C-Town Chow Down - April 17, 2011

Nothing helps build desire like anticipation. When my brother and sis-in-law saw the Dim and Den Sum food truck last year, Julia and I scoured the earth looking for it. Here was something new to the Cleveland area...something that the Columbus locals were able to brag about for quite some time.

I mean, there are even TOURS for food trucks in Columbus, thanks to Bethia Woolf's Columbus Food Adventures (God bless her).

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Julia and I were having trouble finding the food trucks...until we finally caught up to one at the IngenuityFest and later, this year, there were two at the Brite Winter Festival.

Thinking back on it, my desire to check out food trucks now makes a lot of sense - they belong to the same family of all the festival food trucks that I've loved over the years. Except these food trucks were advertising more wholesome ingredients and creative concoctions...

...which only enticed me even more.

This past Sunday in Tremont's Lincoln Park...

...just beyond the band playing at the gazebo...



...a line of food trucks came together for the C-Town Chow Down.

This was the second event they put together (Julia and I were out of the country during the first one)...

...and there were quite a few trucks to choose food from.

After having met up with some friends, we started digging in the grub.

The most anticipated item for me turned out to be the most disappointing...

...the chicken liver slider with maple sausage gravy.

Now I realize that many of you are saying, "You were looking forward to liver?" but I must argue that liver can be a rather satisfying dish if prepared correctly. Unfortunately for this dish, the liver seemed a little undercooked, thanks to the presence of blood (see pic above) and its really limp texture. I'd rather not discuss this one further.

Some other dishes weren't all that hot either...

...like the Bahn Mi, which didn't have enough veggies, herbs and sauce to balance all meat inside (the sandwich was dry)...



...or the rice dream dessert, which a friend of ours didn't care for.

But with any adventure, you need to take risks, and we didn't stop there. Of the dishes appreciated...

...our friend liked the meatball sub from Fahrenheit...



...I loved the Best! Polish Boy from Seti's (hot dog with slaw and BBQ drenched fries)...



...Julia and I enjoyed the mango white chocolate cookie and walnut brownie from Cakes Plus...



...and Oliver simply enjoyed the aroma of all the food we grazed on.

He probably would have appreciated a bite too!

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Things we can learn through food.

Here's a quick post of some things I've learned about food...


1.) If you don't get familiar with the average price of things, some markets can really cheat you...

...like with these $5.39/lb bruised eggplants in downtown Cleveland...



...or this $1.49/per apple in Oberlin.

2.) That same exploration can help you find some great finds...

...like chicken feet and goose in Ohio City (yummy!)...



And some finds may not even be in markets...



...like this perch found on the streets of Lorain.

But this leads us to lesson 3...

3.) Never eat fish found on the streets of Lorain...or on the streets of ANY town for that matter...

...just find a fish fry or catch it yourself.

You'll be happy you did.

4.) If you get the choice of paying $17 for a 14"pizza or $8.50 for the 7" pizza, GET THE 14"...

...especially when you can see that half the 7" is only slightly more than 1/8 of the 14".

That's a real difference if you care more for toppings than crust.

5.) Even if you're not religious, Easter candy rocks.

It's not just Jesus fish...



...it's hippy Rainbow Pop Peeps...



...and more Marshmallow Hop characters.

(Okay, so I don't care for marshmallow that much, but they still look cool!)

6.) No matter how you have raised your cat, a few months with me can ruin her forever. She will understand what treats are all about and she will become frighteningly aggressive when you go to the couch with a bowl of ice cream...

...and peers at you over that ice cream bowl with her hungry, strangely-lit eyes.


I still get shivers.

The Trip around Lake Erie

This past weekend, Julia and I went on a small road trip to circle Lake Erie...something we also hope to do with the other four Great Lakes.

We entered Canada through Detroit/Windsor and drove primarily along the Talbot Trail, where we saw...

...plenty of windmills...



...an interesting landscape (Iona)...



...and the Leamington Tomato info booth (closed).

Of course, we veered off this trail often, stopping in...

...Chatham-Kent with its many murals...



...Sparta - home of Winter Wheat...



...where folk art filled the forest...



...St. Thomas, where Jumbo met a horrible fate...

...and Port Stanley...



...where we stayed two nights at the Windjammer Inn...



...enjoying the Inn's fine fisherman breakfast (with perch)...



...while also enjoying Port Stanley's charm...



...and humor (humour, for you Canadians).

There were plenty of food adventures as we...

...found fascination with bags-o-milk...



...found fear in the crazy eyes of this chocolate lass...



...and collected various snack foods and put them in the back seat like children.

We also got Hewitt's goat milk ice cream in Hagersville...



...a pleasant dessert after a fish (walleye) and chips lunch.

On the last night of our trip...

...we stayed in Niagara Falls.

Unlike other trips to the falls...

...the snow and ice had been built up, reminding us how cold it was...



...but that didn't stop us from enjoying it before returning home.

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