05 Jan 2018
by scolgin
in Markets & Stores, Recipes, World's Best Sandwiches
Tags: Buffalo mozzarella, dry-aged ribeye, hot dogs, Kewpie mayonnaise, kim chee, Krogers, markets, Ralphs
Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of invention. But could that really be true of a hot dog? Is there such a thing as necessity when it comes to a hot dog.
Sit back, friends, and let me tell my tale.

The Sean Dog
It all begins at our local Ralph’s supermarket (Krogers to you folks on the East Coast). I’ve become obsessed with the hunt for their “Woohoo” deals — items throughout the store which, due mostly to rapidly approaching “sell by” dates, have had their prices precipitously cut and have been flagged with a little yellow-and-red “Woohoo!” sticker. It has the same appeal as mushroom hunting or garage sale-ing: sometimes you find something, sometimes you don’t. More often than not, I make staggering discoveries — $14 Italian La Tur cheeses for $4; $20 dry-aged ribeyes for $6. More
24 Mar 2017
by scolgin
in Beverages, Markets & Stores, The Pantry
Tags: artisanal products, cocktails, Del Maguey, drinks, mezcal, mixes, Muddle & Wilde, tequila, Vida
What sounds like the name of a pair of bumbling, ineffectual British TV detectives is actually a new project by two of the most creative, beautiful women I know — Muddle & Wilde, organic drink mixes “handcrafted in small batches.”

Laura and Moira
Rereading the grammatical structure of that previous sentence, I realized it could be interpreted that my two friends are named Muddle & Wilde. They are not. They are Moira and Laura, two mothers at the elementary school where my daughters go — and are friends with their daughters. And we are friends with Moira and Laura, and so were impressed and excited when we heard about their venture. More
27 Jan 2017
by scolgin
in Cooking Tips, Markets & Stores
Tags: agemochi, cheese, condiments, dolls, humor, Japanese food, Kewpie, mayonnaise, senbei
Sometimes I think the Italians make the best things. And then I change my mind, and decide it’s actually the Mexicans who make the best things. Other times, I’m pretty darned sure it’s the Japanese.
This is one of those times.

Of course, it all depends on what you are talking about. If you’re discussing cheese, for example, it’s hard to make a case that anyone does it better than the French. More
12 Aug 2016
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Markets & Stores, On the Road
Tags: Del Maguey, Ed Kinney, Hawaii, Hawaiian cooking, Honolulu restaurants, Oahu, Town, Waimanalo People's Open Market
Fifteen years ago I made a good decision, and married my favorite person. Three kids, two houses, a successful business and a couple dozen chickens later, we realized we would fortuitously be in Oahu for our anniversary — a perfecter place to celebrate we couldn’t have planned!

Waimanalo People’s Open Market
Through more of my pre-vacation research, I zeroed in on a restaurant called “Town” that I thought would make the appropriate anniversary dinner destination. A chef named Ed Kenney was creating interesting, Italian-influenced Hawaiian cuisine with an emphasis on traditional island ingredients and strong relationships with local farms.
More
01 Jul 2015
by scolgin
in Markets & Stores, On the Road
Tags: beluga whales, Canada, foie gras, Les Lofts St. Joseph, malpeque oysters, Montmorency Falls, poutine, Poutineville, Quebec City
We drove through northern Maine on high moose alert — the country was wild, wet and largely uninhabited, and roadside signs all along the route warned of moose crossings.

Flynn et Willa in our loft
We didn’t see any moose. But we had a pleasant leisurely chat about web design and client management with the friendly officer at the border crossing as the cars piled up behind us. And then the signs were in French and the traffic lights were sideways and we were in Quebec. More
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