Special Report: Galco's Old World Grocery and Rose Petal Soda

So, a while back, I saw this lovely documentary.  I fell hard for the store, its proprietor, and its stock.

I promptly sent the link to my friend Matthew, who is in film school in LA.  Not only did I think he'd get a kick out of the short film, I was hoping he might be able to visit the store someday and allow me to live through him by reporting back.

After a little time passed, he did indeed fulfill this wish of mine.  In fact, Matt eventually sent me the following photos and message:

We went location scouting for my first cycle film (we make three the first year) at a succulent nursery and I realized we were pretty close to Galco's. I sheepishly suggested we go and my crew didn't scoff at the suggestion and they ended up loving it!

Later still, there were two more emails from Matt, one with more photos. They said, simply:

OMG! did that you tube video mention his candy selection ? ! !

and

I'm conducting a informal taste test right now!

Let's gape at the candy selection through Matt's eyes.

 

Wow.

I had also shared the original documentary with a few other people.  To my delight, my coworker Paul bought several bottles of the rose petal soda and had them shipped to our office in New York.  He even gave a bottle to me.  How kind of him to share!

Once uncapped, the beverage was light and refreshing -- not too floral, by any means.  It smelled more like roses than it tasted, but the flavor was swell.  Here it is, moments before I drank (and savored) it:

I love a beverage story with a happy ending!  I only wish I could have been to the store myself.  Galco's is certainly on my list of LA landmarks to visit on a future trip.

p.s. Matt also responded to the above video with the following clip.  I offer it to you as a bonus, though it has little to do with the rest of my tale.

[p.s. I'm posting this non-poetic post on a Poetry Tuesday because I'm pretty behind in blogging, due to my vacation.  I hope you'll forgive me.]

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More from my mother, the world traveler.

(photos by Mom)

Above, a kitchen in Nagaland.


Below, an outdoor fire pit for cooking.




Below, preparing leaf bowls for a festival meal.




Below, more views of food prep for the same festival.


(pork prep)




(leaf bowl assembly-line and supplies)

My mom went to Nepal.

(Photos in this post were taken by my mom)

Here are some pictures of snacks along the way.













Okay, maybe those last two weren't quite ready-to-eat.

Happy Chinese New Year! Except this is Korean.

Paul offered me a Korean medicine cake. In fact, it was the one pictured above.

Dense and chewy, but not quite to the degree that marzipan is, this guy smelled "fried," tasted sweet, and was somehow both almost-flaky and nearly-greasy on the outside. Yumz!

The rest of the story on these cookies, called yakgwa:

• Now made with wheat flour and corn syrup.
• Back in the day they were made with rice flour and honey, therefore medicinal.
• Yak means "medicine" and Gwa means "cake" or "cookie".
• They were considered medicinal because of the (Korean and other nations') belief that honey is medicinal.
• They are a pressed cookie, similar in that way to spekulaas.

Thanks for both the cookie and the information, Paul!

I must have done something good.

Let me just say that Mr. Dan does not frequent "big box" doughnut establishments. So it must have been a sacrifice for him to enter a Dunkin' D. last weekend after soccer practice to buy me a breakfast of doughnuts (it was even his idea; I did not prompt).

I was (and remain) honored and touched by Dan's thoughtful braving of corporate doughnutdom, though we did not actually eat what he presented until the next day -- this due to my own tragic cookie overdose that morning (of which Dan had been unaware) that left me unable to consider eating anything sweet for several hours.

The special edition Heath Bar doughnut pictured above looked like it was going to be a star. However, perhaps because it was day-old, there was no crunch to the toffee pieces, and the whole thing just tasted like a yellow doughnut with too much sugary frosting on top.

I say it could have been a tad stale, but frankly all three DD doughnuts (the other two being blueberry cake and chocolate cake with light glaze) were perfectly soft and pliable on day two, despite having been stored in a non-airtight paper bag on our kitchen table. This may not bode well, as I suspect artificial ingredients are what allow a doughnut to weather time so freakishly well.

Who's that girl eating bacon while weeping?

I don't want to admit it, but I guess I officially eat pork again. I've been in denial. I don't eat pork. I just taste it. And only in little pieces, mostly cured or dried. But for about a year now I've just been tasting a little prosciutto here, a little bacon there...and then a little more sopressata here, a little more salami there... *sigh*

In many ways, I really wish I could be a vegetarian, guys. I do. There are so many things wrong with the meat industry, so many cruelties practiced on animals. But then, on the other hand, I just wish I could merrily eat meat without guilt. Alas. I have not the willpower for either choice.

I am not (obviously) and have not ever been a vegetarian. Never made it. I stopped eating beef and pork in high school after reading The More with Less Cookbook, which describes how inefficiently our world consumes its grains through animals, as well as how much more easily we could feed the poor if we all ate less meat and tougher cuts of meat. I decided to eat as much "less meat" as I personally could, but I couldn't manage to cut out poultry or seafood ( I love dairy so much that veganism was clearly out of the everlovin' question).

I do try to eat meat in a manner as ethical and sustainable as I can afford, but I know that's cold comfort to the passionate vegans and vegetarians out there.

Anyway, clearly I would be dealing with some issues when Paul brought me a ham-inclusive Korean breakfast sandwich one afternoon last week. He said, "Would you eat some pork?" And in truth, I would. And I do. Plus, I love trying new things -- especially if they're from cultures other than my own. That's part of the reason I started eating pork again (still working up to beef). I would like to be a respectful world traveler, able to eat with the natives without too much fuss.

Back to the breakfast sandwich. I'm glad I didn't miss out on it. The moderately-sized beauty had a nice, light, chewy bun or roll surrounding a kind of ham salad with ham, mayo, peas, cheese, and perhaps some onion. I couldn't identify all of the ingredients. It was tasty. And seasoned perfectly -- no extra salt or pepper needed. The mayonnaise was tangy and a little sweet. It beat the pants off of "egg on a roll," a classic NYC breakfast I still don't understand (or want).





Later, Paul brought by half of a mashed potato doughnut from the same bakery (info below). It had peas and carrots mixed into the potato and was better seasoned than any knish I have ever tasted. Paul called it a "New World Samosa." There was just a bit of sugary doughnut sweetness in my last bite. I liked this one a lot, too. Even better, no meat = no liberal guilt to end my tasting. Sweet.

Now that I know where these came from, I hope more Korean breakfasts are in my future -- even if my choice of pastries involves the guilt-inducing specter of ham. But I do want to note that, while I won't hyperventilate if the sandwiches have a little meat in them, I'm going right back to my, "as little meat, as responsibly chosen as possible" diet in my day-to-day life. I may have issues, but at least I'm aware of them, right? Right?



from Koryodang Bakery
31 West 32nd Street
between Broadway and 5th Avenue.
p.s. Paul says they have delicious green tea cake here, too!

I Break for Tea

Saturday morning, I finally got around to trying the green tea Kit Kat Nick brought back from Japan.

I would only complain that the packaging is a tad excessive. Inside each cardboard box, the four Kit Kat sticks are separated into two small plastic-wrapped packs of two sticks each.

A small plus? The slogan seemed less strident in this version than in the American campaign. For this Japanese permutation, they've replaced "Gimme a break...Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar" with "Have a break, have a KitKat."

Enough about the package, though. The snack's the thing. Kit Kat has well-captured the lighter-than-pea-green color of the tea. The candy smells sweet, milky, and almost of almond. The flavor is very similar -- sweet, with subtle green tea and milk notes, but without the bitterness that green tea can sometimes have. The wafer layers add a nice crunch.

I quite liked this -- more than original chocolate Kit Kat, I'd say. In fact, I'd be happy eating some more. Who's going to Japan next?

Dan rode 100 miles and all I got was this awesome candy.

I was invited to make the Montauk 100-mile bike ride, too, but graciously declined in favor of a weekend of not riding my bike 100 miles.





However, Dan did bring a trio of chocolate goodies (two of which were imported from the UK) back from the tip of Long Island. Then he shared them with me. I tried all three in the movie theater this evening, where I was watching The Hangover. In case you're curious, my favorite parts of the movie (which could have been a lot better OR a lot worse) were

1. Zach Galifianakis (genius)
2. Ed Helms (funny)
3. Bradley Cooper (adorable)
4. That I hadn't had a Rolo in a long time (chewy)
5. The discovery that Nestle Munchies are like more complex Rolos (crispy)
6. Trying to guess which flavor of Revels were coming out of the bag next (orange, coffee, malteser, raisin, or chocolate)

More of all six, please!!

Tanger-keen.

Paul kindly shared these Korean tangerine-filled chocolates from Jeju Island (which he described as "Korea's Hawaii"). Unwrapped, they have the same sort of delightful citrus+chocolate scent and flavor as a Terry's Chocolate Orange, but the textures and tastes of the filling and chocolate shell are disparate, even as they play together nicely. I don't know that I would have guessed (without having been told) that these are tangerine-flavored, as opposed to orange, but that hardly matters to me. Whatever citrus they realistically resemble, I just know I'd eat more.

Lost in Translation

Nick facilitated (via his recent trip to Mexico) a multilingual snack tasting. From left to right:




Tostachos: "Asi me gusta." "15% + Gratis." "No te quedes en las formas, llega hasta el fondo...El Sabor" -- Cheddar cheesy tortilla chips with just a touch of cardboard and a tiny spark of spice.




Sabritas KKWates Enchilados con Limón: "Son esos pequeños momentos en tu vida los que hacen La Gran Diferencia!" -- Very sour, sharp lime flavored peanuts dusted with chili powder, reminding me of my favorite treat I found on my own trip to Puerto Vallarta, which was a microwaveable package of chili-lime popcorn. These nuts would probably be too much for some people, as the lime's industrial strength (and quite likely artificial) but I dig 'em.




Vuala Minis: "Croissants con Relleno Cremoso Sabor Chocolate" -- It was a little creepy to open what looks like a bag of chips and find mini croissants. They felt moist, rather than flaky, and smelled like chocolate mini-donuts from a gas station (the inferior kind with the yellow insides). The texture was definitely off, as the "croissant" was more dense and moist than light and dry, but the chocolate cream inside tasted fine.




Papas Pa-Fut Sabor Cañonazo -- "La Selección Nacional ya suma más de 85 años de historia." -- These looked like regular, unflavored potato chips, but tasted far spicier and madder. Both sour and bitter, there was still a strong potato flavor coming through, as well as abundant saltiness.

All in all, an intriguing voyage of flavors. The nuts were my favorite, but something about the balls-to-the-wall nastiness of the Papas Pa-Fut appealed to me (even though they ultimately were a little much).

Thanks, Nick!

Surgeon General's Warning

(photo by Dan)



"Quit cigs and start the smarts."

I am dodgy and so were these.

(photo by Dan)

I admit it. I've been a dodgy, barely-there, ghost of a blogger these past few weeks. As has been pointed out to me, I have a duty to my readers that has gone unfulfilled. So this weekend I'll be trying to catch up with many of the things I've been eating and taking photographs of since I last posted.



Let's start with these queer biscuits. Jammie Dodgers were a birthday gift from Dan -- and British to boot.

What does the package claim? "Delicious stretchy jam splodged [ed: !] at the heart of 2 yummy shortcake biscuits."

What would my description be? "Two shortbread cookies sandwich a red jam that is meant to be raspberry. The cookies are slightly dry. The jam is terribly hard and chewy. The result is unsettling."

My description is a little too long and not very lyrical. But at least it doesn't use the word "splodged."

Coffee for the coffee-less

My dad's visiting Vietnam for the first time. Like me, he's no coffee drinker, but we're a polite family (especially when traveling abroad). I found his description of Vietnamese coffee intriguing:

Breakfast was noodle and beef soup, with vegetables, followed by Vietnamese coffee...[T]hey brought hot tea before the coffee. Then the coffee came in individual percolators -- small metal pieces that fit on top of a coffee cup. The hot water dripped down through the top unit, which held the coffee grounds and into the cup. Luckily (for me) Vietnamese coffee also contains milk. it was down in the cup for the coffee to drip into. And the milk had some chocolate in it. It was still pretty strong coffee, but the flavor was actually pretty good. I attached a picture of the table.





The close up [below] is very blurry but I wanted you to see how much sweet milk is in the bottom of the cup. I'm sure it is the first time in my life I have had coffee two days in a row. And I may have it again tomorrow.

Thanks, Dad! Here's more Vietnamese coffee info, for interested parties.

The all day sucker (c'est moi)

The Sugar Daddy (sent by Tia) is a "Milk Caramel Pop" that used to be called the "Papa." It's a big guy, too. Looking at it, I thought it might be the only thing I get done all day.

I put the thing in my mouth at 11:26 am.

11:26 a.m. -- It's quite sticky when moistened, so I am trying to keep my teeth off of it. I have some more dental work in my future and I don't want to get into trouble. Chewing it is unpleasant because it worries me.

11:41 a.m. -- The top is melting and distorted, but I don't feel like it's getting smaller. I have to take a shower. I've got stuff to do!

12:02 p.m. -- Seriously. I have to catch a train. My mouth will never taste anything but caramel ever again.

12:07 p.m. -- I can finally fit the whole thing in my mouth relatively comfortably. I am very distracted by this sucker. When will it end?!

12:18 p.m. -- Guess I have to take it with me. It's still bigger than my thumb. I thought my tongue might be brown, but I looked in the mirror and it's still pink/red.

12:23 p.m. -- Finally smaller than my thumb.

12:27 p.m. -- One hour and one minute after unwrapping this baby, I have - at last - sucked the last sliver off the stick and scraped the last bit off the back of my teeth. Need a one-hour, 200 calorie snack? I've got an idea for you.

In conclusion: It tasted classic, if the experience was a bit epic. I enjoyed the milky, caramel flavor, and I appreciate how caramel melts slowly in the mouth, but the Sugar Daddy is far too big for a lolly. I think I would go for the junior size pop (or Sugar Babies) in the future.

Ooh, and they should make a version with sea salt. I'm so in love with salted caramels right now.

Pennsylvania Chip Face-Off

(phone photo by Dan. pardon the shadow!)

R., who likes things spicy, brought 4 kinds of potato chips (1 BBQ and 3 Red Hot) back from a recent trip to Pennsylvania (all are made in PA). We found time to taste-test them this week.

Utz Red Hot Potato Chips - I think Utz brand chips almost always have an inferior texture, but the spice builds properly (the more chips you eat, the hotter they taste in your mouth). I believe R. preferred the flavor of this one.

Gibble's Red Hot Potato Chips ("Nibble with Gibble's) - This one was intriguing and a bit complex - my favorite of the three Red Hot chips. R. thought it had the best texture. I felt the heat was duller than in the Utz chips (the only drawback with this brand, in my opinion), but the flavor less sweet than the next two chips (which I appreciated). We identified the flavors of cayenne, onion powder, and paprika.

Munch With Martin's Red Hot Potato Chips - Everyone agreed that these were very sweet. Right away, I could taste cinnamon. C. felt these tasted like pumpkin pie spice. R. identified the flavor as identical to Red Hots candies and felt the company was going for that comparison.

Middleswarth The Weekender Hand-Cooked Bar-B-Q Old Fashioned Ket-L Chips - It's hard to compare these to the others, as they were true BBQ chips, and therefore not spicy in the same way that the "Red Hot" chips were. Most of us liked the flavor. R.F. felt that they were too sweet. He didn't seem to care for them much, comparing the taste to that of "a stale beer." I didn't mind the sweetness, and did think the kettle chip texture ("Made from carefully selected potatoes") was superior to the other varieties. The Weekenders managed to be a little spicy, too, but the Red Hots stole the show.



(phone photo by Dan)

p.s. unopened, smaller-sized bags of chips make a decent baby toy in a pinch.