Food Find: October Sun Plum

In Chinatown, not every item in the produce section is labeled.  Or, if it is labeled, if you can't read Chinese, you're out of luck.

Last week, my dad picked up this small greenish plum during his Chinatown run.  In Chinese, its name is literally "snake egg."  But however odd the name, we were pleased to discover that the fruit itself was really sweet and juicy.  It was such a treat, we finished the bagful in short order, and my dad went seeking it again during a special extra Chinatown trip... this time picking up THREE bags of the luscious fruit.

And this time, I made sure I snapped a picture of the fruit and found a sticker labeling it in English (yippee!) as "October Sun."  Ah, mystery solved!  Now I'll at least know what I'm looking for...

October Sun Plum

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...

East Broadway Foodie Crawl

So it seems that the East Somerville Main Streets' 2nd annual East Broadway Foodie Crawl will be hitting a street of Somerville tomorrow evening (after having been rescheduled from the original Sept 18th date due to a 90% chance of rain), and I will be missing it because I have tickets to the Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays game.

For the price of a $20 adult ticket ($21.69 w/service fee), tasting samples are offered at 12 participating restaurants from 6pm - 8pm, with dessert available at the After Party with live music at three different venues from 8pm - 9:30pm.  According to a newspaper article, last year's was attended by 1,200+.

(from their website)

Foodie Crawl Schedule:
5:45pm  Check-In Begins
Check in at 145 Broadway (Mudflat)
OR at 193 Broadway (near Louie's Ice Cream)
*You will receive your event bracelet and guidebook

6:00-8:00pm  Foodie Crawl is On! Visit 10+ participating restaurants taste your way around the world!

8:00-9:30pm  Dessert and After Party with live music at local venues: Vinny's, Casey's and Fasika

Edible Arrangements - Edible To Go

If you've heard of Edible Arrangements, you probably know them for their fresh fruit bouquets, whether you've given them, or received them for one of a variety of joyful or sad occassions.  You can imagine in your mind's eye the pineapple/cantaloupe flowers, the wedge honeydew and cantaloupe leaves, the stacked red grapes, the red strawberries - whether fresh or chocolate dipped.

Lovely Cupcake™ pineapple pop

Well, what led me to the local Edible outlet was a coupon for a free Lovely Cupcake™ pineapple pops that I received after Liking the Edible Arrangements Facebook page.  In fact, there may still be time!  The coupon expires this Sunday, but the page must be liked by tomorrow.

However, my discovery on this visit (other than this new-to-me pop) was that they now have a whole new Edible To Go section consisting of fruity chilly beverages and fresh fruit treats for immediate and on-the-go consumption.  Most enticing-looking to me was the Banana Cream Pie Frusundae™ with sliced bananas, white chocolate sauce and whipped cream with shaved coconut, which I think was either $3.95 or $4.95 for the smallest portion size.

Healthy and tasty?  Sounds good to me!

Freebie: muller Greek corner

My friend called this afternoon - Can you come down?

Sure.

Turns out he found himself passing by a truck in the city of Boston giving away samples of muller Greek corner.  They were rather generous, so he ended up with a bounty of two cartons, and gave one to me.

Each individual serving of Greek yogurt came with a separate section containing a blackberry/raspberry sauce.  The yogurt was thick and tangy.  The fruit sauce was sweet.  Although the seeds did their part to convince me that the sauce was made of real fruit, still I wish it were seedless.