Sprague’s Maple Farms

My nephew graduated upstate a few weeks back, so as there was plenty of family around, we… packed up his apartment to bring back home. But after that, it was time to eat! As there’s little in the way of destination dining in Olean, and even less between there and his hometown (mine, too), the decision was made to visit Sprague’s Maple Farms in the burgeoning metropolis of Portville, New York. The driveway to the restaurant begins with this lovely greeting. Sprague’s is a working farm; as you might expect from the name, the farm produces maple syrup — the [...]

Second Thanksgiving

I think virtually everyone who knows me knows that I love turkey, I love roasting turkey, and I love feasting on the resulting carcass, especially the dark meat. So when I made plans to travel upstate for my mother’s Thanksgiving, naturally I anticipated a big ol’ turkey with all the trimmings — oh, and hanging out and relaxing with my family, of course. Then, a few days before the big event, I called to remind Ma to brine the turkey. She responded, “How should I brine the turkey breast we’re having?” Dead silence. Turkey BREAST? No drumsticks? No wings? No [...]

A Very Feisty Thanksgiving

I’m sure you’re all sick of Thanksgiving, but I don’t care.  People asked to see my Thanksgiving, and here it is, in all its glory.  So here it is, mostly without recipes. It wouldn’t be a Feisty Family Gathering without the ubiquitous deviled eggs (yes, there’s a recipe-ish in there, if you look).  It’s a quick, easy party food that our father taught us how to make when we were very young – possibly one of the first things I learned how to make – and they’re delicious, fun, finger-friendly food. No, that’s not all of the ones that she made… [...]

Wagamama – Istanbul, Turkey

Having heard about Wagamama through tastingmenu.com a while back, I was excited to try it when I noticed it in a mall directory in Turkey.  I know, a supposedly authentic Japanese ramen chain in Turkey?  What were we thinking?!  But regardless, there don’t seem to be plans to open one in NYC (we’ve got plenty of delicious, authentic ramen here, thankyouverymuch), it was raining fairly hard in Istanbul, so we decided to go to the luxury mall in town- Kanyon, an open air, futuristically styled mall on the edge of town.  The mall was huge and I managed to score [...]

The Food of Greece and Turkey

Hmm, looking over my pictures, I only photographed two meals in Greece.  How odd.  I guess because it was much of the same stuff, repeatedly~ kebabs, lamb, kebabs, etc.  So here’s the teaser, only one of these meals, at Smiles Restaurant somewhat near our hotel: Lamb kebab with pita, tzatziki Grilled octopus, with our appetizer of taramasalata in the background Pork schnitzel Our first meal in Turkey was soundly disappointing, but we knowingly went into a touristy place.  Ah well. Our mezze (starter) platter - hummus-ish, horse beans, stuffed eggplant, shredded chicken salad type thing, greens, and I forget what was [...]