the "well seasoned" traveller

A rare sight in San Francisco " the Supermarket"

2010-01-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

When researching supermarkets and grocery outlets to visit whilst in San Francisco and the Bay area one would imagine that you would be spoilt for choice.

Supermarkets as we know them in Europe are an endangered and rare species, here in one of the most foodie cities in the USA.

Many chains such as Kroger's, Albertsons and Safeway have or are abandoning the city for the suburban areas around the city with parking and easy access form the major roads and being replaced by the more specialized, new generation stores such as Berkeley Bowl, Wholefoods and Trader Joe's and soon to open Fresh and easy [ Tesco].

These new Generation of grocery stores are offering very little in the way of the more well known brands such as Kellogg's and Betty Crocker, but more locally produced artisan products, such as bread from the Acme Bakery, Pancake and waffle mix under the Bette's diner brand both of which are situated in Berkeley close to the city.

Even when looking for something simple like pasta sauce you are faced with a multitude of products with unknown labels and maybe only one of the major brands such as Ragu .

This is all very well ,unless you are on a weekly budget and just need to buy the essentials . Its great for foodies but becomes expensive otherwise.

Having said all that the new generation stores that are replacing the major multiples seem to be serving the local neighbourhood very well.

One such place is a Berkeley Bowl . Both of these stores are situated in Berkeley and have been the highlight of my trawl of the Bay Area.

Berkeley Bowl west is situated at 920 Heinz avenue Berkeley 94710 CA.

This store is a foodie mecca, from the moment you enter you are greeted with the patisserie, with its own pastry chef in tow, it is not long before we are trying the new speciality chocolate chip scones, recommended if you drop by.

moving through the store you discover various food treats such as the hot and cold deli and take out meals, a soup station, olive bar , nuts and dried fruits to buy in bulk, the most amazing produce section i have seen from all my recent travels, with every conceivable vegetable, mushroom, potato or fruit you could imagine, and organic too.

The grocery aisles are packed with an array of products not seen in any other supermarkets, this is where i find a multitude of non typical branded American products.

In particular the home baking section here has changed from your typical Betty Crocker to a more artisan product with the emphasis on the packaging. Brown paper bags with very simplistic labels and all natural ingredients, also gluten free is everywhere, with Newman's featuring in every category.

Another area that is seeing huge growth is the pasta sauce fixture, here on the west coast it has seen growth from the smaller producers that are starting to push for more shelf space from the larger brands such as Ragu and Bertolli .

This store has so much to offer this up and coming area, for foodies and students alike, you can get everything here from general grocery, to fresh meats, fish most of which is from a sustainable source, to your cup cake kit or just a bowl of olives and of course your sourdough, famous in this part of the world.,

When you come to San Francisco you expect to find good food and wine but on this trip i have found out that there is a growing culture here of budding foodies , culinary genus, quality neighbourhood stores , and some amazing restaurants, which you would need a year to visit all of them, and i have only scratched the surface.

I'm sorry to say that i never got to see the up and coming trend of the food cart scene due to the weather, sunny California they say . Oh well another time.

for this blog i have listed below some of my favourites for this trip and once back in the UK will expand on, but if your in San Francisco make sure to drop by some of them if you can.

Bristol farms - http://www.bristolfarms.com/
Draegars markets San Mateo - http://www.draegars.com/
Berkeley bowl west - http://www.berkeleybowl.com/
Chez Pannisse - http://www.chezpanisse.com/
Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery - http://www.bouchonbistro.com/
Bettes diner Oakland - http://www.bettesdiner.com/

you can now also find me on twitter at https://twitter.com/devscout

Brasserie bread

2009-09-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

Brasserie bread artisan baking centre is set in an old saw tooth mill a few hundred yards from port Botany. The classic warehouse is the perfect setting for this authentic bakery cafe. A glass viewing gallery enables cafe diners to enjoy the theatre and view the bakers creating handmade bread and Pastries.

The bakery, most famous for its organic sourdough recipe using its 14 year old starter with organic wheat, has an extensive menu of artisan breads including spelt honey and banana bread, Schiacciata [ Tuscan flat bread] and sour cherry loaf.
The cafe seems a popular destination for many, it offers a menu showcasing the breads, cakes and pastries made on site.

As its lunchtime i go for a classic Croque Monsieur on sourdough with rocket, the sourdough adds another texture dimension to this familiar sandwich, the Paris ham and Australian mature cheddar compliment the bread well.

Croque Monsieur on sourdough
coconut and blueberry mini cakes
orange & hazelnut cake

The bakery, voted best bread shop in the foodie guide of the Sydney morning Herald is certainly a destination shop as it could not be further from the heart of the city with trucks rumbling past en route to the port and docks.

this is just one of many small bakeries i visit during my trip to Sydney, each suburb is complimented with a bakery offering good quality rustic and artisan breads, and there is a growing demand for the products that they produce.

Victoire, Balmaine
Bourke street bakery

Haberfield Italian Bakery

Sydney "foodie heaven"

2009-09-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

On first impressions when you visit any of the two food retailers here in Sydney you would wonder why i titled this blog foodie heaven. Woolworth's & Cole's have the market pretty much sown up with very little competition, or so it seems, then you discover the local grocery stores that are very popular choice in some of the suburbs.

These stores are usually situated along a leafy suburban street , as you would have found in the UK before the supermarket boom.

The format is simple, deli style layout with a good selection of fresh produce, dairy, fresh and cured meats. To compliment this there is a vast array of premium quality grocery items mostly made in Australia with some additions imported from many regions of the world.

My first experience of these wonderful stores is at Bondi Junction, a short drive from the Westfield mall. Macro wholefoods who were recently taken over by Woolworth's, have kept this one store in its original format, the store only stocks organic produce and groceries but the choice is endless, and as with most stores that i visit over the next few days, the food here is not cheap, Pasta sauce retails in the region of $9 average.

Macro wholefoods

31-35 Oxford st

StBondi Junction

NSW 2022, Australia

+61 2 9389 7611

My next stop is Jones the grocer, a food emporium that provides gourmet foods for everyday living. All products stocked here focus on wholesome & natural ingredients, the in store cafe menu is based around the products it sells giving the customer the chance to try before they buy. One of the product highlights that i find here is a range of cup cake baking kits produced by Donna Hay.

Jones the Grocer

Woollahra 68 Moncur Street

Woollahra Sydney

NSW, 2025
I decide this would be a good place to stop for lunch and take in the ambiance of this busy store & Sydney Life. The tuna and pea risotto that i order does not disappoint. A quick trip round the cheese room, i grab my product finds and head over to Thomas Dux at five ways.
Again set in another leafy suburb this chain owned and operated by Woolworth's but not branded. The store is well stocked with global and locally sourced products from artisan breads, deli meats and gourmet grocery items with not a ready meal in sight, their aim is to bring the excitement and passion for food. It is here that i find one of the highlights so far and on trend with my previous travels, the ultimate risotto kit, along with other various easy meal solutions.

Thomas Dux

220 glenmore road

Paddington Nsw

2021

Next up on the Agenda Auckland NZ

Handmade Noodles

2009-07-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my previous Blog we visited the Noodle Loft here in Beijing. A much talked about establishment that has theatre whilst you enjoy a steaming bowl of fresh Noodles of various shapes and sizes.

This is the place where the brigade of chefs perform a variety of skilled moves, turning out various shapes and sizes from the handmade dough. We have returned to the restaurant today as Chef Zukai has kindly agreed to give Chung Yin a lesson in making the noodles.

The chef has all ready weighed out the quantiies of flour and sets Chung Yin to work, by adding the water and kneading the dough, it is obvious from the start that this will be no easy task, as dough comes together the more difficult it is to knead, Chung Yin comments that he wont need the gym today.

After around 10 mins of hard graft, the dough is ready to make into noodles. This will follow a process of stretching, shaping & twisting, this is a lot easier than it looks, the chef tells us it takes about 3 months to perfect this technique. Chung Yin starts by stretching the dough, alongside him is the apprentice who also has only been doing this for a few weeks, a few moments later the dough is smashed against the wooden board to soften, this process goes on for a couple of minuites, then once stretched long enough it is twisted

Chef Zukai shows Chung Yin how to complete the twist, which will take some practice, after a few attempts he has something that pretty much resembles what the chef is looking for.

Its now time to create the noodles, this again looks a simple process of twists and turns, the trick here is to be quick and confident, otherwise you end up with thousands of pieces of broken noodles.

whilst all this is going on behind us the kitchen is a hive of activity, getting ready for lunch, with chefs throwing, shaving, forming various other shapes such as cats ears, hand pulled dumplings, and even one type of noodle made with a single chopstick all are made to order and seem to take no time at all.

Noodle Loft

20 Xi Dawang LuCBD,

Chaoyang District,

Beijing

朝阳区西大望路南20号

Beijing

2009-06-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Arriving beijing early afternoon we are met by Eileen Wen Mooney, Foodie and author of Beijing Eats, who will be our guide for the next two and half days, After a quick check in at the hotel, its off to the first of our many planned stops in this vibrant city.

Our Itinery has been carefully put together to cover some of the best of the regions cuisine that the city has to offer, the list is extensive so i have decided to give a breif overview and highlights of each one, more like a restaurant guide.

We start at Zhanjing noodle,

On the menu.

mung bean puree with preserved vegetable and chilli oil Beijing fries -, mung bean flour made with water and formed into sheets, cut into diamonds and deep fried, who needs Mcdonalds, these are better than french fries.
Deep fried sausage [ Zha guanchang] with garlic lemon dipping sauce- this is sausage made from starch and pan fried.
Fried pork meatballs served with szechuan salt
Noodles with sweetbean paste and garlic pickle

This is the first of many reastaurants we will try and what a way to start, the highlight for me was the Beijing fries and the mung bean puree, what great addition to any chinese meal.

Next up,we visit April, gourmet an expat grocery store, then onto Lohoe city organic supermarket, which both are based near the embassy quarter.

Wild root, yunnan style.
Special wind tree and slower wind tree bark with tip of evispy pine branches

Sauteed trichdoma matsutake with coriander and garlic.
Siancity mushroom with Pur er tea C
Crossing the bridge noodles (guò qiáo mĭxiàn) is an elaborate chicken noodle soup which hails from the southern province of Yunnan. There are many stories of how the dish originated, but the most common describes a scholar who once isolated himself on an island to prepare for an important examination. His wife would bring him rice noodles and other morsels in a rich chicken broth, with a layer of fat on top to keep the soup warm until she reached him.

Sliced chicken and cool rice noodle with sweet juice
Barbecued perch with vanilla
Stir fried vegetable with ham
Sauteed pork cheek with pur er tea and syrup

This again was a total contrast to the food we have tried in shanghai and the traditional beijing lunch we had earlier.

I have to say that trying tree bark is not something you do everyday, but it is a must try dish if your passing by this restaurant.

Day 2 starts of with a visit to the IFW[ the international food wharehouse in the basement of the plush Park Hyatt, contempory in design this is an amazing food court with open kitchens, wok frying & patisserie with coffe shop, salad and deli areas.

We decide to head for a coffee and cakes, seems the best way to start the day. The selection on offer is fairly extensive, so we decide to try

Savoury meat pie
Green tea bun
Custard bun- a cross between brioche and a hot cross bun with custard filling, what a great product.
Apricot tart
Lychee and lime Jelly
Green tea tiramisu
Chocolate tart-well one always has to try this if on offer, and we were not disapointed.

After a an hour here, we head off to a reasturant that i have been waiting to see.

The Noodle Loft [ shanxi cuisine]

This is a open noodle bar which has theatre every minuite you are here, all noodles are made by hand from start to finish, i will be covering this in the next blog when Chung Yin goes back for a lesson with chef Zukai.

After lunch we head of to Dung Jiao market, where you can buy anything from a turtle to an apartment, this market is the centre for some of the cities restaurants to buy their produce, from spices, fish, meat and vegetables. Every stall has its own speciality for the various regional cuisines. This market is not for the feint hearted.

Afternoon tea

After another store trawl we are at an exclusive mall in the centre of town which has the best patisserie and coffee shop i have seen, Fauchon paris,has sister site here in Beijing and is well worth a visit.

Again the selection here needs to be fully tested as each cake and dessert are perfectly made and designed

We decide to try the

Chocolate tart
Lemon tart
Chestnut cake
Happiness cake
Apple tart
Selection of macaroons

Each one has been carefully hand made and the flavours well balanced, highlights - chestnut cake and the lemon tart.

This amazing foodie day will conclude with a visit to 1949 apparently the best peking duck restaurant in beijing, run by Chef patron Peter Lam, who originates from Hong Kong and runs this establishment with his son. Both come out to greet us and offer to select the menu for us.

This is an amazing complex of bars and restaurants that Chef Peter had built up.

Menu for this evening

Peking duck with hoisin, garlic and peanut addition

The peking duck oven, where the wood used is selected by age and is at least 60-80 years old.

Pumpkin and sour plum pickle
Welks with with courgette and sesame
Peaking duck burger- made from the duck above with the addition of homemade sesame bun
Garden vegetables with 5 nuts
Fois gras terrine made from the peking duck
Almond and tea Gluten rice

All this is all followed up by a of sweet bean paste duck petit four, and Maccau custard tart with spun sugar, These are truly a delight, The duck is far better than i have tasted before, unlike anything i would get back home. The addition of the peanut and garlic to the light Hoisin is a nice twist.

As our last day arrives we are heading off to an new restaurant, Karaiya, Hunanese cuisine, owned by the succesful restauranteur Alan Wong, this restaurant offers traditional Hunan cuisine presented in a very modern way. Our selection

Signature fish- steamed Mandarin fish with 2 types of Hunan Peppers
Rib Bridge- topped with spices and peanuts
Chilled tofu with diced peppers
Spicy diced Bullfrog and vegtables atop a flaming wok

Hunan fragrant tofu special fried[ otherwise known as stinky tofu] this dish is a must try
Fois gras and soy fried rice

Every dish in this restaurant was perfectly executed with all the flavour and spice as you would find in this regions cuisine. This is probably the best restaurant of the tour for me.

China is so undiscovered in terms of styles of cuisine and the flavours that this extrodinary country can create that 2 weeks just scratches the surface, and leaves me wanting to discover more.

Hotpot shanghai style

2009-06-27T03:19:00.000-07:00

Just thought i would write on the lunch we have just had, stopped at the food mall just outside Carrefour in the finance district on our last trawl of the day. Decided that we would try one of the small chain of restaurants that you will find in malls such as this.
We are quickly presented with a set menu which consists of chicken, beef or pork as your protein, a selection of chines vegetables, dipping sauces and tofu and Gluten.

Once we had made our selection a hotplate was switched on in the middle of the table and promptly a large steaming pan is brought to your table with your protein choice[ we went for the pork] you are ushered to start eating this as soon as you can as then the vegetables arrive in readiness to make up your hotpot. This you can do at your own pace changing the various flavours according to the order the ingredients are added, all while the hotplate keeps the stock/sauce simmering and improving the flavour

we start to add the tofu, coriander, pak choi, quails eggs, then take some thin slithers of beef on the chopsticks to dip and hold in sauce to cook.

Each ingredient that you take can be dipped into a rich soy, bean curd or fish dipping sauce. It becomes a mass of bubbling rich stew. Hard to think that it is 38 degrees outside and we are eating this wholesome dish.

As you make your way down this pot of amazing ingredients, the chef then tops up the pan with some hot chicken stock and once again changing the flavours when more additions are provided.

It never seems to go down and we seem to be here for ages trying to finish it off. You certainly need and appetite before venturing into this food arena.

Another one to highlight in the notes. Would be great to get this back home.

Next stop Beijing.

Hangzhou

2009-06-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

We have travelled south of Shanghai today to visit Hangzhou and the famous West lake in search of more of streetfood that this city has to offer. The journey is pretty effortless as the D train takes you swiftly from one city to the other reaching speeds of around 200 Kmh.

We start our tour on Henfeng street where our first stop is with one of the many candy makers, watching this small store produce a hand beaten Peanut candy & Dragons Beard which can only be described as a hard chewy candyfloss. This delicate product is hand pulled and formed with each sweet that is created is exactly the same.

After purchasing some of each we tuck in, the peanut candy is perfect, good crunchy texture and just the right amount of sugar, The dragons beard on the other hand is a acquired taste, very sweet.
Moving on we come across what can only be described as a deli for dried and cured meats, on entering the store the aroma was not for the faint hearted, Legs of dried pork, hanging and thrown into a display in the window, none of which looked like it had moved for months., whole and portioned duck and other meats is all that it could be described as, moving along the counter and after seeing the preparation area decided to move swiftly along.
We then head of round to Baochu road where we find a small shop selling some small bread type products, we decide to try, first up was a what can only be described as bread omelet with ham. We decide this is not enough and without wasting any more time Chung Yin is in the kitchen asking to make some of the other products.

Happily they agree to have a new member of staff and he gets to work, he starts with the Shou Zhua Bing, which translates to use your hands, this starts off as a dough ball and is rolled out and filled with potato, easier than it looks as chung Yin finds out, difficulty being that the dough is very thin. After a couple of attempts they are happy to put his effort on the griddle. We then decide to try the Yong Kang Mai Bing, this is very similar to an Indian Paratha bread but has vegetables running through the base dough. Easier to make ,this is on the griddle in a few moments with both Chung Yin and the girl looking very happy with themselves, she comments that she is pleased he is a fast learner. We wait a few moments before both items are ready, time for the tasting, the Shou Zhua Bing, is fantastic, crispy outside and soft cooked string potato is a great combination. The Yong Kang again would make a great accompaniment to any Chinese dish as does the naan bread to a curry.

All washed down with a sweet canned herbal tea.

We move on further down this street that is a mass of restaurants and streetfood vendors, which having just finished the snacks and lunch decide to visit West lake to walk of some of the few pounds consumed. Dinner at some of the West lake restaurants are supposed to be some of the best in the area, with some regional specialities, which we decide to go for.

Restaurant - Zhiew Guan Wei Zhuang

Menu,

Jin Jiang Xaio Jin Gua - small cucumber with sweet bean sauce
Zhen Jiang Xaio ron -spiced pork terrine
Xi Liu Nui ron geng -west lake beef soup
Xi Lu Cu Yu - west lake vinegar fish
Huo Mi xuan Ya-smoked duck with glutenous rice
San Xian mao Er duo- Cat ear shaped pasta boiled with three delicacies
Li Li Cheng Xiang Xiao Jing Long- large river prawns with specific sauce- chillies, peppers, spring onions, sesame seeds, minced pork & soy

Each dish was the best food we have had since we have been here but the highlights for both of us were the river prawns especially the sauce, and the west lake vinegar fish.
After a day which started out with a candy and finished with River Prawns it was time to catch the train back to Shanghai. Hangzhou is a place that offers some of the tastiest cuisine to date on this trip and a must see for any visitor to Shanghai

Shanghai - dumplings for breakfast

2009-06-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Shanghai, after arriving here on Tuesday late afternoon and the worst cab ride in the world, today is the first real chance we are able to look at what this city has to offer in the way of food. We are up early after shaking off the jet lag and ready for breakfast, we are met by our tour guide and translator Min Min.

We head off downtown looking for the famous Jia Jia Tang Bao to try their xiaolongbao [ soup dumplings]. The store opens at 6am ready for the morning rush for this traditional Shanghai speciality. Most would argue that these are the best soup dumplings that you can get, so we decide to try the menu, but not before Chung Yin joins the kitchen to make our dumplings, which seems to go down well, although I'm not sure if he would get the job.

The speed in which they turn out these small parcels is incredible, the dough is made just from flour and water the days batch is made at 5am every day, which i am told they will have sold out by mid afternoon.

After 5 minutes we are ushered to sit at one of the tables where are order is being laid out, we have a total of 5 types of dumpling which include pork, pork and salty duck egg and pork with river crab.
So time to tuck in, we start with the pork dumpling that is dipped into a light vinegar, as you bite into the dumpling you have to be careful not to get covered in hot soup, the flavour is good. It is when you try the pork and crab that you really know what these little parcels are all about. this is all washed down with a soup of chicken and ducks blood.

After our fill of these wonderful dumplings we decide to cross the road to try Yangs fried dumpling shop, another speciality within Shanghai, we take a few photos and purchase some of these larger style dumpling for our journey across town to Tesco, my first store visit in Asia.

We arrive at the Changning store one of the medium size operations within the city, as you enter it is much like any other in the empire, but on closer inspection it is a totally different. Catering very much to the Asian market, from wide selection of tofu fresh and ambient, Asian pickles, ducks tongue, & chicken feet to name a few, walking along the fresh counters you will find steamed dumplings, noodle/ salad bar & a fish counter that includes live fish, eels and Frogs.

As we progress around the grocery Asles we manage to find some good examples of noodle ready meals, sauces and marinades, stir fry additions, cake and desserts.

Only one problem with shopping here the trolley is to small, most Shanghainese shop daily so the trolley has been down sized.

Next up will be lunch at Baulou in the french concession Quarter

On the menu

Braised shredded eel

stir fry shrimp and ginger

Crab with tofu Noodles

Salted chicken

Hot and sour soup

We finish off our day with Dinner joined By April and Dan at another french concession restaurant the Victorian Home ,a traditional Shanghai Restaurant

Next up on schedule is Hangzhou and West Lake.

Shopping in Milan

2009-06-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

No not what your thinking, Gucci, Prada or Armani

My kind of shopping was going to be Coop Italia, Carrefour, Auchan, designer McDonald's and Peck all finished off with a pistachio, rum and raisin Gillato.

Each store was a totally different shopping experience and a foodie lovers heaven, from an Eco friendly store 2 floors below ground that include a play area & park on top, to Peck which makes Harrods and Selfridges foodhalls look like any general food store

When i set out a few days ago i started thinking about what i may find different on each trip. You expect to find the layout of store pretty much the same as the previous country especially in Europe, the type of groceries you would not think vary that much, and eating habits would be the almost the same,
Well at this stage of my travels and the further into Europe i go it becomes apparent that it really is only us Brits & the Americans that are into convenience foods / ready meals as we know them. Here in Italy as previously mentioned these do not exist,

The risotto here is King, if you want a quick meal, and rightly so as this needs some degree of skill & time to produce consistently, and the risottos that i have found here in Milan in pouch format are as good as any chef could make.

Still with risotto in mind, if you do want to make yourself, they now provide par cooked Arborio rice and jars of vegetable ingredients that are simply stirred into the risotto whilst preparing, which could be used for many different cuisine applications .

Moving slightly away from risotto but a dish with the same skill level required is Polenta, This is now also making an appearance on the shelves both at the trade shows & stores, Again these come with all the seasonings blended and the consumer just adds water, and in 12 minutes you have a gourmet Polenta for supper.

Also being promoted is a white Polenta that is from the Venice Region,

In the cooking sauces arena ragu and Passata are the two key sauces predominately being used as a base, sauces for one are starting to be featured within this category

Another area that seems to be taking off here is the kit.

Like the UK so far there has only been the El Paso products on sale, but slowly others are beginning to creep in, for example Barilla have launched a pizza kit, along with Carrefour own label and Star. Chinese cuisine here is a very small market but Suzi wan kits are being promoted with own label having a presence. Japanese is the more popular cuisine with sushi kits featuring. Italy is also into cake and desserts in a fairly big way, with Kinder being the biggest player in all stores, Balconi i only found in one store and fairly low key within the fixture. Cake slices and bars seem to be the best sellers followed by whole cake and tortes with fresh patisserie tarts from the in store bakeries. Finally with a fresh batch of products in hand it was now time to check out Milan's finest grocery store Peck.

This well healed store has been serving Milan's elite since 1883 and is something that every foodie should put on their travel map, [unfortunately no pictures allowed]. It has the most impressive array of hams, cheeses, vintage balsamic, pressed oils [which included a fig olive oil] and gourmet ready meals of a quality that you would find in some of the best restaurants around the world.

http://www.peck.it/lingua-EN/sid-1264995080/

And to top it all just around the corner at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele where you will find the major fashion houses and not to be outdone, Designer McDonald's, only in Milan could this happen.

Next stop, China- beginning 24Th June

From Truflles To Parma Ham

2009-06-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

From Truffles to Parma ham and Pasta to Parmesan, this food show has it all, and what better place to showcase food than in one of Europe's most fashionable cities, Milan. On arriving early at the show i am immediately impressed with the amount of exhibitors on display, after recently visiting similar show in London it is hard to believe that we are in a recession, as this is a food show at its best.

It is just after 10am and the show is all ready busy, i cant help but trip over the wild mushrooms, truffles and olive oil, but that is not all this show has to offer.

The tastings have begun, bruschetta and crostinis, risotto's in various formats and flavours, vintage balsamic . Each hall has its own speciality, meals and ingredients, dairy, patisserie, cured meats and finally pasta in every shape size and colour.

A show of this size takes a while to cover and an amount of back tracking and zig zaggiing the aisles is required to cover each and every stand.

No money seems to have been spared with each stand trying to out do the next, some even with restaurants above with teams of chefs demonstrating and displaying the vast array of products. After some considerable time, a few miles covered with some interesting products found it is time to visit the town of Rho, just a short distance from the convention centre to trawl the first two on my list of Italian retailers.

Esselunga and Fin Iper.

Esselunga, on entering the store you are met with well spaced aisles,large produce department and coffee shop, on closer inspection the store is similar to others previously visited in Europe, grocery and produce only taking up half the store with the fixture merchandising in no particular order. I decide to head back towards Milan to visit Fin Iper. The store is in a suburb called Portello, and is situated in a new shopping mall.

Immediately you enter the store it has that American Wholefoods/Central market feel, all the produce is well merchandised [ more wild mushrooms] with market stall blackboards for pricing, Grocery aisles are well stocked but cover a relatively small area due to the style of store

As it is early evening the hot deli is doing a roaring trade with Fresh Paella, seafood spaghetti and rotisserie chickens. It also boasts an amazing cold deli, fish counter, bakery and even wine bar in the beers wines and spirits aisle to try before you buy,

So far ready meals are non existent, the only convenience food i can find is Risotto, every shopper here is buying fresh items for the scratch cook. With products purchased and aisles photographed i head outside for one more shot of the store, before heading back to the hotel.

Central market

2009-03-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Central market and market street are the last of the stores on my list, i was expecting them to

be similar to wholefoods and that i would be disappointed with what i would find. On entering the

store their was another fantastic produce department, but the attention to detail with product layout put wholefoods to shame, there is every kind of fruit and vegetable that a foodie could wish for, the array of herbs that are on offer would grace the best professional kitchens of Europe.

As i continue around the the department i come across the " Kit Kitchen ", this is ready meal USA style, a vast selection of pre - packed ingredients that include portions of salmon with sliced lemon wedges and marinade, a selection of sauces that will compliment various recipes, portioned protein items again packed with various garnishes, as i move further along the counter i come across chopped garlic, finely chopped onion and shallots, grilled and roasted peppers, all the ingredients you would ever need for cooking Thai, Chinese, Indian, gastro etc, this is the ultimate lazy way of scratch cooking but it beats all the convenience junk food that i have seen. These items are all accompanied by recipe cards that match the ingredients below.

The bakery is just as impressive with a good range of artisan breads every shape and size and all have tasting buckets with good size chunks to chew on as i move into the grocery aisle and where i am met with hundreds of tubes, dispensing coffee beans from around the globe to my left, and to my right, confectionery, peanut butter, flour, flavoured sugars the list of products is endless.

As i reach the other end of the store we have the opposite of the scratch cooking, counters full of cooked individual protein items, vegetables, cous cous, rice , along with the sauces to compliment, "pick n mix" ready meals which are packed for you just to be reheated at home, the fixture is constantly busy.

As logistics in the US prevent ready meals as we know them, maybe Central Market has hit on the next best thing, as i said at the start of my Trek, it is a country of two extremes "ultimate convenience" fast / junk food or scratch/ semi scratch cook.

When i visit market street a few hours later the story is very much the same, great produce, good quality grocery and the store layout being very similar.

Next stop Dallas - London for IFE

streetfood dallas

2009-03-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sreetfood Dallas ! before i came out to the city of Dallas i had read an article on the Internet fromD magazine titled a " foodies guide to streetfood" by Rawlins Gilliland, i decided to contact Rawlins before i left the uk and see if he could point me in the right direction. He not only did that but decided to take me to some of the places that featured in the article.

we agreed to meet on Sunday morning and try some of the foods that he had experienced. He arrived at my hotel around 10.45 with two hounds in tow.

From speaking to Rawlins the original article came about by wanting to find real streetfood made to order by a real person offered from a window kiosk or cart and to show the food culture still exists in parts of Dallas. This was going to be good.

We head off to north west Dallas to a mainly Hispanic area and after about 20 Min's from the downtown area we arrive at Tacos to go . A small taqeueria that with a blink of an eye you would miss and not even know it existed. It has a few permanent stalls which are placed around this stainless steel counter with a window on either side of the building and all very clean. What could i expect of the food from here? I was about to find out.

As we arrive at the window we are greeted my Mauro who instantly recognises Rawlins. We explain that i have come over from the UK to look at food in the US and today and i am particularly in the streetfood featured in the Magazine.

After Rawlins explains the menu to me Mauro brings out the first tacos, comprising of the Mileneza and the chorizo, I first take a bite of the Mileneza, the flavours are immense, the lightly breaded beef strips that have been pan fried and seasoned to perfection, the ripe avocado slices are topped with sliced fried onions and coriander wrapped in a soft tortilla, i decided to add a little more punch by adding fresh green chili sauce and and the juice of a lime.After trying the barbacoa and the fajita we move onto the pork burrito with pork and beans, a meal in itself for a giant let alone two people who have just polished of the tacos.

The visit would not be complete without trying the Sopes de pastor [ pork] a thick corn cake fried and slathered with refried beans shredded pork, Mexican cheese, ripe avocado and again topped with fried onions and coriander, How i am supposed to eat as it is open and stacked, well the only way is dive in and get messy, and boy was it messy but good

All this was washed down with a Big Red and a Jarritos [ tamarind soda]

We then move onto another highlight of Rawlins tour, downtown to Shed 1 at the Dallas farmers where we find Paul's corn stand, on arrival Paul is not around so Rawlins heads off to find him, but not before ordering me a ear of corn, The corn is place into a rotating oven where it is roasted with the leaves on, after a couple of minutes it is ready. It is then covered in butter,mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, i am then offered a range of other toppings to complement the all ready smothered corn. I go for the lemon pepper.

Biting into the corn i am instantly hit by all the flavours, it is perfectly roasted and the Parmesan is a great addition complimented by the zing of the lemon pepper. As i proceed my way down the cob, Rawlins appears with Paul the owner who is amazed that i had seen the article in the UK and was now stood at his stall trying his corn. He then proceeds to get the article which has been framed and we pose for some photographs, he then insists i try one of the sausages that he also sells, which is served on a stick, i top this with mustard, and give it a go, this again is very good with a nice level of spice.

Since Paul's stand featured in D magazine business has been very good and i can see why, there is a steady stream of customers and at one point 20 or so people gathered around all eating corn and sausages.

What a great way to spend Sunday morning.

We then proceed to head off around the market, each stall has the most fantastic array of fresh produce, it is hard to understand that in this country of fast and junk food why more people do not make use of all these wonderful ingredients. As we pass each stall we are offered tasters of watermelon, Mango's, and the best grapefruit i have ever tasted the Texan red..

After Rawlins makes a few purchases it is time for us to conclude, i can honestly say that i have seen a side of Dallas that as a tourist you would not even know existed, and having done so tasted some of the best food since arriving in the city.

Whilst i had tasted some of the cities leading chefs dishes the previous night along with a lot of foodies of the Dallas area, these two streetfood vendors are the soul of the Dallas food scene, to which i have been fortunate enough to see.

"What a breakfast"

I now head over to Renee and Doug Toon the courier agents to have[ yes you guessed it] some more great food and Texan hospitality, Doug has prepared ribs which have been smoked and cooked in the back yard, these are served with grilled asparagus tips and beans, all accompanied by some spicy cornbread which i wash down with iced tea.

I certainly will not be requiring another meal today, i head back to my hotel to prepare for my last days trawl to Central Market & Market street, two supermarkets that are supposed to be comparable to wholefoods.

Culinology?

2009-03-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

what is culinolgy? over the next few days i intended to find out. Having joined the RCA [ research chefs association] a couple of months ago i am in Dallas for their annual conference. Looking at the programme it was going to be a busy few days with a number of professional development seminars and breakout sessions scheduled. The first day starts early with registration and continental breakfast whilst attendees arrive. i am immediately greeted by a number of other delegates who are instantly interested that i have travelled from the UK to understand their organisation. Over the next three days i have booked myself onto 10 sessions which include culinary communication :" bridging the flavour gap". Make room for the millenials:" product development geared to Generation Y. Trend profiling : " resetting the stage for trend forecasting, and also Student - professional speed networking . Each session has food industry professionals presenting and covering all aspects of product development, insights and trend analysis. I also attend the annual business briefing which i am hoping will explain the question posed, what is culinology?.

We are greeted by the RCA president and board members who provide the organisations activity reports and updates. A number of speakers discuss membership, scholarship programmes, and list of future activities. It becomes apparent that the RCA is a lot more than just a group of chefs, technologists, food scientists meeting up for a general discussion, it is a network of industry professionals that offer culinary and technical support, insight into the world of the consumers, issues affecting the industry from government legislation, culinology degree programmes, professional certification and workshops for chefs and techs.

As the first day of the conference comes to a close we attend the new members and student reception. This is where i get to meet some of the board members where i finally get the chance to really understand that culinology is the blending of culinary arts and food science, its about education and giving the chefs and food scientists the support they need to become professionals in their field of expertise.

we round the day off with a visit to the Nasher sculpture centre to attend the kick- off reception where some of the leading chefs of the Dallas food scene serve us tasters of some of their signature dishes such as Kobe beef meatloaf, smoked oyster veloute and Texas peach barbecued pork tenderloin with bourbon creamed corn.

After attending further sessions on Friday and a sous vide and molecular Gastronomy demonstration by Richard Blais, the culinology expo opens with over 200 trade booths with many of the suppliers who shape the industry. As the conference comes to a close on Saturday i attend the annual luncheon in which we we are served with a menu Dean Fearing, a four coarse affair including cowboy shrimp on white corn grits which was simply outstanding, this is followed by Dr pepper braised short ribs, caso fresco corn whipped potatoes and tobacco onions, the beef being succulent and tender, potatoes a perfect puree complimented by the corn and a nice smokey back note from the onions, but in true American style far to much food. The afternoon sessions are going to be hard going after such a lunch, i am beginning to get to reach the fill factor.

5pm time to attend the closing reception where ,yes you guessed it more food is served, who could possibly want more food? i ask myself especially as we have the Savor Dallas event to attend in two hours.

I arrive at the the Westin city centre plaza for the international grand tasting for an evening of food and wine from the best restaurants and chefs in town. On entering the plaza i am met with three levels of some of the best food and wine the city has to offer.

Every station that i arrive at i am met with sample tasters from each restaurant menu, i first taste a smoked salmon and pineapple soup, an interesting combination, this is quickly followed by crab, lime and mayonnaise tortilla which is a pure flavour explosion, as i move onto each tasting table the cuisine is of the highest standard that would certainly compete with some of Europe's top chefs. This is an event that you can only cope with for a couple of hours considering the amount of food i have sampled over the last few days And bearing in mind the next day brings on more delicacies of Texas.

tomorow,

Streetfood Dallas.

Note : found two familar faces in Tom Thumb Supermarket in West Dallas.

supermarket sweep

2009-03-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

in this country of "small portions" i decide to start the day with the all American skillet, 2 sunny side eggs, toast and a combination of fried potatoes, peppers, onions bacon and rice, not the healthiest breakfast but America does not do healthy. Today i have set myself a target of a trawl of five of the major supermarkets in the area armed with the innovation shopping list. First stop Super target in Northeast Dallas, on arriving i am met with the usual American layout with a large produce department to the left that starts you on your journey around the store, each chain has almost the same format, look and feel only the name changes. I am immediately impressed at the quality and quantity and variety of the fresh produce, from raspberries, asparagus to fresh cactus[ well i am in Texas]. the grocery aisle is next on the agenda, these are well stocked and merchandised, with every imaginable convenience product that i can think of, in all shapes, sizes and formats that i could possibly want and being well utilised by the consumers in front of me, it soon becomes apparent that some of the areas that i need to cover during this trek will be easier to find than others. In the couple of hours it takes too complete the store i realise that the all to familiar chilled convenience aisle was virtually non existent. I then move onto Albertsons and Walmart stopping on the way at the Twisted root burger company to check out there highly recommended home made burgers, root chips and their homemade sauces and relishes. Feeling a little peckish as i only had the light American breakfast mentioned earlier, i decide to go for the jalapeno and blue blue cheese burger with the handcut sweet potato chips, topped with ancho chili ketchup and horseradish mustard just to add a little more kick than it all ready has. I wash this all down with their own recipe root beer [ TCP] to some people.

But know time to waste Wholefoods is next on my list. This is a totally different experience to the one in London, which in my opinion has never really matched the concept here in the states. I decide to visit one on Preston road in a very nice suburb northwest of Dallas. I am hoping to find some things a little out of the ordinary that the major supermarkets wont stock

This is another level again, on entering the store you are met by the concierge[ yes i am in a supermarket] who asks if you would like a tour of the store or help with your shopping experience. Every aisle and area of the store is carefully thought out and being constantly stocked with fresh meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables.

Being late afternoon the store is busy with commuters and families stopping by to grab the evening meal and groceries, this is very much a store that is shopped on a daily basis with the hot a cold entree selection that is on offer.

I decide it is time to head off to the courier agent [Renee] to store the grocery haul that has been collected through out the day, Four out of the five stores complete.

next stop Culinology!

Dallas trek 2009

2009-03-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

March 3rd : when planning an innovation trek, Dallas does not spring to mind as the first choice foodie destination, but when the RCA [ research chefs association ] of America plan to hold their annual conference here in the city there must be more to this metropolis in the biggest state in the US than JR, stetsons and oil. After arriving late afternoon and having located the courier agent i decided to visit Cuba libre, a "pan Latin" restaurant in the Henderson district. Arriving around 8pm the place seems a popular choice for the locals, after only waiting for a few moments i am greeted and shown to my booth and promptly served with a chunky roasted tomato salsa and fresh nacho chips which in true American style was a meal in itself, to follow i decided to take the waitresses recommendation of the 10 oz chunk of overnight cooked pork on boracho black beans and mango BBQ sauce served with fresh flour tortillas. The dish did not disappoint, the pork was succulent perfectly cooked and pulled apart with very little effort, the beans were there to give bite and texture as well as delivering a really nutty flavour, all this was complimented with the fruity BBQ sauce, needless to say i did not finish the course.