Food Trip
Traveling also entails eating the specialty of a place. On my recent trip, we did just that.
Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, PA at a foodcourt across from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. They claim that their cheesesteaks are award winners.
Buffalo wings from Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo, NY. This is where buffalo wings were invented. Prior to going to this restaurant I was expecting the wings to look like the ones we eat at Don Henrico's here in the Philippines but the original is far from that. One, the chicken wings are smaller than those in Don Hen. Two, the sauce isn't barbeque-like but a mixture of what tasted like vinegar, hot sauce and butter. Three, the chicken managed to remain very crispy despite the sauce. My verdict? Delicious. You can easily polish off half a dozen or more of these.
A lobster all to myself in Boston, MA. I find it surprising that a lobster's shell is very soft and easy to break apart even by hand (or maybe they overcooked this lobster).
Clam chowder in Boston, MA and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, CA (the one in the pic is from Boston). Campbell's canned clam chowder does not compare to the fresh version of this soup.
I told myself 2 years ago that if I had the chance to go back to the US again, I would definitely return and eat at Famous Dave's. Managed to track a branch in Times Square, NYC. Had Texas Beef Brisket (left) and Georgia Chopped Pork (right) together with fries, mashed potatoes (I like my potatoes), corn and cornbread. They were both good but hands down the chopped pork was my favorite of the two.
(Remnants of a) Crab cake at a restaurant south of Baltimore, MD. I didn't get to take pictures but my relatives also ordered 2 dozen crabs. We had an interesting experience in that restaurant. It looked like an ordinary restaurant tucked away in a normal neighborhood. But it turns out that people around here take crabs seriously and this particular place had a waitlist at 5pm in the afternoon (don't Americans eat at 7:30pm onwards?). Inside, all the tables were covered with big brown paper sheets and when the crabs arrive, they just unceremoniously dump it in the middle of the table and people just eat with their hands and the shells gets tossed in paper bags. They don't have plates and cutleries either and everyone uses the paper sheets as their plates. It's probably the most informal eating experience I've had in my travels.
Ghirardelli's Dark Hot Fudge Sundae in San Francisco, CA. This is the best sundae I have ever eaten in my life. I tried going to their other branch in Union Square just to eat this again but they didn't sell ice cream there. If I had an extra day in SF I would have gone back to Fisherman's Wharf just for this.
The freshest, tastiest, biggest slices of salmon sashimi I've ever had. I had this at a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, BC in Canada. It was love at first sight. Seeing this made me realize that the size of salmon sashimi they serve here in Manila is ridiculously tiny. I guess they can serve it this big and this fresh coz salmon is abundant in Canada.
Rainbow sushi at the same Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, BC.
All throughout my trip I would go to the ice cream section of convenience stores or groceries looking for this but it was pretty elusive. On the 2nd to the last day of our trip, one magically appeared at a Walgreens. Based on experience (haha), Haagen Dazs makes a better version of cookie dough ice cream than Ben & Jerry's, Dreyers and even Sebastian Ice Cream here in the Philippines.
Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, PA at a foodcourt across from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. They claim that their cheesesteaks are award winners.
Buffalo wings from Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo, NY. This is where buffalo wings were invented. Prior to going to this restaurant I was expecting the wings to look like the ones we eat at Don Henrico's here in the Philippines but the original is far from that. One, the chicken wings are smaller than those in Don Hen. Two, the sauce isn't barbeque-like but a mixture of what tasted like vinegar, hot sauce and butter. Three, the chicken managed to remain very crispy despite the sauce. My verdict? Delicious. You can easily polish off half a dozen or more of these.
A lobster all to myself in Boston, MA. I find it surprising that a lobster's shell is very soft and easy to break apart even by hand (or maybe they overcooked this lobster).
Clam chowder in Boston, MA and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, CA (the one in the pic is from Boston). Campbell's canned clam chowder does not compare to the fresh version of this soup.
I told myself 2 years ago that if I had the chance to go back to the US again, I would definitely return and eat at Famous Dave's. Managed to track a branch in Times Square, NYC. Had Texas Beef Brisket (left) and Georgia Chopped Pork (right) together with fries, mashed potatoes (I like my potatoes), corn and cornbread. They were both good but hands down the chopped pork was my favorite of the two.
(Remnants of a) Crab cake at a restaurant south of Baltimore, MD. I didn't get to take pictures but my relatives also ordered 2 dozen crabs. We had an interesting experience in that restaurant. It looked like an ordinary restaurant tucked away in a normal neighborhood. But it turns out that people around here take crabs seriously and this particular place had a waitlist at 5pm in the afternoon (don't Americans eat at 7:30pm onwards?). Inside, all the tables were covered with big brown paper sheets and when the crabs arrive, they just unceremoniously dump it in the middle of the table and people just eat with their hands and the shells gets tossed in paper bags. They don't have plates and cutleries either and everyone uses the paper sheets as their plates. It's probably the most informal eating experience I've had in my travels.
Ghirardelli's Dark Hot Fudge Sundae in San Francisco, CA. This is the best sundae I have ever eaten in my life. I tried going to their other branch in Union Square just to eat this again but they didn't sell ice cream there. If I had an extra day in SF I would have gone back to Fisherman's Wharf just for this.
The freshest, tastiest, biggest slices of salmon sashimi I've ever had. I had this at a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, BC in Canada. It was love at first sight. Seeing this made me realize that the size of salmon sashimi they serve here in Manila is ridiculously tiny. I guess they can serve it this big and this fresh coz salmon is abundant in Canada.
Rainbow sushi at the same Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, BC.
All throughout my trip I would go to the ice cream section of convenience stores or groceries looking for this but it was pretty elusive. On the 2nd to the last day of our trip, one magically appeared at a Walgreens. Based on experience (haha), Haagen Dazs makes a better version of cookie dough ice cream than Ben & Jerry's, Dreyers and even Sebastian Ice Cream here in the Philippines.