Scooper Bowl 2018

Next week is the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl out on Boston's Government Center City Hall Plaza.  Hopefully the forecasted showers will change before then.

"New for 2018! Add some sweetness to your after-work happy hour at Scoop@Night 21+, presented in partnership with Harpoon and UFO Beers, 90+ Cellars, and Martignetti. Join us on Thursday, June 7, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., for unlimited ice cream from Baskin-Robbins®, Bart’s Ice Cream, Beckon Ice CreamTM (formerly Minus the Moo), Blake’s Ice Cream, Vice Cream, and Yasso, as well as two adult beverage tickets. Scoop@Night attendees must be 21 or older. IDs will be checked at the entrance."

Online Prices (Price will increase the day of the event)
Scoop @ Night Ticket $30
Adults (ages 10 and up) $10
Child (ages 3-9) $5
Scooper Pass Allows Entrance 3 times $20
Group Adults (15 or more) $8 each
Group Child (15 or more) $3
"Patient Ticket" (purchase a ticket for a patient and their family members) $10
Valvoline Instant Oil Change Speedy Pass (skip the line!) $25

Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl
JUNE 5 – 7, 2018
Noon – 8:00 p.m.
City Hall Plaza, Boston

Scooper Bowl 2017

The 35th annual Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl is will be  here in about a month.  For a dollar discount off the $10 adult admission to the all-you-can-eat ice cream festival, text SUN to 56512!

Buy early and save!  Tickets bought in advance are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 3 – 9, while kids under 3 are free.  As of the day of the event, ticket prices go up to $15 for adults, $10 for ages 3 – 9, and kids under 3 are free.  If you want to go more than once, purchase a $20 Scooper Pass and attend the Scooper Bowl up to three times.

Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl

June 6 – 8, 2017

Noon – 8:00 p.m.

City Hall Plaza, Boston

Taste of WGBH: Food and Wine Festival - Opening Chef’s Gala Reception

This year is the 5th season of the Taste of WGBH Food & Wine Festival, September 15-18, 2016.  It, however, was my first year participating.  Their Thursday evening Opening Chef’s Gala Reception took place right at their location at One Guest Street.  And if you had ever been there before, you would be amazed at the transformation the space had undergone for this event.

It was lovely, yet rustic, with the contrast of crystal chandeliers hanging up above while flowers, caged chicken (don't worry, they were fake), empty bottles, old meat grinders and rough wood were part of the decoration.

Restaurant and wine stations lined the space with food and drink alternating.  With one stemware per person, compostable utensils, and bins separating compost from recyclables from the landfill, this was a rather green event.

One guest later complained that there was just too much food, as she observed her tummy in the mirror.  After discussing, however, we came to the conclusion that we had agreed on the best tastes of the night: the new darling off Newbury Street - Saltie Girl Seafood Bar with her crispy freshly fried battered lobster perched on top of a bit of warm waffle with sweet syrup and creamy butter tucked between, and the stalwart elegant L'Espalier's Pate de Campagne with Wild Mushrooms and Fried Lentils.  In English, it was a slice of a meaty savory patty, with fresh frisee salad, and these lovely crisp lentils which popped and just made the plate.  She told me that she had learned that they had prepared the lentils by boiling them half way, drying them, baking them, then frying them (or was that in reverse?).  The results were not oily at all, but were lovely crisp crunchiness.

Tickets were priced at $125 for WGBH members, $150 for non-members, or $350 for the entire Food & Wine Festival activities.

Scooper Bowl 2015

Yup, looks like the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl is fast approaching again!

When else can you say you're eating ice cream for cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute?

This year the annual all-you-can-eat ice cream festival takes place June 2-4 out on the Government Center Plaza, and the entrance fee is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 3-9, and free for kids under 3.

Phantom Gourmet BBQ & Music Festival 2014

I guess they decided that the bit of sand they would spread out on the ground wasn't quite worthy of co-billing anymore, as the name of this event has changed to the Phantom Gourmet BBQ & Music Festival from the Phantom Gourmet BBQ Beach Party.  With this year's focus on as a music festival featuring Salt-N-Pepa on Friday night and The Mighty Mighty BossToneS on Saturday evening, tickets are offered at a variety of prices this year - $5 for Daytime tickets for admission in advance/$10 at the event (kids 6 and under free), $15 for the Salt-N-Pepa concert, and $32.50 for The Mighty Mighty BossToneS.

A benefit for the local worker-bees in the City of Boston, however, is free admission on Friday from noon till 4pm.  With the two year construction project underway at the Government Center MBTA station, the set up of the BBQ Festival was a bit turned around, which we unfortunately did not realize till we ran into a dead end, as they lacked both directional signage and staffers pointing the way.  The entrance this year is located at the Congress Street side of the plaza, across from the glass towers of the Boston Holocaust Memorial.  Though entrance was free, they had a bag check line that was more than a formality.  Water and other liquids were the target of their search as there was water available for sale within for $3 per pop in addition to the alcohol in their beer gardens and other additional chilled drinks.

With no idea as to how the six BBQ stars compare to one another, I just popped into a short line and waited nearly 20 minutes for my lunch.  Hey, and we were there on the early side!

With my bounty from Johnson's Hickory Smoked Bar-B Que in hand, we headed over to the relatively shady beer garden by the JFK Federal Building, where entrance was allowed even for those with no interest in a liquid lunch.

The meat in my one meat boneless rib sandwich ($5) was unexpectedly a molded meat patty, reminiscent of the old McDonald’s McRib in shape, though not in flavor.  It was actually pretty tasty.  The cole slaw it was advertised to come with was easily swapped out for potato salad, but it also arrived with unannounced soft, sweet baked beans - which my cashier informed me comes with everything.  I also got a side of your average one in the blue box looking creamy mac & cheese made with overcooked elbow pasta for $3.  Not a bad meal on the whole - could have been better, but could have been worse.

Phantom Gourmet BBQ & Music Festival
June 20-22, 2014
City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA

Fork Lift Food Fest 2013

I think I hit the jackpot at the Fork Lift Food Fest, a sub-component of the (hopefully, first annual) Outside the Box Music & Performing Arts Festival sponsored in large part by founder and philanthropist Ted Cutler. According to the participating restaurants list on the official website, Scampo was scheduled for Friday. Now, I like Scampo – I had a very good Restaurant Week experience there just this prior March. But with the current heat wave forecasting Friday to be the hotter of the two weekdays of the food fest, I thought I’d play smart and check it out today instead. 

I braved the overhead sun and muggy weather with my shade hat firmly tied on… and found the tented area on City Hall Plaza to be rather sparsely populated.  Good for me.  Bad for them.  The heat must have kept the crowds away as it did my friend who told me “I don’t plan on going to City Hall to roast.” 

Chart House Boston

Since I thought I had read somewhere that the food tickets ($1 each) were sold in increments of 5 and that each taste was priced at 1-5 food tickets, I did a quick walk through of the tents first, so I wouldn’t over-convert my dollars for tickets.  Turns out I was wrong though, as the ladies at my first  Food, Soda & Water Tickets stand was more than willing to sell me as many or as few food tickets my heart desired.

Avocado Crab Mango Stack 4 tix

During my grand tour, the station with the longest line (5 people deep) was Scampo at the Liberty Hotel.  I checked out the menu – Chef Lydia Shire’s Lobster Sausage with Crispy Pork Cracklin’s 4 Tickets – ding, ding, ding!  The aroma of warm melted butter filled the air…  A quick run to the ticket stand, a short wait in line, and one of those big, fat, glistening sausages threatening to jump out of the beautifully toasted bun was mine!

Lydia and her Lobster Sausage 4 tix

I hid myself in the shade of one of several umbrella-ed tables, and bit.  Juices flowed and chunks of crustacean were proudly exposed.  (And my plate blew away – oops!)  Yup, the winner was here.

Having overheard Lydia tell another diner that this was the only day they’d be at the festival, I was tempted to buy a second and to stick it in the freezer for later… but instead, I bought another and took it to a friend who worked close by.  There is joy in sharing delicious food, you know!

Jasper White's cooking demo is about to begin

FYI -

Hours:
Thursday, July 18th – 11am – 9pm
Friday, July 19th – 11am – 9pm
Saturday, July 20th – 11am – 9pm
Sunday, July 21st (grand finale!) – 11am – 5pm

Cost:
Entrance – free
Food – Tasting tickets are sold for $1 each – I think they had a credit card machine… but I paid cash, so I’m not 100% sure

Facilities:
Portapotties were set up against the side of the Government Center T station

To give you some ideas of the prices here –
Shake Shack’s Shack Burger (aka Cheeseburger) 5 tickets
State Room’s Spicy Chinese Chicken Salad, Crispy Wonton Chip, Hoisin Ginger Sauce 3 tickets
Isabelle’s Curly Cakes cupcakes ranged from 3-5 tickets

And I think the cheapest drink option at 1 ticket was at Olde Thyme Franks, in case you aren’t carrying your water bottle.

Tips:
Bring a hat
Bring water
Bring money/credit card
Bring your appetite
Bring wet naps – great for cleaning those fingers!

I bet it is going to be busier this weekend, despite the heat, since most folk won’t be stuck at work.

Scooper Bowl 2013's Coming!

Lately I've been seeing signs of the coming of the Jimmy Fund's annual Scooper Bowl fundraiser.

Can't wait!

First, the nitty gritty -

June 4 — 6, 2013

Noon — 8 p.m.

City Hall Plaza, Boston

Second, the price:

$10 for adults

$5 for ice cream eaters ages 3-9

Third, the discount option I spotted:

Text SUN to 56512
for $1 off admission and event alerts

Enjoy!

Food Truck Throwdown!

It doesn't look like I can't go myself (*sniff*), but the first annual Food Truck Throwdown between Boston and New York is hitting Dewey Square this coming Saturday.

I do wonder how they'll decide who wins though, since as a local, I can hit the Boston trucks anytime I can find them, so I'd most likely choose to spend my precious tummy space trying out a variety of options from the New York trucks, if I made it out there...

From the official site:


1st ANNUAL “FOOD TRUCK THROWDOWN!”

Boston and New York City to go Head to Head on the Rose Kennedy Greenway

WHAT: Food Truck Throwdown,“Boston vs. NYC” – a daylong competition which pits seven food trucks from Boston against seven food trucks from New York City as contestants vie for the title of Best Food Truck. Live music, celebrity judges including Jenny Johnson of NECN’s TV Diner, and tons of great eats = fun for the entire family. Admission is free, enjoying the food (and why wouldn’t you want to?) will require you to bring your wallet.

WHO: Sara Ross, owner of Kickass Cupcakes, is the creative force behind the first annual Food Truck Throwdown,“Boston vs. NYC” along with support from the city of Boston, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, and the Boston food truck community.

WHERE: The first annual Food Truck Throwdown,“Boston vs. NYC” will take place in Dewey Square on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston’s hottest food truck location. The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy (www.rosekennedygreenway.org) piloted a food vending program called “Greenway Mobile Eats” in 2010, and the program continues to expand. Today, 16 food vendors operate in seven locations along the Greenway, with the goal of having 12-18 food vendors on the Greenway every season. For more information, visit www.rosekennedygreenway.org.

WHEN:  Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  Free Admission.

Boston Local Food Festival

On Sunday, we headed out to the Greenway by the Aquarium to check out the Boston Local Food Festival.

White tents lined both sides of the sidewalk winding along the Greenway, from the carousel by Fanueil Hall to the Boston Harbor Hotel.  Compost bins shared equal billing with recycle bins and trash bags.  Music filled the air while we made our way through.  Samples were to be had of chocolate, peanut butter, tomatoes, cheese, popcorn, and even whole salads.  Food was also available for purchase from fresh shucked oysters ($2) to plates of Puerto Rican food ($5), of which we most enjoyed the tender chicken satay  ($3) from the Thai Hut and the maple cotton candy (also $3).  It was a nice way to spend our afternoon.

MobileFarmer'sMarket

Boston Fish Pier Seafood Festival

From the Press Release:

Announcing the first annual Boston Fish Pier Seafood Festival on Saturday, October 6.

The Boston Fish Pier Seafood Festival is the official public kickoff of the non-profit, all volunteer Boston Fisheries Foundation, and will be the first all-seafood festival held in Boston. It will be a day of sensational seafood tastings, oyster and lobsters, clambakes and chef demos, educational events, and family fun. The event will be held, rain or shine, at the Bank of America Pavilion, 290 Northern Ave, Boston and runs from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Boston Fisheries Foundation (BFF) is a group of Boston-area “fish guys” who share a passion for healthy, delicious seafood and for supporting the local families whose livelihoods depend on New England seafood. They have come together to create The Boston Fisheries Foundation.  Their goal is ambitious: Sustaining the generations-old fisheries that have operated out of the Boston Fish Pier and up and down the seacoast of New England. The hope is to bring the fishing communities together with the public to create momentum and make sure that the Boston Fish Pier survives for another 100 years.

Tickets are $10, $8 for students.

I wonder what the price of the ticket includes...

The Charles River Food Truck Festival

Rain was in the forecast today, but it managed to hold off until the late afternoon hours - and then it let go full force- luckily for The Charles River Food Truck Festival at DCR's Artesani Herter Park in Brighton, MA, which was scheduled to take place from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM (ET), and those who went to enjoy it.  


While I know that we were highly recommended to use public transportation (subway then bus) as there are few parking lots near the park, since I was headed over a bit late (arriving in the area shortly before 1:30pm), I decided to risk driving in.  Annoyingly, however, they had blocked the vehicle entrances to the single large parking lot by the Publick Theatre, so I had no chance at parking at one of the handful of vacant spots that I could see... just... over... there...  But I did manage to find myself a parking spot without too much trouble and to make my way across Soldiers Field Road and to the festival that was sprawled across the three smaller parking lots and a couple of fields....


Tickets were available on site at one of the three ticket tents, or could be purchased ahead of time via Eventbrite:
20 Taste Tickets $25 + $2.37 fee
30 Taste Tickets $37 + $3.03
40 Taste Tickets $48 + $3.63

Tickets were also available on site for $13 for 10 tickets.  So, the taste tickets basically ranged in cost (pre-fee) from $1.20-$1.30 apiece.

At the first incarnation of the Food Truck Festival held at UMass Boston, prices were set at $30 for a general admission ticket ($35 day of), which included one serving from each of the participating food trucks.  Yes, I have heard that it was a horrendous experience for many of the attendees, with the super long lines, and many of the trucks running out of food around 2pm.  With the assist of an offer through Groupon, 4,000 tickets were sold and yet each food truck was asked to bring only a minimum of 1,000 portions; I must say that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.  But still, I couldn't imagine how much it would cost to taste a single item per truck under this new taste ticket system.  Fortunately/Unfortuntely, I wasn't really planning to find out though, given the physical limitations of the human stomach.

As a guest of a sponsor, I was armed with 40 tickets and off I went to see what damage I could do.  The longest line between the first two clusters of trucks I came through was the one for The Taco Truck with its short simple menu of Baja Fish Taco (5 tickets) and soda (2 tickets), and that was perhaps 25 customers long.

Now, remember, with a value of $1.20-$1.30 per ticket, that places the value of a 5 ticket item at $6-$6.50, while the Pescado Taco on The Taco Truck menu is listed at $5.  The Taco Truck wasn't the only truck with such a price differential from their normal prices, but I guess that's what happens when you enact a food ticket method of pricing.

Anyhow, on to the food.  I had the opportunity to try a few items.  Some I didn't particularly care for, as they were not very flavorful...

Go Fish Seafood Fritters Sampler with lobster, crab & grilled corn

Some rather tasty, although I'm not too sure they were worth the rather long wait as the bread griller got caught up with the orders... (although that didn't quite explain the long wait for my fried veggies while I watched my slider sit cooling on the counter)...

Compliments Truck Sirloin Slider & local fried veggie sampler

or tasty, yet filled with mainly claw meat...  at one point, I briefly considered creating myself a little lobster tasting as 3 different trucks offered some variation of lobster rolls or sliders (or both), but I decided against it for the opportunity to try a variety of food instead.

Lobsta Love Lobster Slider

While a complete list of the trucks' offerings and the ticket prices was missing from the ticket tents, volunteers stood around with signs advertising their truck's menus for our convenience.

Volunteer Menu Holder

It was an enjoyable afternoon's repast, filled out with drink samplings from among the variety of business tents.  With my strip of tickets I was managed to try 9 items from 6 trucks.  My one regret was the missed opportunity to expend some energy at the Bounce & Boogie area, but my belly was inconveniently rather full by then, as were my hands.  When I stopped by Gabi's Smoke Shack at 2:45pm, they had unfortunately run out of their pulled pork.  Other than that, the only other menu items I had noticed crossed out was the St. Louis Ribs and pulled pork slider at Red Bones when I had first arrived at the festival.  Not too bad.  And good thing too, since there was still a rather good sized line at the ticket tent when I left at nearly 3pm.

3pm ticket line

Given the inconvenient (public transportation-wise) location, a rather wise transportation alternative was to bike there, as a good number of folks elected to do.  Real smart, I thought...

Bicycle parking area

Greenway Mobile Food Fest

Edited 10/12/2011 - Greenway Mobil Food Fest has been postponed.

Source: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/files/8013/1843/7865/Greenway_Mobile_Food_Fest_Update_Oct12.pdf

Direct repost from the Rose Kennedy Greenway calendar:

Greenway Mobile Food Fest Saturday, October 15, 2011, 11:30am – 7pm

	LOCATION: Dewey Square Plaza (across from South Station) & Fort Point Channel Parks (between Congress & Oliver Streets)
	SUMMARY: Local food trucks park on the Greenway for an urban celebration of the fall harvest. Try Boston’s best street food while you picnic in the park and revel in the delights of fall. Featuring: - Fall Harvest Cook Off (vendors compete to create the tastiest pumpkin themed dish) - Local Chef judge panel announces Greenway Mobile Food Fest – “Pumpkin Prize” - Performances by local bands - Farm-fresh seasonal produce - Backyard games (bocce, croquet, ladder ball, baggo) - Kid zone with fall themed crafts and activities - Cast your tweet for favorite food truck @hellogreenway - Canned food drive to support Greater Boston Food Bank Participating food vendors (as of 10/6) include: Kick*ss Cupcakes, Clover Food Lab, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, BBQ Smith, Bon Me, Lefty’s Silver Cart, Staff Meal, Mobile Home, Grilled Cheese Nation, The Dining Car, Equal Exchange Free Range Cafe, Boston Frosty, Ben & Jerry’s, Boston Speeds, Spoon Truck, Silk Road BBQ and Taza Chocolate. Performances by local bands ( as of 10/6): Coyote Kolb, Mr. Sister, Mount Peru, The Old Edison, Audrey Ryan and Brendan Hogan No cash on hand? Now you can pay with your phone! Simply download the free LevelUp app from the iTunes or Android app store. Plus when you sign up using the promo code GREENWAY, you automatically get a free $10 to spend at any truck accepting LevelUp! Go to www.thelevelup.com for more information.
	COST: FREE admission

Source: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/events/calendar/#/?i=1

King Richard's Faire

My visit to King Richard's Faire in "Carvershire" was more a feast for the eyes than for the stomach.

The land was filled not only with citizens of interesting dress and manners, but with visitors from afar clothed in garments tight or flowy or of a variety of nations or periods, armed with bow & arrow or drum or sheathed knife. Lad or lass, king or princess, wolf-man or fairy, t'was a variety of folk who passed before mine eyes.

Shows of magic and of mirth, of whips cracked high and low, of washer maids with bare feet, tales of Alice the princess in a land of wonder and confusion, great cats with their stripes, and knights who aimed at rings before facing a fight to the death. Our day was quite filled!

Games of skill and luck, axes and knives aimed at wooden shield paintings, arrows that find their mark in walls of hay. Rides run by the strength of men up high in the air. Lots to do. Shops to peruse. Clothing of fabric, clothing of leather, capes of wool, ears of fairies or of feline, toadstools and peeking worms, fairy wings, dragons for wrists, metal curls for hair.

Prior to my visit, two things I was so informed of the consumables of this land:
1) They have turkey legs, like Disney.

2) Avoid the food, everything is equally bad.

My visit was not for the purpose of seeking food to be ingested with relish, however, a visit of a length as we had intended would require the periodic refreshment of the body. Thus would I recommend the Kettle Korn which comes in small portions in paperbags for the price of 8 tickets or larger portions in plastic bags for 12. (Get the large if your party is of an appetite to demolish it.) Many choices come with fryes, so you are unlikely to need to order such fryes on their own for 8 tickets, however, you may wish to order the tasty option of sweet potato fryes for the price of 11 tickets, or a bloomin' onion for 6 - both of which arrive hot and fresh from the fryer, so consume with care! If thy appetite is for clam chowder, I wouldst suggest that thou obtainists thy boule of such chowder from the Witches' Kitchen, where portions of the creamy liquid seemed both greater and hotter than that which I had obtained from Canterbury Kitchens as served by newly arrived youthful members of the shire.

Expect not too much, and you may yet satisfactorily fill your stomaches enough to continue your wanderings and enjoyment of the land.

Boston's 1st Annual Food Truck Festival

Citysearch Boston sponsored Boston's 1st Annual Food Truck Festival at SoWa Sunday August 8, 2010 at 500 Harrison Avenue from 10am - 4pm.

According to the official Facebook page:

+ + + CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE + + +
speed's hot dogs
m&m ribs
lincoln street coffee
dragon mobile discotaza chococycle
south end pita
boston frosty
fillbelly's
cupcakory
herrera's mexican grill
food truck nationequal exchange coffee trike
grillo's pickles
the sausage guy
roxy's grilled cheese
b. goodtrolley dogs

+ plus +
urban adventours
HINT water

Well, if I won't go to Newmarket Square, when M&M Ribs and Speeds come towards me, I really should go and pay them a visit!

Our little group headed out to the Food Truck Festival shortly before 1pm to be greeted by a large crowd on the sidewalk. A line to enter the festival? Nope, turns out it was the end of the line to the Speed's truck. Whoa! This did not bode well...

We rushed to the end of the shorter (slightly) line for M&M Ribs, pausing only to wash hands at these cool stand alone foot powered sinks, and waited, and waited, and hardly moving... But with the help of some friends, we managed to obtain two beef briskets (they were out of chicken, ribs, and starting to run out of sides...), sweet cinnamony sweet potatoes, collard greens, and reminiscent of porridge (high liquid ratio) rice & beans to share.

By the time we finished our 'bounty' the Cupcakery line was non-existent, so I figured that was done for, but the Speed's line was still impressive.

We did get a taste of a few samples (Nantucket Wild Gourmet & Smokehouse - I liked the scallop spread more than the salty smoked salmon spread; Pestos with Panache - try the Gorgonzola version!) before we finally decided we didn't want to wait for Speed's today, and maybe we'll just have to make a special outing out to Newmarket Square on a Saturday...

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.