Thursday, June 25, 2009

p-burg farmers' market


I made my first trip of the season to the Pittsburg Farmers' Market. For about $7 I walked away with a bunch of kang kong, two delectable white peaches, two ears of corn, and two bitter melons.

The kang kong was my favorite vegetables when I was a kid. Apparently it was one of the foods I remembered from my toddler days in Malaysia. However, I haven't had it in a while, mostly because it never looked as fresh in Massachusetts Asian grocery stores. It was nice to enjoy it stir-fried with a little garlic. My mom also stir-fried the bitter melon with a little chicken, garlic, soy n such. It's funny how I never cared for the stuff until I went to college. Now I craved that bit of bitterness. I was also super-impressed with the white peach. I usually get burned when buying stone fruits at the grocery store, so it was completely refreshing to have a perfectly ripe and juicy peach.


Thursday, June 04, 2009

Old School: Caspers Famous Hot Dogs



Even though Caspers is a Bay Area institution, I never set food in one until yesterday. The menu is pretty straight forward - it's all about the hot dog and each dog variation hovers between the $2-$4 range. Toppings are straight-up too. Fresh tomatoes, hand-cut onions, mustard, relish... The chili cheese dog features a mostly-bean chili and finely shredded cheddar.

I get the impression that the dogs are famous for their natural casing, which their website describes as the "SNAP sensation." My first reaction was that the snap is more like an entertaining, semi-rubbery squeak. That's probably not the most tantalizing description, but the audible reminder that you're eating THAT-part-of-an-animal casing can freak you out if you haven't thought about it much before.

I'll be back for more, but I'm not going to leave my Costco dog any time soon.