Offbeat Eats

It’s time to talk about the other great joy of going to Yuma. No, I’m not talking about the green chile burgers at the Yuma Proving Ground bowling alley (although they do make a pretty good burger). I’m talking about the variety of taco stands that can be found all over Yuma. Around 5-6 pm every day, all sorts of sleepy little stands all over town (but centralized on West 8th, aka Calle Ocho) fire up their grills and start mixing up fresh jamaicas and horchata. Yes, to me, that is the real Yuma culinary experience, eating tacos from all manner of little trucks, stands, and tents located on vacant lots and parking lots.

Anyone that’s been reading this blog for a while knows, for as long as I’ve been doing the blog I’ve had periodic trips to Yuma, since it’s the Army’s premiere spot for, well, throwing crap out of airplanes (I’ve got several projects at work that involve parachutes and parachute guidance systems). I’ve now been to Yuma enough times that I’ve got a lot of favorite restaurants (more on that when I do the next installment of my taco adventures), traditions (getting a Route 44 cherry limeade at Sonic to celebrate successful testing after a long day in the desert), and places that I keep meaning to try (Mar Azul, for example). Brownie’s Cafe I discovered on my first trip to Yuma years ago (it’s hard to miss, being on 4th Ave/I-8 BL/Old Highway 80), with a most distinctive storefront (which I’ve done a mediocre job of capturing with this 2008 image), and I usually go there for breakfast once every trip…

On my recent trip to Minnesota, we had several opportunities to dine out by ourselves, or with our hosts. As a result, we had several fine breakfasts at local establishments, many of which (Maria’s Cafe, for example, or better yet, the venerable Al’s Breakfast) I’ve already reviewed on this blog. However, this time we dined at several new establishments as well. Two of them I’ll review today, and I can combine the reviews since both places (Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis, and Highland Grill in St Paul) are sister restaurants operated by the same company, and indeed, have approximately 90% overlap in their menus.

I’ve always enjoyed my trips to the Salt Lake City area. The scenery is generally quite impressive, the area has a lot of interesting destinations (including Park City and Wasatch Brewery, of whom I’ve long been a fan), and the area includes several very good restaurants (such as Bambera). Included in this list, however, is one place that definitely counts as “offbeat eats”, and that’s the Red Iguana. Located on West North Temple in a slightly-less-than-desirable neighborhood next to a now-defunct motel, Red Iguana is definitely a “joint”. However, the place is almost always packed and most of the time there is a line out the door of people waiting for tables. Why? The answer is simply some of SLC’s best Mexican food…

Cafe Momo in Manchester, NH is definitely one of those “why didn’t I eat here before?” sort of places. I’ve driven by Momo a couple of times, but until today didn’t bother stopping by, just adding it to “the list”. However, last month we went down to Hooksett (kinda sad that we have to drive 45 minutes to see movies in a good theater…), and afterward decided to finally give Momo a try. It also has the distinction of being one of the very few Nepalese restaurants that I’ve seen east of New York, so it’s always a pleasure delving into a new cuisine (well, I’ve had Nepalese before in St Paul, MN, but it’s been a while). I’m glad I finally did.

We’re all familiar with the great quandary when traveling, which is where to eat. Most airport restaurants aren’t terribly well known, are expensive, and generally serve sub-par food. However, when traveling, I occasionally come across a gem that’s worth noting (Burger Joint in San Francisco and Milltowne Grille in Manchester, to name two). Obrycki’s is another one of these places that’s head and shoulders above the rest (although not without it’s flaws). Obyrcki’s is an airport branch of the venerable on Pratt Street over in Baltimore, long known as a quality vendor of crab cakes. The BWI location is but a mere shadow of the real Obrycki’s…

You can’t miss it, it’s written right on the window, “The World’s Best Ice Cream,” according to the New York Times. That should impress me, but it really doesn’t. It’s hyperbole, and the NYTimes does it a lot in their food reviews. Many Boston-area friends also have told me it’s “the best in the world”, but Boston folks have a horrible pattern of saying “the world” when they really mean “Boston”. More importantly, however, my friend Eddy (who has impeccable taste when it comes to desserts) also claims it’s best in the world, so, while I’ve had (and enjoyed) Tosci’s ice cream before, I felt obligated to come and review it again…

(Moved) There’s always something compelling about food sold from little street carts, and despite the many challenges that street food cooking can have, I’m always astonished by how good the food from some street vendors can be (taco trucks are a particularly good example). And, for any given pedestrian mall, you can usually find some yummy treats out there. Burlington’s Church Street is no exception. In particular, for the last several years I’ve made it a point to visit Hong’s Chinese Dumpling every time I’m shopping on Church Street.

Today’s post is about guilty pleasures, and the eating of food that you either know or suspect is (a) unhealthy, and (b) of slightly dubious quality, but for some reason you feel compelled to enjoy it. One of the best examples I can think of is Coronis Market, in Newport, NH. I’m not even sure I’d call Coronis a convenience store, it’s one of those “beer, beverage, and munchies” store in Newport. However, they advertise on all their signage that they have “Famous Grinders”, which at one point several years ago compelled me to actually try one.

Every time I find myself driving down to Boston or Rhode Island, I’m usually finding myself looking for a new place to try for breakfast along the way. This time, we decided to take the Everett Turnpike (Rt 3), which takes you through the Nashua and Tyngsborough area. And, in this case, right by Tyngsborough’s Dream Diner. While not being the most attractive of diners, it did have one feature that is always the sign of a good breakfast: a long line out the door. Indeed, we spent our first 10 minutes at the dream diner standing outside, but the waitstaff is friendly and brings you a cup of coffee to drink while you wait.