Potbelly - From Chi-town to Beantown

While on my lunch break today I noticed some new signage on Washington Street in downtown Boston:

For a moment I imagined I was back in Chicago as I had just been there six weeks ago (blogs forthcoming) but soon realized no, this is really here and will be opening soon!  For those who are unaware Potbelly is a sandwich chain which originated in the Windy City back in the 70s and is rather popular there.  I was spotting them as frequently as you would a Dunkies here but regrettably didn't have a chance to try them out as I was too busy eating Chicago dogs and Italian steak sandwiches. 

From what I've read Potbelly is a hybrid of Subway and Quiznos' strengths (i.e. Quiznos' taste at Subway prices).  Being one who is always on the lookout for frugal lunch options in the Financial District (where an average lunch will run you $7-$10) I enthusiastically welcome the addition.  It's also pleasing to see new businesses popping up along this stretch of Washington Street as it's been a bit of a ghost-town the last few years, particularly after the closing and demolition of Filene's.  Plans for occupying the pit with a new tower are already in motion so the reality of having a downtown that's fitting for a big city like Boston isn't so farfetched.

  

 

In the meantime I look forward to sampling "A Wreck" (Salami, Roast Beef, Turkey, Ham & Swiss Cheese) in the near future and will report my findings when I do so.

Hunting Buffalo

Seeing as it’s already been a week since the blogoski Alimentoski made its debut I felt it was time to post my first official blog entry.  Generally I like to do my traveling in the spring/summer and balance it out with a substantial amount of hibernating in the fall/winter. I have spent the past few months visiting a number of cities in the US (primarily on the east coast) in search of the best eats.  To counteract all of the eating and to give myself some time to digest I have made sure to mix in a substantial amount of sightseeing of either historically relevant or uniquely interesting places.  I hope to present both sides of the experience so you not only get a feel for the culinary scene but the social vibe and history of the cities as well.

I’ll begin with the first voyage I made this year which was to Buffalo, NY in early June.  What precipitated this trip was a special promotion JetBlue ran over the spring where unique codes were emailed to customers that were good for $25-$500 off a flight.  My code ended up being worth $50 and after some tinkering around with different cities and dates I was able to book a round trip ticket to Buffalo for just $59.  While Buffalo is one of the last places many would think to go for vacation (it claimed the top spot in a recent list of “America’s Ten Dead Cities”) I feel that all cities have something to offer and welcome the challenge of having to discover what those offerings are. 

Yes, Buffalo is a shell of its former self but many remnants of its past glory still remain.  It’s one of only two cities (Chicago being the other) that has works by what many consider the trinity of American architecture (Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and H.H. Richardson).  Luxurious mansions still exist on Millionaires’ Row on historic Delaware Avenue (Buffalo once boasted the largest population of millionaires per capita).  Besides the rich history its most notable claim to fame in my opinion is its being the birthplace of the almighty Buffalo wing.  Coming from a city that doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of wing offerings I felt this alone would make the trip worthwhile. 

I boarded the early morning flight and had some innocent chit-chat with a middle aged woman named Barbara from the South Shore before takeoff.  Now usually I try to keep to myself and listen to music or read on flights but apparently I was feeling extra friendly that morning because we kept chatting after take-off.  Slowly I was starting to hate myself for not being in anti-social-book-reading mode before she sat next to me but eventually that gave way to my genuinely enjoying getting to know her.  She told me a good bit of her life story and having grown up in Buffalo provided me with a short list of places to visit and foods to eat.  She informed me that her sister would be picking her up at the airport before heading to a wedding in Pennsylvania and offered to drop me off in downtown along the way.  Not being one to deny another person’s courtesy I said yes even though I would have been able to pick up the express bus into town a few moments after landing.

After hanging out in the cold and numerous phone calls her sister finally arrived to give us a lift.  She informed us that they weren’t ready to go to the wedding and would have to stop by her place to pick up some goods they would be bringing down with them.  After agreeing that it’d be fine to stop by we made our way into the suburbs of Buffalo.  Never did I imagine I’d start this trip loading random groceries into the back of a minivan or taking pictures of antique furniture but sure enough that’s what happened.

Once the car was loaded up we stopped at a local farmers’ market to buy flowers to bring down to the wedding.  There I was able to see my first architectural landmark in Buffalo, the Williamsville Water Mills, which dating back to 1811 was the oldest continuously operating business in Erie County.

After paying for the lovely arrangement we made our way into the city.  The sisters were in the mood for wings before leaving town but unfortunately the Anchor Bar (birthplace of the Buffalo wing) was not open yet.  They then suggested we go to Parkside Candy, an authentic, old-time ice cream parlor that they frequented as kids.  Remembering that ice cream is indeed the breakfast of champions I excitedly agreed.

 

The storefront didn’t look all that impressive but once inside it was as if one had stepped back in time.  The shop is a circular room with beautiful architectural details such as intricate scrollwork on the ceiling and ornate moldings all along the walls.  Old wooden tables and chairs were scattered throughout the shop while vintage posters and cute/cheesy sayings on wooden blocks decorated the walls and shelves.  

After taking a seat at the booth I settled on one of their specials which was a whoopie pie sundae.  The sundae was served in a fancy metal bowl on a doily which I thought was a nice touch.  It was so delicious that I couldn't help myself and scarfed it down furiously.  The best part was that it cost just $5!  I immediately thought of how a similar experience in a replicated environment (Franklin Fountain in Philadelphia) would cost $10 - to get the authentic experience for half the cost was a steal.

After “breakfast” we had to have dessert so I decided to sample one of the foods Barbara told me I had try during my visit and that is sponge candy.  Sponge candy is chocolate covered honeycomb toffee (think of a Cadbury Crunchie bar but in smaller pieces).  It’s sold in an assortment of chocolate flavors such as milk, dark, and orange chocolate.  I decided to go with the orange chocolate since it sounded unique and was pleasantly surprised by the combination of flavor.  The orange worked really well with the honeycomb and the texture was distinct from that of a Crunchie bar in that it was a bit more airy but still retained its

crunchiness.  

 

When we were done I snapped a few more pictures, grabbed a bag of sponge candy to bring back home and we were on our way to our next stop – Anchor Bar (which will be the next blog entry).  One cool thing I did find out later on during my trip is that Parkside Candy made an appearance in the movie The Natural along with many other Buffalo locations (serving as Chicago locations).  I recently purchased the movie on Blu-ray and am looking forward to recognizing all of the Buffalo landmarks. 

The Birth of the Blogoski Alimentoski

I keep hearing from different people that I should start a blog so I have finally caved in.  While the idea was always appealing I have had some trepidation about doing so due to the fact that I feel I already fill the inter-webs with enough of my thoughts via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.  Did I really need yet another personal space on the web that I have to tend to and nurture?

After giving it some consideration I felt a blog would allow me to go a bit deeper with my thoughts and observations (primarily about food) instead of just showing off pretty pictures.  No longer would I be restricted by Facebook's status update length limit or Twitter’s 140 characters.   Let’s face it, Facebook Notes never caught on and the resolution of their pictures leaves much to be desired, so blogosphere full of high-res pictures here I come!

Of course the first thing you have to do when creating a blog is come up with a catchy title for it.  I intend this blog to be primarily about different foods and cuisines I have indulged in while on my travels (although I do intend to do some write-ups on my favorite eats here in Boston).  Thus, I began brainstorming only to come up with ideas that had already been taken (for example, “wanderlustforfood” and “vittlesandbits” both exist and are lovingly maintained).  English wasn’t getting me anywhere so I started to think in Spanish and then bam, the name came to me.  A name that can cut glass…alimentoski!  

The name comes from the Spanish word “alimento” which means “food” (more along the lines of “provisions”) and the “-ski” is derived from a song by the Colombian cumbia artist Gustavo “El Loko” Quintero y Los Graduados titled “El Aguardientoski”.  Aguardiente is an anise flavored liqueur that is considered the national drink of Colombia (which is where my family is from).  Every Colombian family has a bottle of it on hand for that special occasion (usually under the sink next to the detergent) or when needed for an emergency home remedy (it’s well known that a shot of it works wonders for an upset stomach).   The song is a playful number about a man who stops at a bar and asks to be served a shot of aguardiente and a rum and coke for his lady friend.  Clearly the guy has had his fair share of beverages that night because he needs to reassure the bartender that he has money with which to pay for the drinks and adds “-ski” to the end of every word.  Of course he keeps ordering more shots and thus madness ensues.  Here’s the music video which is quite entertaining:

For those of you who thought a Colombian pulling out a machete at a bar was unrealistic think again.  One of my father's most memorable stories is about the time he had to bail his pal out of jail after he was arrested for brandishing a machete at a bar while wasted on...you guessed it, aguardiente.

The “-ski” at the end of each word is supposed to make fun of Russians where everything ends in “-sky”.  I didn’t want the blog name to be too long so I thought alimentoski worked perfectly (especially since "alimento" ends in "o").  I will hold off on my first official entry but what you can expect are blog entries on cities I've visited and what foods I feel are worth seeking out while you're there.  I will blog about other stuff too (I don't want to limit myself) but food is what the focus will be on.  With that I toast you a virtual shot glass of aguardiente – to happy blogging!