Nothing tells you what the people want like browsing their country’s supermarkets. Japan: every single part of the fish. Ireland: industrial-size burlap sacks of potatoes. And America? Sugar-coated goodness as far as the eye can see.
Food Culture
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Got Crabs?
Ladies and gentlemen, the following collage of photos illustrates why I continue to return to Florida after all these years*. Florida seafood – there ain’t nothin’ like it. Git yerself to a crab shack, sit yerself down, and git dirty. Last night, my parents took me to a crab shack on the side of the […]
- America
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Home Super-Sized Home
Returned from Ohio yesterday; my first foray into the flat, green fields of the American Midwest. Quite beautiful… as was the smorgasbord of chain restaurants. Taco Bell. Wendy’s. Chik-fil-freaking-A. Golden Corral. Bob Evans. Steak and Shake. Cracker Barrel (!!!). At the groom’s house the day before the rehearsal dinner; hamburgers, beans, macaroni & cheese, and […]
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Some Like It Raw: Mettbroetchen in Düsseldorf
On my second day in Düsseldorf, my friends Hans and Marie took me to a series of Düsseldorf brauhauses. If you’re religious, you know that a brauhaus is where good beer drinkers go after they die. Beer hall/beer garden, flowing with home brew. No need to head to the bar as a waiter makes frequent […]
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When Worlds Collide
Grow up in America and you might equate potato pancakes with Hanukkah. Here in Germany, however, potato pancakes – or Kartoffelpuffers – are eaten year round by all; usually at streetmarkets, enjoyed with a glass of cold wine or beer. In Cologne, where we’re spending the day, they call ’em Schnibbelkuchens. Me? I call ’em […]
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Potato Famine? My Arse.
So it’s El Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo for you, that is; they don’t do Cinco de Mayo here in Ireland. But that’s okay; I don’t need no estinking margaritas or nachos or mariachis because I have POTATOES. Read ’em and weep, putos.
The Curse of Molly Malone
Classes finished last week, much to everyone’s chagrin. We’ve been paired with our portfolio advisors and still have 10,000 words to submit for two classes, but all anyone can talk about is What’s Next After the M.Phil? Good question. For most of us, it’s back to work. Some are heading back to school for MFAs. […]
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Cupcakes: Delicious, Ubiquitous, and Politically Correct
At farmers’ markets, cafes, Bewley’s, and bake shops; Ireland’s got the fever. They call them “cupcakes” here nowadays – not “fairy cakes,” like they used to. But, gracious, you wouldn’t catch someone using that dreadful archaic term nowadays; not since the Great Fairy Uprising of 2004. In the spring of that year, centuries of Irish-Fairy […]
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Cadbury Creme Egg on My Face
Chocolatey, creamy, luscious: the Cadbury Creme Egg. Available in the United States for a only precious few weeks each pre-Easter season; gone as soon as the last church volunteer peels off his bunny suit. Wrapped in shiny red, yellow, and purple foil. Nibble off the top to reveal the sugary sweet creme inside; die of […]
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Lunch at Temple Bar
Audrey Hepburn I ain’t, 5th Avenue this isn’t. It’s Temple Bar; once Dublin’s Jewish ghetto and now a nightlife/tourist hub extraordinaire. At noon on a damp, rainy day there are less tourists than there are commuters. The cobblestone streets are slick, shining softly under the overcast sky. Objective: to enjoy some lunch in the scenic […]