Tag: sausage

Categories
bar/drinking

Takashi Murakami’s New Exhibit and The Bodega (Bushwick)’s Sausage

The night before Veteran’s Day was pretty eventful. I know I drank a lot, but what I can remember is that I went to the opening reception of Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami’s new exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery. I’ve never seen so many hipsters and Asians in one place since I looked in the mirror.

01 Takashi Murakami NYC 2014

I love Murakami’s work and this was some awesome stuff. Now I have a question. If it’s free to see his art, how do they make money? Murakami or the gallery? Do they sell this stuff? And who has the space in their NY apartment to hold these gigantic sculptures?

Then I went to Housing Works to check out the Night School: Lowbrow Lectures, where they talked about things like “The Quantum Mechanics of Time Travel in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Hello Kitty is a Cat: A Polemic,” “The Ron Swanson of the 18th Century,” and “The Complete History of Cats on the Internet.” I remembered getting pissed off at the guy who made fun of Tim Tebow with an animated GIF of the football bouncing off Tebow’s head to make a point about time travel. What a dick.

Then I headed back to Bushwick and hung out at Cobra Club for quarter of Monday Night Football. Then ended up at The Bodega where there was more football. I got a the Basic German Sausage (Grilled Krainerwurst from Ridgewood’s Karl Ehmer, served on pretzel roll with sauerkraut and chips $8). It was really good. Cam Newton wasn’t.

06 The Basic Sausage - The Bodega Bushwick

The Bodega – 24 St Nicholas Ave (@ Troutman St) Brooklyn 11237

Categories
tio wally

Tio Wally Eats America: Allsup’s Convenience Store

I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Stratford, Texas.

Greetings from Stratford, Texas
N 36° 19.9063’ W 102° 4.3877’ Elev. 3,691 feet

You can enter Stratford, Texas from any direction — it’s at the intersection of US Highways 54 and 287 — and you will see the sign: “Stratford, Pheasant Capital of Texas.” You won’t see any birds however, pheasant or otherwise. At least, I never have. Cows? Sure. Pygmy ponies? Yes, indeedy. But a bird? No sir. Not one, not once. Never.

I take that back. There are birds in Stratford. Chickens, at Allsup’s. But they’ve been parted out and fried.

Allsup’s is a ubiquitous chain of convenience stores in Texas and New Mexico, each with one of those little hot-case delis inside. I don’t usually stop at them due to a lack of parking. But there is a mostly avian-free Allsup’s with yacht parking here in Stratford.

I was glad I stopped at this one because, although I’ve been to a few before, I made an important discovery: Hot Links for $1.09. For another dime you can get a slice of “delicious” — I saw it described as “delicious” on a sticker somewhere — white or caramel-colored white bread. Add some mustard and you’ve got yourself a really great snack.

These are high-quality hot links, some of the best I’ve ever had, in fact. The sausage has a great “crunch” and inside are a lot of red pepper flakes. This may be considered low-end dining by some, but these things are flavorful and highly satisfying. And they are hot.

Allsup’s also sells beef tamales that are pretty good. Although they’re on the small side they’re reasonably priced at 3 for $2.09, or you can get a dozen for $4.99. They come in hot or mild varieties.

Places that sell hot links (or tamales) are few and far between, especially quality ones at such a reasonable price. They are hard to find even in the South. Some of the truck stops carry a breathtakingly awful faux version of them, but they are remarkably terrible, inedible really, and have nothing in common with a true hot link. They’re more like hot dogs that have been infused with red food coloring and chemically enhanced with unidentifiable artificial flavoring. Allsup’s, however, has the real deal!

And so we roll.

Allsup’s, 10 S. Maple, Stratford, Texas
with locations throughout Texas and New Mexico … and one location in Frederick, Oklahoma!

Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.

Categories
tio wally

Tio Wally Eats America: A Ballardvale Catering Truck

I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Andover, Massachusetts.

Greetings from Andover, Massachusetts
N 42° 36.3908’ W 071° 9.7237’ Elev. 118 ft.

A siren wailed when the vehicle arrived. I thought it was the cops or EMTs. Either would’ve explained the crowd that quickly surrounded the vehicle. Everybody wants to gawk. It turned out the vehicle that announced its arrival with an adrenalin-inducing clarion call was the Ballardvale Catering truck. Welcome to an early morning wake-up call in Andover.

I’ve delivered to too many places to recount and over the years I’ve seen and heard a lot of catering trucks. But I’ve never heard one with a freakin’ siren for a horn. I’ve heard regular horns, La Cucaracha (Spanish for “The Cockroach”) horns, and train horns, but never a freakin’ siren. If nothing else it gets your attention.

It turned out the Ballardvale Catering truck and its operator, Mark, embodied a classic Northeast tradition: Catering trucks that truly fulfill the needs of its customers. Because not only does he provide them with food, he also extends informal credit to patrons who are short on cash. This is a uniquely Northeast thing. I’ve never seen credit extended by catering trucks to its customers anywhere else.

Mark extends the credit and his customers always pay him the total amount they owe. No records are kept. It’s on the honor system. It works out well. After all, he knows where they work and, if they don’t pay their tab or try to short him, they get cut off and go hungry. It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship.

Besides the freakin’ siren, Mark’s truck was unusual as it contained something I’ve never seen on one: a pizza oven. In addition to fresh-baked pizzas, he also made fresh-baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies.

As is normal for catering trucks — affectionately called “roach coaches” by truck drivers — they carry a little bit of everything. In the hot case I noticed a bunch of grilled sausages. They turned out to be bratwursts, hot dogs, and hot and mild Italian sausages resting on a bed of grilled red and green bell peppers and onion.

I got a hot Italian sausage sandwich on a hoagie roll ($4). The sandwich consisted of two sausage links about 4 inches long, and had great flavor and a really, really nice “crunch.” Because I got to build the sandwich myself I loaded it up with plenty of those wonderful grilled peppers and onions. It turned out to be one of the most delicious, satisfying breakfasts I’d had in a long time.

I really failed myself at the Ballardvale Catering truck though. As I was taking pictures I noticed what looked like pierogies or empanadas in the hot case. I made a mental note to ask Mark what they were and then get one before I left. As per normal, I forgot and by the time I’d rushed back around the building he’d already rolled away. And so it goes.

And so we roll.

Ballardvale Catering, here and there in Andover, Massachusetts

Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.

Categories
tio wally travel

Tio Wally Eats America: May’s Drive-In

I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in East Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Greetings from East Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
N 40° 58.018’  W 076° 52.578’  Elev. 432 ft.

If there is a drive-in restaurant with a better view than May’s Drive-In in East Lewisburg, I’d love to visit it. If only to compare prices.

This location, the second of a 4-restaurant family owned and operated chain, was established in 1966. It had to close for awhile in 1972, however, when the area was visited by Agnes, Hurricane Agnes, and the waters of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River crested in Lewisburg at over 34 feet; flood level is 18 feet. As an amateur hydrologist I can honestly confirm: That’s a lotta watta!

I’d been here once before and was taken by the stunning views of the river and picturesque Lewisburg on the other side.

Because the food was so good on my last visit, I came this time thinking I was going to try their chili dogs. The last time I was here I got what they call a Hot Sausage ($3), which is actually a really great Italian sausage.

The Hot Sausage is served on a high-quality hot dog bun with grilled onions and bell peppers (on request), and a little bit of marinara sauce. The two I ate last time were so good that I ended up getting another one, along with an order of onion rings ($1.95).

Once again it was great. As were the onion rings, though I wish the order would’ve been a little bigger. Unfortunately, by the time I finished the sausage and onion rings I was full, so I didn’t get to try a chili dog. Next time.

May’s is incredibly reasonably priced, especially if the bucolic view is factored in. And in addition to the standard drive-in fare of burgers, fries and cones, they also have pizza.

May’s Drive-In is a real keeper. And on a sunny day you can take your food and picnic on the banks of the river on the spacious lawn out back. What a charming place!

And so we roll.

May’s Drive-In, southwest corner of the State Routes 405 and 45, East Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and three other locations

Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.

Categories
travel

Big Sausage Roll @ Cafe Minutka

Well I don’t know if this place is really called Cafe Minutka, because of all the Russian letters. But that’s what it says when I Google the address. This was in Brighton Beach after our lunch at Elza Fancy Food …right next to the train stop.

They had a sidewalk sale where I bought this big sausage roll for $2. I didn’t realize there was a big sausage in there, I thought it was part of the braided bread.

Took it back to the city to eat while watching Tebow. It was like a smoked kielbasa wrapped in a buttery croissant roll. Pretty good. Really filling. Big sausage.

Brighton Beach is pretty cool.  Their liquor stores have bottles shaped like rifles, stallions and veggie penises. They also have their own Best Buy.

Cafe Minutka - 504 Brighton Beach Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11235

Categories
product

Jimmy Dean Sausage 16oz Roll

Randy Taylor did it! His love and determination for Jimmy Dean sausage got them to bring back the 16oz roll. We found them at a Louisiana Wal-Mart and cooked them up early morning before we headed out to sea. They were damn good. Tasted almost like McDonald’s sausage, but maybe a little more flavor.

Here on the pan is little more than half the roll. Yeah, there’s no way you’re going to feed 600lb+ men, a little Scotch women and a fat girl on a 12oz roll.

When we got back to New Yawk, I looked in the C-Town Freezer and they had some small pussy ass rolls of sage and maple. Randy Taylor did speak the truth.

Categories
video

RIP Jimmy Dean Sausages

…via award winning ice cream social artist, C. Marie.

I remember calling the Burger King hot-line when I was a kid, because they changed their delicious shredded hash brown patty to the stupid coin shapes. I’m still bitter about that. Paul McKenna, help!

Categories
homemade

Saumagen – German stuffed stomach photos

My friend Carmen sent me these cool photos of Saumagen. This definitely looks like something I want to try. I hope I can find it. I know I’ve looked for real authentic haggis in NYC, with no real luck. Maybe I can find this.

Carmen: “I grew up in Germany and one of the local specialties is called Saumagen – there’s even an English Wikipedia entry which will help explain some of it – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saumagen It’s basically a pig’s stomach filled with ground pork, potatoes, onion, eggs, various spices. It’s tied up, slowly boiled and then pan-fried for a crispy skin.”