Junkfood

Food festival season has started. Most of the June events seem to be early in the month. I don't have anything after the 11th. Most food festivals are at the end of summer, and I'll post an update later with the full schedule.

• June 2-3, Harpoon Brewstock
• June 3, Newport Chowder Cook-off
• June 4, Hot Dog Safari
• June 6-8, Scooper Bowl
• June 7, Taste of Downtown Nashua
• June 9-11, Rock'n Ribfest
• June 11, Boston Dragon Boat Festival

Between 2004 and 2005-06, Cartwheels and Thanks-A-Lot replaced Animal Treasures and Iced Berry Piñatas; and Café Cookies replaced Double Dutch.

There are two baking companies licensed to produce Girl Scout cookies, ABC Bakers (Interbake Foods LLC) and Little Brownie Bakers. Each company must produce three mandatory cookie types and can offer up to five more. Currently, there are five common cookie types that are produced by both companies. Confusingly, the same cookies have different names, depending on the baking company. This chart shows which cookies are equivalent.

Between 2003 and 2004, Iced Berry Piñatas replaced Friendship Circles, and Lemon Coolers and Double Dutch replaced Olé Olé's and Aloha Chips.

References:

• ABC/Interbake Foods: http://www.girlscoutcookiesabc.com/atc/default.asp
• Little Brownie Bakers: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookies.html
• History of LBB cookies through the years: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/history.html

I visited the IKEA in Stoughton, MA, partially to look at furniture but mostly to try their restaurant.

I was there on Saturday, the day of New Year's Eve. When I arrived at 10:30am, the parking lot was pretty much empty. However, when I left at 1:30pm, the parking lot was entirely full, and cars had to stalk exiting customers to get a spot. I also recall that there was an overflow lot nearby, and that was filling up. If you are a Zipcar customer, IKEA has about 4 or 5 spots reserved for Zipcars (though at 1:30pm, all of these spots were taken by non-Zipcar vehicles).

For breakfast, I had the 99-cent Breakfast Plate which contained a good portion of scrambled eggs, home fries (with onions and green and red peppers), and bacon (I was served 3 strips). The food was tasty and definitely a good value.

For lunch, I had Swedish Meatballs and a side order of Macaroni and Cheese. The Meatballs come with two red potatoes (I think that you could also request French fries) and some lingonberry preserves. Again, the food was good. I especially liked the Macaroni and Cheese. Towards the end of my meal, I was surprised when a woman and child just sat down across from me at my table. The restaurant was crowded, and this was pretty much the way to get seats (getting someone in your party to sit next to a diner who is almost finished).

Finally, on the way out, I had a 50-cent Hot Dog at the Bistro downstairs. I think that it was pretty good. It was served on a New England-style roll.

If you really like lingonberries or meatballs and want to serve them at home, there is a small food market next to the Bistro. Frozen meatballs are $6.99 for 2.5 pounds. Lingonberry preserves are $2.99 for a 14 oz. jar or $9.99 for a 1.5 liter tub.

Restaurant Hours:

• 9:30am - 9:00pm, Monday through Saturday
• 9:30am - 5:00pm, Sunday
• Breakfast is served from 9:30am - 11:00am.

Restaurant Menu:

• $0.99 Breakfast Plate (scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries)
• 3.99 Swedish Meatballs (10)
• 4.99 Swedish Meatballs (15)
• 5.99 Swedish Meatballs (20)
• 5.99 Herb Poached Salmon
• 4.99 Gravlax Lox Plate
• 5.99 West Coast Salad (contains crayfish, mussels, and shrimp)
• 3.49 Gravlax Lox Baguette Sandwich
• 2.99 Ham & Cheese Baguette Sandwich
• 2.49 Open-face Shrimp Sandwich
• 1.99 Panini Sandwich
• 1.99 Foccacia Sandwich
• 1.49 Soup
• 1.49 Salad (bowl)
• .99 Macaroni and Cheese Kids Meal
• .99 Macaroni and Cheese, side order
• 2.50 Macaroni and Cheese, full portion
• .75 Soft Drinks
• .75 Coffee or Tea
• 1.99 Swedish Apple Cake
• 1.99 Chocolate Mousse
• 1.79 Daim Torte
• .99 Lingonberry Mousse

Restaurant Notes:

• The Restaurant is upstairs, immediate to the left of the escalator. It's actually a cafeteria-style restaurant.
• The serving area has two lines, both serving the same hot food. The far line is usually shorter. However, both refrigerated cases might not contain the same items.
• You have to bus your own trays.
• Swedish Meatballs are served with two red potatoes or fries, and a bit of lingonberry preserve.
• Lingonberries taste like sweet, non-tart cranberries.
• There are free refills on soft drinks.
• Soft drinks include Pepsi products, as well as a lingonberry drink/soda (they were out, so I wasn't able to try it).
• The Restaurant was crowded at lunchtime, and it became difficult to find a place to sit.
• Credit cards are accepted.
• Meals tax is not included in the prices.

Bistro Menu:

• $0.50 Hot Dog
• 1.00 Cinnamon Roll
• 1.00 Soft Serve Cone
• .75 Soft Drinks
• .75 Coffee
• 4.00 Cinnamon Rolls (6)
• 3.00 Hot Dogs (2), Soft Drink, and Chips
• 1.50 Cinnamon Roll and Coffee

Bistro Notes:

• The Bistro is downstairs, past the checkout counters.
• All tax is included in the prices.
• There are two lines. Sometimes one is shorter than the other.

• The Executive Chef at the Museum of Science in Boston is Donald Burns.
• Previously, Donald Burns was the Executive Chef at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago, also a Wolfgang Puck Catering operation.
• The Museum of Science's brunch menu looks a lot like the MCA's brunch menu. The MCA's "Puck's" restaurant also serves similar dishes like "Rigatoni Bolognese with Peas and Parmesan Cheese" and "Field Green Salad with Goat Cheese Croutons, Tapenade, and Balsamic Vinaigrette".
• I note that "Yukon Gold Potato Puree" also appears on the St. Louis Art Museum's menu (also catered by WPC).
• Prior to working for Wolfgang Puck Catering, Donald Burns worked on the American Orient Express. I also found a reference that indicates that he worked at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant.

I ate at the Sunday Brunch buffet at the Museum of Science on October 23, 2005. It's catered by Wolfgang Puck Catering and served in the Skyline Room, on the sixth floor. There are two seatings: 11:00am and 1:00pm. Brunch is $32 and includes exhibit admission, a ticket to a show, and parking (brunch-only is available for $24). http://www.mos.org/

The room itself has floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, with a panoramic view stretching from the Zakim Bridge, down the Boston riverbank, across the Charles River, up the Cambridge riverbank, all the way to the Royal Sonesta. I chose to sit so I could dine with a view of the Zakim Bridge.

I ate at the 1:00pm seating, and the room wasn't very full (perhaps 30 diners). I believe that the 11:00am seating may have been busier and that it finished late, as the staff was still hurrying to turn the room as the 1:00pm seating began. Wolfgang Puck Catering runs an elegant operation. I was somewhat hoping that Chef Puck himself might make an appearance to check up on things (he was in town the night before, at the gala opening for the Museum's Star Wars exhibit), but no such luck.

The food was good. My favorites were, in order:

1. Almond Crusted French Toast stuffed with Mascarpone-Ricotta Cheese Filling. (I don't usually eat French toast, but this was really good.)
2. Mixed Green Salad with Herb Goat Cheese Crostini and Olive Tapenade and Balsamic Dressing. (I liked the Crostini with goat cheese and tapenade.)
3. Pan Seared Chicken with Sauteed Spinach and Cabernet Butter Sauce

Info and Tips

• Advanced reservations are recommended, and I get the impression that they really want you to purchase tickets in advance. Unfortunately, the only way to purchase tickets is by calling the museum. You can just buy them from the online store.
• You get to the Skyline Room by going into the museum, into the Green Wing, and taking the elevator.
• If you arrive early, you can go up and sit outside the Skyline Room.
• Dress is museum casual. However, given the food, ambiance, and level of service, you may want to dress up a bit more.
• You may want to arrive early to have a better choice of seats.
• There are restrooms there on the sixth floor.
• I get the impression that food-wise, it might be better to eat at the early seating.

Below is the menu from my brunch. There were a few other items available that weren't listed on the menu. One was grilled asparagus. There was also fruit stuffed with a creamy filling. I'm embarrassed to say that I was unfamiliar with this type of fruit, and I still don't know what it was. (Perhaps it was passion fruit?)

The Menu:

• Assorted Breakfast Pastries
• Bagels
• Croissants
• Assorted Tea Breads
• Rosemary Scones
• Assorted Muffins
• Dill Cream Cheese
• Yogurt Parfaits
• Fresh Fruit Platter
• Fritata Station
• Pancetta and Fontina
• Roasted Peppers and Spinach
• Scrambled Eggs
• Breakfast Buffet
• Apple Wood Smoked Bacon
• Maple Glazed Breakfast Ham
• Roasted Potatoes
• Buttermilk Pancakes with Vermont Maple Syrup
• Almond Crusted French Toast stuffed with Mascarpone-Ricotta Cheese Filling
• Brunch Buffet
• Mixed Green Salad with Herb Goat Cheese Crostini and Olive Tapenade and Balsamic Dressing
• Caesar Salad with Lemon Anchovy Dressing and Parmigiano Reggiano
• Yukon Gold Basil Potato Puree
• Sauteed Autumn Vegetable Melange
• Penne Pasta with Wolfgang's Bolognese Sauce
• Pan Seared Chicken with Sauteed Spinach and Cabernet Butter Sauce
• Carving Station
• Citrus Brined Pork Tenderloin
• Soy Glazed Flank Steak
• Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon
• Cranberry Chutney, Chinese Mustard, Dill Cream, Apricot Marmalade
• Assorted Wolfgang Puck Specialty Desserts
• Cheese Cake
• Chocolate Mousse
• Pear wrapped in Phyllo
• Coffee Cake

Upcoming New England area food festivals and events.

• Restaurant Week, August 22-26, 2005, Boston Area. http://www.bostonusa.com/visitor/resdet.php?cat=Dining&cat_seqnum=13&type=event&seqnum=9680
• Connecticut River Brewfest, September 9-11, 2005, Holyoke, MA. http://www.ctriverbrewfest.com/
• Hampton Beach Seafood Festival, September 9-11, 2005, Hampton, NH. http://www.hamptonbeachseafoodfestival.com/
• Rib n' Brews Festival, September 10-11, 2005, Lowell, MA.
• Blues 'N' Brews Festival, September 17, 2005, Westford, MA. http://www.bluesnbrews.com/
• Ipswich Chowderfest, September 17, 2005, Ipswich, MA. http://www.ipswichchowderfest.com/
• Taste of Boston, September 17-18, 2005, City Hall Plaza, Boston. http://www.tasteofboston.com/
• North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival, September 17-18, 2005, Orange, MA. http://www.garlicandarts.org/
• Great State of Maine Grilling and BBQ Championship, September 17-18, 2005, Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
• Bourne Scallop Festival, September 23-25, 2005, Bourne, MA. http://www.capecodcanalchamber.org/ScallopFest705/aboutsf05.html
• Phantom Gourmet Food Festival, September 24, 2005, Lansdowne St., Boston. http://www.phantomgourmetfoodfestival.com/
• Taste of Rhode Island, September 24-25, 2005, Newport, RI. http://www.newportfestivals.com/Taste_of_RI/
• Cape Cod Classic BBQ Cookoff, October 1-2, 2005, Falmouth, MA.
• Harvard Square Oktoberfest, October 2, 2005, Cambridge, MA. http://www.harvardsquare.com/oktoberfest/
• Acadia Oktoberfest and Food Festival, October 8, 2005, Southwest Harbor, Maine. http://www.acadiachamber.com/oktoberfest.html
• International Oktoberfest, October 8-10, Newport, RI. http://www.newportfestivals.com/Oktoberfest/
• Wellfleet Oyster Festival, October 14-16, 2005, Wellfleet, MA. http://www.wellfleetoysterfest.org/
• Hell Night, October 17-19, 2005, East Coast Grill, Boston. http://www.eastcoastgrill.net/page9.html
• Boston Vegetarian Food Festival, October 22, 2005, Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, Boston. http://www.bostonveg.org/foodfest/
• Great International Beer Festival, November 12, 2005, Providence, RI. http://www.beerfestamerica.com/

Revised for 2004.

There are two baking companies licensed to produce Girl Scout cookies, ABC Bakers (Interbake Foods LLC) and Little Brownie Bakers. Each company must produce three mandatory cookie types and can offer up to five more. Currently, there are five common cookie types that are produced by both companies. Confusingly, the same cookies have different names, depending on the baking company. This chart shows which cookies are equivalent.

Between 2003 and 2004, Pinatas replaced Friendship Circles, and Lemon Coolers and Double Dutch replaced Ole Ole's and Aloha Chips.

References:

• ABC/Interbake Foods: http://www.girlscoutcookiesabc.com/atc/index.htm
• Little Brownie Bakers: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookies.html
• And, an interesting history of cookies through the years: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/history.html

There is strong competition among furniture stores in my area. The stores in Nashua all serve free food of some sort.

Jordan's Furniture serves free soda, coffee, hot chocolate, pellet ice cream, and freshly-baked cookies. They also used to have goldfish crackers and pretzels, but I'm not sure whether they still do. The pellet ice cream served is Dippin' Dots. (The two major brands of pellet ice cream are Dippin' Dots which has a 10% butterfat content and Mini Melts which has 14% butterfat.) They serve you from a counter in the front of the store. There are also free balloons for kids. The sales staff appear to work on some sort of shared-commission system, so they aren't aggressive.

Bob's Discount Furniture serves free lemonade, iced tea, coffee, popcorn, freshly-baked cookies, ice cream, and an assortment of penny candy. They serve you from a counter in the back of the store. Sugar-free penny candy is also available from behind the counter. Bob's also has a small video arcade with a Golden Tee machine, among others. The sales staff appear to take turns assigning themselves to people who walk through the door. My salesperson sort of followed me around the store, hoping to secure a sale.

Bernie & Phyl's serves free coffee, cookies, and lemonade. They have a good selection of kooky furniture, like chairs shaped like hands. The sales staff appear to work on some sort of shared-commission system, so they aren't aggressive. In fact, nobody spoke to me when I was touring the store (which was fine by me).

Furniture World serves just bottled water and coffee. However, the coffee served is Green Mountain coffee, brewed in individual Keurig K-Cups. The system is pretty neat. Inside the sealed K-Cup is coffee in a cone filter. In the machine, pressurized hot water is injected through the top of the cup and through the coffee and filter. The coffee comes out of the bottom of the cup. (http://www.keurig.com/AW/magic.html) The sales staff hang out watching the front door and take turns assigning themselves to people who walk through the door. However, they did not follow me around the store.

The Hardee's burger chain introduced a new "Monster Thickburger" menu item:

• Two 1/3 lb. Angus beef patties
• Three slices of cheese
• Four slices of bacon
• Served with mayonnaise and on a buttered sesame seed bun
• 1,420 calories
• 107 grams of fat
• Costs $5.49 (and for the meal with fries and soda, it's $7.09)
• http://www.monsterthickburger.com/

I think that the nearest Hardee's is in Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg.

This year's Taste of Boston is this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 18-19, 2004. It will again be held at City Hall Plaza, from 11am to 6pm on Saturday, and 12pm to 6pm on Sunday.

This is the event where you purchase tickets for $1 each and use them to buy food from restaurants and vendors who set up booths. Prices are from 1 to 5 tickets, depending on the menu item. The proceeds go to charity, the Greater Boston Food Bank. Other attractions include local celebrity chefs giving cooking demonstrations, free concerts, and kids activities. General admission is free.

Last year's best food and biggest surprise was Bickford's Pancake House which was promoting their new seafood menu by serving samples of lobster roll. Amusingly, according to their web site, Bickford's has now re-branded itself as "Bickford's Grille", an upscale family restaurant concept.

The Taste of Rhode Island is also the weekend after, September 25-26, 2004, in Newport.

http://www.tasteofboston.com/
http://www.bickfordsrestaurants.com/
http://www.newportfestivals.com/Taste_of_RI/

Restaurant Week in Boston is next week, August 23-27, 2004. It's a good opportunity to sample some of the best restaurants in the area, with special, prix-fixe menus of $20.04 for lunch and $30.04 for dinner.

http://www.bostonusa.com/visitor/resdet.php?seqnum=9680&type=event

At the Market Basket there were some fruit called Pluots which I had never heard of before, so I decided to try some. It turns out that Pluot is a trademark for a patented fruit owned by a company called Zaiger's Genetics. It was created as a hybrid between a plum and an apricot. As I understand it, when you cross a plum and an apricot, you get a fruit called a Plumcot. When you cross a Plumcot with a plum, you get the Pluot. And, when you cross a Plumcot with an apricot, you get another trademark fruit called Aprium. (My descriptions are just an approximation and are not 100% scientifically accurate.)

I'm not sure what variety I bought (there are quite a few), but my Pluots looked like large, purple plums. The flesh was firm, and the pit was small and came out of the fruit readily. It was very sweet and tasty, with only a bit of sourness near the skin. I recommend this fruit over regular plums.

Lobster is on sale for $4.99 a pound at Market Basket this week. They can cook the lobster for you (they steam it), but if you do this in New Hampshire you'll pay an additional 8% meals tax. (There's no tax on live lobster.) These are "new shell" lobsters, which apparently means that they have less meat, compared to regular hard-shell lobsters.

The Maine Lobster Festival is this weekend. (http://www.mainelobsterfestival.com/). The Food Network recently showed (or re-ran) an episode of All American Festivals featuring it. There's a Food Network web page for the episode, along with links to recipes from the lobster cooking contest featured in the episode.

There are two all-you-can-eat lobster buffets in the area. Nordic Lodge in Charlestown, Rhode Island, is the older buffet. It is $65 (tax and gratuity included). Custy's International in North Stonington, Connecticut, is a more recently opened incarnation of a Custy's restaurant that used to be in Rhode Island. It is $62.95 (tax and gratuity not included). I've never been to either. I note that you could spend approximately the same amount of money and buy 12 pounds of lobster at Market Basket (approximately 7-8 lobsters).

Originally posted to junk 2004-07-22:

• A Bugaboo Creek is under construction at the Nashua Mall, where the Hoyts Cinema 4 used to be.
• Applebee's is now open on Daniel Webster Highway in south Nashua. It is between Circuit City and Old Navy, set back far from the road.
• There's a new Japanese Teppanyaki steakhouse named Mikata on 101A in north Nashua, next to the Saturn dealership.
• I've read that Matsuya is now closed, though I haven't confirmed it. It's the Japanese place that opened where Dry Gulch used to be.
• The proposed Olive Garden in Tyngsboro is getting closer and closer to final approval. (Lowell Sun URL deleted; zoning variance granted for sign)
• Kitchen Etc. is closing all their stores, and they are now having going-out-of-business sales. http://www.kitchenetc.com/