ECH's Road Food Diary

[East Coast Hustle]

I'm going to review any noteworthy road food I encounter in the next couple of weeks, from greasy tamales served from a roadside cart covered in diphtheria to the best italian restaurant that I have ever been to (which I am making my third lifetime special out-of-the-way trip to go eat at; it's THAT good).

We will be starting this afternoon by going to Whole Foods in Portland and spending the remainder of our foodstamp money on the most expensive piece of cheese we can find. We will follow that with dinner at the brand-new all-you-can-eat thai buffet restaurant on Congress St.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

[Jenne]

Rock on.  I love this idea, ECH.  I wish I could do something similar with all the places we've been to and eaten at--like the little tamale stand in Ensenada on the way to La Bufadora (where I may/may not have picked up chigella), to that Belgian restaurant we've been going to in San Juan Capistrano since I was 19 (!), to the family-owned restaurant in Sikeston, MO where they THROW ROLLS at you and sell sorgum (which my husband loves, so he got online and had them send him a box of it last week since we were just bout out of sorgum, lol).

I look forward to reading this fread.

[Manta Obscura]

This is a cool idea, ECH.

If you go through Needles, California, be sure to get a chili burger from the small chili vendor in the main town square area, if she's still there.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

a roadside cart covered in diphtheria

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Hey, wait a second, you're in Portland???! Which Whole Foods? If it's the one on 15th and Fremont, bring some of that cheese to my house... I'm only a few blocks away! Also, they have Full Sail's Wassail seasonal beer on sale for $5.99/sixpack, FYI.

[Cainad (dec.)]

Hey, wait a second, you're in Portland???! Which Whole Foods? If it's the one on 15th and Fremont, bring some of that cheese to my house... I'm only a few blocks away! Also, they have Full Sail's Wassail seasonal beer on sale for $5.99/sixpack, FYI.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

God damn it, I keep forgetting about Portland Sr. 

[Cainad (dec.)]

God damn it, I keep forgetting about Portland Sr. 

"That's okay, I'll just sit here in the dark and cold, now that everyone's forgotten about me. Don't wanna be a burden..."
   /

[East Coast Hustle]

OK, we ended up not going to the thai buffet, but we did go cheese shopping.

Cheese #1 - Robelito, an Italian soft cheese in the style of Brie

I'm of the opinion that brie is the chardonnay of cheese, so I wasn't sold on this pick but we were getting claustrophobic and had to choose a milder cheese to offset the two we had already picked out. As far as brie-type cheese go, this one was good. It lacked the pungency of a good raclette, but had a little more depth and a creamier texture than, say, St. Andre or something like that. Also, the rind was edible so none of the cheese went to wast, which I like. This certainly wasn't an inspiring cheese, but if you have to put something out that can be spread on a cracker and will impress your guests a little more than a wheel of Laughing Cow, this isn't a bad choice.

Cheese #2 - 5 year-old Gouda

Holy shit. This stuff is STRONG. I used to get some cheddar that was aged between 5 and 7 years, and you can really tell the difference between your standard extra-sharp (aged 18 months usually) and something that's been hanging around that long. It's like the difference between fucking your grandmother and fucking Salma Hayek. But...the gouda is different. I don't know if it's the aging itself or if it's been improperly stored, but underneath all the complex flavors and pungency is an unpleasant ammoniated taste. I don't like cheese that reminds me of rotten fish. This is very disappointing, and serves to reinforce my prejudice against buying specialty food items that are on a prominent end-cap display.

Cheese #3 - Spanish Bleu Cheese (the name of which I forget and can't pronounce anyway) wrapped in Walnut Leaves

After racking my brain for 5 minutes looking for an appropriate superlative, I have given up and decided that this is, quite simply, the best goddamned bleu cheese I have ever tasted. Perfectly balanced between creamy and crumbly, stinky and smooth, this cheese elevates simple lactation byproduct into an art form. Frankly, I'm glad I can't remember the name of the cheese because then you might buy some and that would leave less for me. If, however, you hurry to the nearest Whole Foods before I pass through your town, you might be able to get your dirty cheese-eating hands on some. The walnut leaf wrapping should be enough to identify it. I'm serious about this. If you don't get it now, I'm going to eat it all.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Shit, I was just looking at that Spanish blue at Whole Foods earlier this evening, and passed it up in favor of two altogether disappointing Gorgonzola-type blues.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

I'm excited about this thread.
Dude you have to take pictures of the food and the colorful characters that serve it to you

And remember, if you stop in Florida to eat, to never stop in Florida or eat anything here.

[navkat]

OK, we ended up not going to the thai buffet, but we did go cheese shopping.

Cheese #1 - Robelito, an Italian soft cheese in the style of Brie

I'm of the opinion that brie is the chardonnay of cheese, so I wasn't sold on this pick but we were getting claustrophobic and had to choose a milder cheese to offset the two we had already picked out. As far as brie-type cheese go, this one was good. It lacked the pungency of a good raclette, but had a little more depth and a creamier texture than, say, St. Andre or something like that. Also, the rind was edible so none of the cheese went to wast, which I like. This certainly wasn't an inspiring cheese, but if you have to put something out that can be spread on a cracker and will impress your guests a little more than a wheel of Laughing Cow, this isn't a bad choice.

Cheese #2 - 5 year-old Gouda

Holy shit. This stuff is STRONG. I used to get some cheddar that was aged between 5 and 7 years, and you can really tell the difference between your standard extra-sharp (aged 18 months usually) and something that's been hanging around that long. It's like the difference between fucking your grandmother and fucking Salma Hayek. But...the gouda is different. I don't know if it's the aging itself or if it's been improperly stored, but underneath all the complex flavors and pungency is an unpleasant ammoniated taste. I don't like cheese that reminds me of rotten fish. This is very disappointing, and serves to reinforce my prejudice against buying specialty food items that are on a prominent end-cap display.

Cheese #3 - Spanish Bleu Cheese (the name of which I forget and can't pronounce anyway) wrapped in Walnut Leaves

After racking my brain for 5 minutes looking for an appropriate superlative, I have given up and decided that this is, quite simply, the best goddamned bleu cheese I have ever tasted. Perfectly balanced between creamy and crumbly, stinky and smooth, this cheese elevates simple lactation byproduct into an art form. Frankly, I'm glad I can't remember the name of the cheese because then you might buy some and that would leave less for me. If, however, you hurry to the nearest Whole Foods before I pass through your town, you might be able to get your dirty cheese-eating hands on some. The walnut leaf wrapping should be enough to identify it. I'm serious about this. If you don't get it now, I'm going to eat it all.

This thread just got good.

More cheese please.

[Triple Zero]

and indeed, if possible, PICS!

of the cheese! i wont be able to eat any of that blue cheese anyway, cause um, even though i'm closer to Spain than you are, i really doubt im going to find the exact same cheese. so far my favourite blue cheese is still Blue Stilton because it's indeed creamy and crumbly at the same time, yet there are very tiny subtle salt crystals (i think) on the crust, and it's just delicious. except that i always stop myself from buying it cause i think it's slightly too expensive. but that's cause i'm cheap (and therefore, still not entirely broke yet)

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Stilton is pretty fucking amazing. Yum!

I am going back to the store today and buying that Spanish blue.

[Richter]

OK, we ended up not going to the thai buffet, but we did go cheese shopping.

Cheese #1 - Robelito, an Italian soft cheese in the style of Brie

I'm of the opinion that brie is the chardonnay of cheese, so I wasn't sold on this pick but we were getting claustrophobic and had to choose a milder cheese to offset the two we had already picked out. As far as brie-type cheese go, this one was good. It lacked the pungency of a good raclette, but had a little more depth and a creamier texture than, say, St. Andre or something like that. Also, the rind was edible so none of the cheese went to wast, which I like. This certainly wasn't an inspiring cheese, but if you have to put something out that can be spread on a cracker and will impress your guests a little more than a wheel of Laughing Cow, this isn't a bad choice.

Cheese #2 - 5 year-old Gouda

Holy shit. This stuff is STRONG. I used to get some cheddar that was aged between 5 and 7 years, and you can really tell the difference between your standard extra-sharp (aged 18 months usually) and something that's been hanging around that long. It's like the difference between fucking your grandmother and fucking Salma Hayek. But...the gouda is different. I don't know if it's the aging itself or if it's been improperly stored, but underneath all the complex flavors and pungency is an unpleasant ammoniated taste. I don't like cheese that reminds me of rotten fish. This is very disappointing, and serves to reinforce my prejudice against buying specialty food items that are on a prominent end-cap display.

Cheese #3 - Spanish Bleu Cheese (the name of which I forget and can't pronounce anyway) wrapped in Walnut Leaves

After racking my brain for 5 minutes looking for an appropriate superlative, I have given up and decided that this is, quite simply, the best goddamned bleu cheese I have ever tasted. Perfectly balanced between creamy and crumbly, stinky and smooth, this cheese elevates simple lactation byproduct into an art form. Frankly, I'm glad I can't remember the name of the cheese because then you might buy some and that would leave less for me. If, however, you hurry to the nearest Whole Foods before I pass through your town, you might be able to get your dirty cheese-eating hands on some. The walnut leaf wrapping should be enough to identify it. I'm serious about this. If you don't get it now, I'm going to eat it all.

I had dreams of going through a market sampling cheese because of this.

Edit:  And I couldn't find the Cheddar!