level?), and to forget about the cashless system.

Boston Dragon Boat Festival 2010

Just what is it about an outdoor festival or fair that causes you to eat sweet fried food?



It was a cloudy day hinting of rain, but the 31st Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival of Boston was still on, so I headed out yesterday afternoon in order to cheer on my friend and her light blue t-shirt clad team. After rushing over in order to not miss her race, we ended up waiting on the Western Avenue bridge for well over half an hour as the schedule kept getting back logged. But it was still entertaining watching as the various other teams slowly stroked their way from the boat launching area by the Weeks Pedestrian Bridge, on the Storrow Drive side of the river, towards Boston to the starting position on the near side of the River Street bridge, only to race back in their groups of two or three.

Finally, we spotted her team paddling their way towards the starting line, and shortly thereafter a whole crowd rushed on to the bridge that we recognized as fellow cheerers of the same team. After the three dragon boats raced out from under our bridge, we sprinted to the pier to greet them as they returned wet and happy from their trip.

Okay, once the excitement was over, it was time to peruse the tents on the Memorial side of the river. A large white tent housed a stage with a row after row of chairs for a sizeable audience. I spotted bits of two different acts - one where white dressed children broke wooden boards with ease, and the second of a small group of musicians with their Chinese instrument (erhu, I believe?).

Another tent housed crafts and tables with hand-outs of information or prizes. Set along the road (which was closed to traffic for the afternoon) were samples of Dunkin Donuts and a fruity water, and vendors with food for sale ranging from Indian and Thai and Chinese to Italian. There was also a slide set up on a truck where little kids could race against the clock to see how fast they could slide down three times. One little boy grabbed the pole with his inside hand as he launched himself off the last step, so that he'd fly into a 180 degree turn that landed him on his trip down the slide.

While mulling over whether or not to pick up a bag of Kettlecorn, one of the many vendors suddenly caught my eye... Cindy's Planet! Previously located in a small spot in Chinatown, it had disppeared a few years ago. In fact, some of us still call Royal Palace II (popped up in that same spot) "Cindy's Planet." Where are they now? Salem! Not only that, besides the photos of bubble teas and fish balls on a stick, there was an intriguing sign declaring "Deep fried Oreos - 6 for $3.50." Seriously? You can get a whole pack of Oreos for $2 from CVS or the market when they're on sale, but those aren't deep-fried...



They fried up a batch fresh for me, sprinkled on some powdered sugar, and handed them over. Hot, puffy, softened inside, sweet. A little much, but still a fun treat.

Taste of Fort Point

It rained this morning, yet the Taste still went on!

Shortly after noon, we headed over to the Children's Wharf Park - the grassy area on the opposite end of the giant milk bottle - and there was already a crowd of people making the rounds around the tables with their displays and food samplings. Even the sailboats were out providing free rides, courtesy of the Piers Park Sailing Center.

No, the weather did not discourage the hungry from a free meal!




Although several of the tables were unmanned when we went by them (ie. The Daily Catch, Flour Bakery & Cafe), there was still food aplenty! From appetizers (ie. tuna tartar on tortilla chip, salad) and soups (ie. potato leek soup, gazpacho, two clam chowders), to the filling (ie. sandwiches, pizzas, calzone, pasta, chili, chicken pesto pilaf), with liquid thirst quenchers (ie. cocoa, ginger peach tea), and a bit of sweets (ie. cookies, ice cream, carrot cake), there were lots to choose from. But why choose? You could have them all!

The top taste, however, may have been the super-moist carrot cake provided by Gloria's Kitchen, which is located inside the Boston Athletic Club on Summer Street.

I loved how along with the trash cans scattered about, they had two cheerful ladies wandering about with trash bags in hand, collecting our litter.

The Clover Food Truck comes to Boston!

I definitely did not intend to be so suddenly prolific, but June's turning into a major food month!

Anyhow, I was super-excited to read that the Clover Food Truck has come within walking distance of me! I guess if Mohammed won't come to the mountain...

The original Clover Food Truck is (and continues to be) located out at MIT - yeah, a bit too far a trek for lunch from the Boston Downtown area, especially since I normally bring my workday lunch from home. Leftovers are great for that, you know?

But on June 8th, Clover came to Boston! They're scheduled to be at Dewey Square - the flat piece of concrete diagonal from South Street Station - Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays from 7am - 3pm.

In case you've never heard of this meal on wheels option, Clover Food Lab's aim is to serve up local and seasonal vegetarian fare at affordable prices. Healthy for the body and for the pocketbook - sure sounds good to me!

I'll have to get myself out there for lunch one day. I'd like to try their chickpea fritter and sweet potato sandwich...

Edit 6/23/2010 - I asked and found out that the sweet potato sandwich is a winter menu item. So sad!

Scooper Bowl 2010

Day 1 of the 28th annual Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl was a lovely day in the low 70s, which made eating ice cream the leisure activity it was meant to be - no racing of melting ice cream today!

The entrance to the fenced-in ice cream wonderland on the Boston City Hall Plaza was quite notably a large ice cream cone with a huge cherry on top - false advertising claimed my ice cream buddy, since there were no whole cherries on site. Volunteers armed with stamps to mark your hand and money to make change were plentiful, so gaining entrance was no hassle. Pick up a spoon and you're ready to go!

After getting a load of the lay of the land, we headed off to some of the further off tents, with their hopefully shorter lines, and began enjoying our ice cream. The only station I completely ignored was Breyers, and not because I don't like them, but because I already had a couple of gallons of their ice cream at home waiting for me.

Trash barrels were conveniently placed about, both for cups and for spoons. A stage was set up in the back where we were serenaded with the lyrics of "American Pie" as we observed little children jump about with red balloons firmly tied, while some early bird elemetary aged children played with their freebie rubber FedEx yo-yos off to the side.

A water station was handily placed by the stage, while a FedEx truck stood sentry over a table where you could pick up some super-useful individually wrapped Purell Sanitizing Hand Wipes, and these darling tiny FedEx "Small Box" (with mints inside?) just perfect for a Barbie doll to ship an imaginary package. If you want, you could also take a guess at how many spoons were housed in a clear plastic box.

I must have tasted at least 18 flavors before I realized my time was up and I had to head back in to work. Not bad for $8, eh?

Bye bye Miss American Pie... enjoying a la mode was a nice break for the day!

June Tastings

In one month there is the "Taste of Somerville" presenting samples from 32 restaurants for $25/$30 (June 8) and the "Taste of Cambridge" with its over 50 participating local businesses for $50/$75 (June 24), not to mention the annual all you can eat ice cream bonanza known as the "Scooper Bowl" $8 (June 8-10) held out on the Boston City Hall Plaza (for which we have been forecasted the most wonderful of temperatures in the 70's!). And now there is the new to me "Taste of Fort Point Channel" (June 10) which is going on its 6th year for the cost of nothing, nada, zilch!

Of the above mentioned neighborhoods, Fort Point Channel is likely the lesser known and frequented culinary destination. Personally, I have only just begun venturing forth to explore the other side of the Fort Point Channel, having recently enjoyed meals at Channel Cafe, Lucky's, and Barlow's. As I have discovered, it is actually a rather easy walk from the Boston Downtown area!

From the opening of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in 2004, the unveiling of the 2nd site of Flour Bakery in 2007, to the addition of Barbara Lynch's fine dining destination Menton just this year, these are signs that this artist community/waterfront home to The Barking Crab and the Institute of Contemporary Art has been deemed the place to be.

So, with fingers crossed, on June 10th, the Children’s Wharf Park by the Boston Children's Museum will be where I will be during my lunch break.

June 8, 2010 edit:

Wow, there are even more Tastes of than I first realized!

The Taste of Beacon Hill - $75 - June 30

A Taste of Fair Trade in Boston - $25 - June 24

June 10, 2010 edit:

Taste of the World - $60 - June 10 - benefiting Hostelling International USA's Cultural Kitchen program

Taste of Downtown Marlborough - $15/$20 - June 14

Taste of Allston Village - $15/$20 - June 27

Gaslight Brasserie du Coin - Patio Opening!

Gaslight celebrated the opening of their heated patio on June 2nd with a by invite-only evening gathering filled with live music and finger foods, fresh oysters, beer and Svedka vodka. The wait staff did a bang up job attempting to spread the wealth (aka asparagus wrapped with super salty prosciutto, mini Cuban sandwiches, a pleasantly cheesy ham sandwich held together by a toothpick, beef tartar on crostini, cheese puffs, and the cutest cones of tasty fries) among the guests by varying their points of entrance.




I kind of felt bad for the folks attempting to exercise in the neighboring Boston Sports Club while we were munching and drinking away just on the other side of the glass window.