Halloween Gummies

Trader Joe's is flush with fall seasonal products right now, lots of pumpkin and Halloween treats, and even though I'm trying to cut back on sugar, I couldn't resist picking up a bag of the Halloween gummies ($3.99) when we were there. Instead of one big bag of gummies, it's broken down into 20 small snack-size (or trick-or-treat-size) bags, so it's built-in portion control.

Each bag contains multi-colored gummies (I've seen purple, pink, red, yellow, and orange, I think) in Halloween shapes (skeletons, bones, skulls, bats, and pumpkins). Texturally, they're great, very chewy but not sticky. I don't think they've gotten stuck in my teeth at all yet, which is different from a lot of other gummies on the market. (Looking at you, Swedish Fish.) According to TJ's (from a blog post about last year's gummies, which we somehow never saw, but the bag looks exactly the same), they're made by the same French gummy producer who makes the gummy tummies, but I like these a little bit better because they don't have that extra gush that the gummy tummies do. I haven't been able to nail down what the flavors are exactly, but they're sweet without tasting artificial or overly sweet, which I appreciate. Last year's post said they were made with various extracts and concentrates that included black carrot, apple, carrot, pumpkin, blackcurrant, and spirulina, but this year, it just lists fruit juice, vegetable juice, and spirulina, so that might have changed.

Buy again? I don't even know if they'll be at the store the next time we go since they're probably one-and-done as far as product runs, but I would get them again next year. They're a nice gummy treat that seem a little healthier and less sweet than some other candies.

Smurfen

After filling our bellies with spaghetti, we loaded up our luggage and set out on foot for the Brugge train station. It was time to journey to the last city on our trip - Brussels. We were sad to leave Brugge, since we really loved our short time there, but at least we got one last walk through the narrow streets in on our way to the train.

Since we were pretty full, we didn't buy any food for our train journey, but that didn't mean we didn't eat any snacks. We broke out the Haribo Smurfs that we had bought in Antwerp, and got our first taste of that berry-flavored goodness. I've mentioned these Smurfs before in my favorite food memories from 2010, so you can probably tell how much we liked them (well, I especially did).

We really like Haribo gummy candy, especially the European versions since somehow they just taste better. After tasting these Smurfs, we looked for them in every shop we stopped into in Brussels but we didn't find any more bags to bring home. Now, 6 years later, you can get Haribo Smurfs here in the States, but they just don't taste exactly the same as the German versions. But it's better than nothing for one of our favorite candies!

Chocolate Marbles

I have no idea when we bought these chocolate marbles from Trader Joe's. We put them away in our "snack box," and then I found them again a few weeks ago during a periodic clean-out looking for expired food. By that point, they were "best by" the end of May, so a little old, but we figured they were still safe enough to eat. We had been pretty excited to try these chocolate marbled truffles imported from France, and I really loved the marbled design.

Each color was a different flavor. Green was almond praline, orange was hazelnut praline, blue was chocolate mousse, white was coconut, brown was caramel, and yellow was crispy cookie. I knew the flavors, but A tried them blindly to see if he could figure out which flavor was which. (He is better at that than I am.) Unfortunately (and most likely due to their age), the flavors of the truffles weren't that distinguishable or recognizable for a lot of them. The chocolate mousse was probably one of the better ones, due to it just tasting like chocolate, and probably also the praline ones. They may have been better if they had been fresher, but can't turn back time to see if that's the case. We're not sure if these are still for sale, but considering we get a free monthly Godiva truffle, we probably wouldn't pick these up again even if they are.

Lesson learned though (again): Don't "save" treats. Just eat them!

Mango Taffy

More mango treats!

Product: Mango taffy

Price: $0.99 for a 3 oz bag

Quick review: We've tried the multi-flavor salt water taffy from Trader Joe's before (although we never wrote about it), so when mango taffy appeared on the new items shelf as part of the new "mango season," we decided to try it. After all, it was pretty inexpensive at 99 cents per bag, so even if it was just okay, no big loss. TJ's makes a big deal about the fact that their taffy is whipped, and not pulled, which makes it softer and "fluffier," and that seems to be true. It's a little less chewy than some other taffy and a little airier. The mango flavor is really nice. It actually tastes like a really sweet mango and not artificial, which is probably because they use actual mango juice.

Buy again? We're not huge taffy purchasers, so this was going to be more of a one-off whether or not it stuck around for the summer. We're glad we tried it and would get it again if the mood struck, but we don't need it all the time.

Bunny Gummy Tummies

About a year ago, I picked up these bunny gummy tummies (and friends) from Trader Joe's, described on the bag as "soft candy with natural orange, lemon, blackberry, and strawberry flavors." It seemed like the perfect snack for Easter, but like many other things, we put it in a box and forgot about it until just after this Easter. (These gummies seem to last almost 2 years according to the best by date so luckily still fine.)

Like most TJ's candies, the flavors (orange, lemon, blackberry, and strawberry) and colorings (aronia, elderberry, safflower, apple, and carrot) were both natural, which is always one of the best things about their candies. The flavors were pretty good, very sweet. Unlike our favorite mango gummies, these are less the chewy kind, and are a little softer with more of a jelly-type center (a "fluid fruity center that pleasantly melts in your mouth" according to the bag). We personally like the mango gummy type a little more, but these were still good.

Buy Again? Sure. Probably not as often as the mango gummies, but a change every once in a while is good. These seem to only really be around in the spring, so I'm not sure if they're even still on the shelves now that it's a week after Easter. Maybe this will be an annual Easter snack for us!

Maltesers

On our recent trip to London, M and I were very interested in the candy sections as we've always heard about the amazing chocolates and candies you can get in Europe but not here in the US. We'd confirmed that all of the Haribo gummies taste better in Europe so we figured we should try some of their chocolates too. My coworker is originally from London, and the one candy she asked for was Maltesers. Since she liked them so much we figured we should get some too.

"To share"

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

My initial impression was that they were very similar to Whoppers but on the less sweet side. Growing up, I loved Whoppers and malted milk balls as a whole. Maltesers were so much better than anything we have here. The malted interior is much lighter and airier so it's an easier bite. The lessened sweetness also makes them easier to eat as well. That was a bit of a problem because had I not actually forced myself to stop, I would have inhaled the entire package. M liked them too, but not nearly as much as I did. Now that I've found Maltesers, I feel like I can't go back to Whoppers. I think the only thing I might like more is if they made a dark chocolate version of these. I'm going to have to ask people who go to London to bring me more of these from now on.

Scandinavian Swimmers

When I was scanning the Trader Joe's hashtag on Instagram after New Years, I started seeing a bunch of photos of a new candy - Scandinavian Swimmers ($2.99 for a 14 oz bag) - which seemed to be their take on Swedish fish. I knew I had to get one the next time we went to the store, and we picked one up this weekend to try.

Like most things Trader Joe's, this is a more naturally flavored candy than the original, relying on fruit and vegetable extracts instead of dyes. You can definitely taste the difference, as we've always thought Swedish fish had a bit of an artificial flavor to them (even though we do like them). As far as texture, they're a bit different from Swedish fish. Much softer, not as chewy and sticky. They definitely don't get stuck in your teeth as badly as regular Swedish fish.

The candy comes in 4 flavors, with each flavor corresponding to a different sea creature. Based on their blog post about them, the sea horse is mango peach, the fish is orange, the dolphin is huckleberry, and the lobster is berry. The last 3 we could see, but we would have never guessed mango peach for the sea horse. That was also our least favorite flavor (but A didn't dislike it nearly as much as I did). The orange, huckleberry, and berry flavors were pretty good though. Considering I dislike most orange flavored candy out there, liking the orange flavor as much as huckleberry is a compliment.

Buy Again? Maybe. I don't love the sea horse, so maybe I would look for a bag with less yellow pieces if I got it again. While these were good, we still love the mango mango gummies more than any other gummy candy at TJ's and would buy those first.

Hogsmeade Sweet Treats

After stopping into The Three Broomsticks for lunch, we set out to explore Hogsmeade. While there were various rides there, we also wanted to check out the shops. Universal really did a great job installing a large variety of stores, making it really easy for people to spend money on Harry Potter souvenirs (wands, joke items, and more). One of the places we enjoyed wandering around was Honeydukes, which, for those unfamiliar with Harry Potter, is the sweets shop.

Although there are quite a lot of magical candies in Harry Potter, like chocolate frogs that have a life of their own, a lot of the candy at Honeydukes was pretty much the same candy you could get at any candy store. It was just cutely packaged in nice Honeydukes containers.

I did like the way the store was set up, even if the candies weren't that revolutionary for the most part. They really tried to give it a light and whimsical feeling. I especially liked this display, which reminded me a little of a candy buffet/cart at a wedding, but that was mostly because I saw a lot of candy types I liked.

And of course, they had Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans there. We've had a box of those in the past, and for the longest time, we've said that was the one food A would never eat again (since he pretty much just eats everything otherwise). I don't know if they're still made by Jelly Belly, but they were then. They were true to the "every flavor" thing, even including jelly beans with really gross flavors like vomit. Laundry or soap, fine. Vomit, disgusting. Never. Again.

In addition to loose candy, they did try to include packages of a lot of the candy types mentioned in the books/movies which was a nice touch (and probably also helps them increase sales to fans). Too bad for any kids who try them thinking they're actually going to feel the effects of magical candy.

Outside of Honeydukes, most of the shops in Hogsmeade weren't food stores, but focused on all other sorts of magical items and implements. But there were a couple of other food stops in Hogsmeade other than The Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head (the bar). They had butterbeer and pumpkin juice carts out in the middle of the "town," which made sense, since it was Florida, it was hot, and people really needed to stay hydrated.

We picked up another pumpkin juice at the cart, since, like I said, it was a hot Florida afternoon. We had liked the pumpkin juice we had for lunch, so although it was not cheap, we thought we'd get one more during our visit. This one also had the benefit of coming in a really cute bottle.

We weren't expecting anything amazing food-wise from our visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but it was still a lot of fun. After we got our fill of Hogsmeade, watched some performances, and tried all the rides we wanted to, it was off to another Island of Adventure!

Erdbeere und Kokosnuss

New year, 2 new Godiva truffles. We're trying to get better about making sure we get to Godiva every month for our free truffle (we love this loyalty program!), and so far we're doing well with it this year.

I got to choose for January and I picked out one we had never seen before. Turned out it was one of the "Valentine's Day favorites" - sparkling strawberry.

This truffle has "strawberry ganache blended with a hint of champagne flavor" covered in white chocolate. The strawberry flavor inside tasted so familiar, but it wasn't until the next day that I realized what it reminded me of - the wild strawberry flavored Jolly Rancher. I would have never thought that strawberry mixed with champagne would taste like a Jolly Rancher, but I think that's what I was remembering. While the truffle was fine, we're not really huge into white chocolate and neither of us really loved this one, and we probably won't choose it again. A, for one, really wasn't a huge fan.

For February, A picked out one that we know we've had before and really like - smooth coconut.

The smooth coconut truffle is described as "tropical coconut ganache with coconut flakes, covered in milk chocolate." Basically, if you like coconut, you should like this one, and if you like Mounds bars, you'll love this one. It pretty much tastes like a Mounds bar, which is why this is one of our favorite truffles. This could be a good standby to fall back on anytime, sort of like hazelnut crunch. The only thing that we wish could be changed would be to cover it in dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

Can't wait to see what seasonal truffles are in the chocolate case on our next visit!

Hazelnut Crunch

After a couple of months off, we finally remembered to get our free Godiva truffle this month (for being a rewards member). It was my turn to pick (although when we skip months, we never remember whose turn it really is), and instead of something seasonal, I was intrigued by hazelnut crunch. I didn't remember seeing it before and we love anything chocolate hazelnut (like Shake Shack's gianduja custard), so we went with that.

According to Godiva's website, it's a new flavor, and if that's true, I hope they keep it because we really liked it. They described it as a "rich, creamy hazelnut praline blended with crunchy hazelnuts and crispies" with a shell of milk chocolate and crunchy nut pieces. It tasted like Nutella mixed with crispies, which is the best combination of ingredients I could ask for. Very happy with this month's truffle choice!

Going to Brugge

I may have mentioned this before, but something about traveling always makes us (mostly me) hungry. Not sure if it's the constant moving around with heavy bags, or boredom, or something else, but we usually end up getting a snack at whatever transportation hub we're at. Before catching the train to Brugge, we stopped at the small grocery shop at the Antwerp train station to pick up a sandwich and some candy. If I remember correctly, we just made the train.

We split the sandwich once we were on our way. Like most European sandwiches, it wasn't especially packed with stuff, but it was better than some thin ones we've encountered in our travels since (like this one). It was "geroosterde kip" (roasted chicken) in creamy dressing with tomato and lettuce, and pretty good for a to-go packaged sandwich. The addition of the lettuce and tomato made it taste really fresh. From what we remember, the chicken salad wasn't bad either.

But our greatest find at the Antwerp train station store was the bag of Haribo smurfs, which I've mentioned before. We didn't end up trying them on this train ride, but they quickly became one of our favorite candies. For the longest time after the trip, we couldn't find the Smurfs here in the States and it was really frustrating because we liked them that much. We can get them here now but they're not the ones made in Germany (I think they're from Turkey) so they don't taste quite the same (but they'll do). We love the sweet berry flavor.

Our train snack was the perfect amount as we completed our train ride to Brugge. After we got there, we couldn't find a bus and walked to our hotel with a very nice man from California who had spent the day in Ghent, checked in, and got settled in our new town. We couldn't wait to explore Brugge!

Mango Mango

Don't buy the Mango Mango fruit and yogurt gummies from Trader Joe's - unless you want to get completely addicted to the point where you have to pick up a new bag on every single trip and get really sad when they are sold out and you are deprived of their perfect sweetness.

I'm not exaggerating. These gummies are really that good, and they're only $1.99. Probably the best gummies we've gotten from Trader Joe's. We've had the penguins, but these are better. Apparently the bunny tummies at Easter are good too, but either they never made it to our store or they sold out really quickly.

The Mango Mango gummies come in 3 different flavors - all mango, mango/passionfruit, and mango/yogurt. Since they're made with real fruit pulp and juice, they taste completely natural. None of that artificial sweetness that you can sometimes get with other fruit candies. That's why you just can't stop eating them.

Buy Again? Yes. I'm not sure how many bags we've bought at this point, but it's a fixture on our grocery list. If you like fruit candy or gummies at all, we'd really suggest that you pick up a bag. Provided you're okay with a new addiction...

Candy Cane Truffle

As Godiva rewards members, we get one free truffle every month. Somehow during the entire first year after we signed up for the rewards program we never went to get our monthly truffle, but this year we've been trying to remember to stop by monthly.

We often try seasonal truffles, like the pumpkin one we got back in October. Looking through the truffles this time, the candy cane one jumped out at A and we decided to try it for the holidays.

The truffle was white chocolate on the outside with a creamy pink inside. It was much creamier than we were expecting. Neither of us really thought it tasted like a candy cane though. It was more similar in taste to those red and white peppermint swirl candies than a candy cane. It just wasn't that minty. We probably wouldn't get this again.

We highly recommend membership in Godiva rewards. A free truffle every month? Can't beat that.

Happy Pills

Happy Pills is the best candy store name ever.

After wandering the narrow streets of the El Born area in the unexpected rain, we sought dry sanctuary at Happy Pills, a store that advertised happiness and a sugary cure to any problem you might have.  It was conveniently located along our walking route between Barceloneta and the Museu Picasso.  (There are multiple stores in Barcelona but this was the only one we came across.)

Although Happy Pills was a tiny store, they had many options for pre-made candy combinations and lots of bins of loose candy for you to make your own bottles of happy pills.

We got lots of gummy and sour candies - sour peaches, sour apples, gummy sea creatures, gummy sweet strawberries, and more.

Full bottle after leaving the store

The candy in the bottle itself didn't last very long, since it gave us power boosts throughout our afternoon at the Museu Picasso and wandering the streets.  After the bottle was empty, we kept refilling it with the Haribo gold bears and other gummies that we picked up from the grocery store.

Just a little emptier after our visit to the museum

Although a candy store with bulk candy isn't a revolutionary idea (it was the second one we visited on this trip - the first was Jamin), Happy Pills did have a large selection of gummies, including some we hadn't seen before (like these awesome gummy strawberries that we would later see in other Barcelona markets).  Their branding was a big part of why we stopped - all the "pill boxes" in various sizes, shapes and combinations.  Their cute sayings on stickers in multiple languages, like "Let your love flow" or "ayuda a los hombres a fregar los platos" (helps men to wash the dishes), or the one we got, "remedio universal para todos" (universal remedy for all).  (There were better ones but those are the only ones I can read from our photos.)  The candy laid out in bins like the colors of the rainbow. Even their website is really fun. Happy Pills is a really cute shop and if you like candy, it's worth a stop!

Jamin

One thing we are always on the lookout for in Europe is Haribo candy, our favorite candy brand.  Once we find Haribo, we start looking for smurfs.  I've mentioned these in the year-end recaps (since I never got to them in the trip recaps), but we absolutely love these berry-flavored smurfs.  So much so that we bought the giant tub of them the last time we were in Germany (on a layover).

We went wandering around Haarlem after lunch (mostly because I was looking for the post office), and then stumbled upon Jamin, a popular candy store in the Netherlands which had a lot of packaged candy as well as tubs of loose candy (and ice cream).

I thought it was a long shot, but we checked for Haribo Smurfs anyway.  And they had them in one of the loose candy bins!

I was trying to be good so I only got us 200 grams of Smurfs.  They were gone in less than a day (so quickly that I didn't even take a photo of the Smurfs themselves!).  We didn't find Smurfs at any other point on the trip, which was sad.  It was so great to have a small taste of them again, but I wish we would have been able to bring some home!

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2011

Another year in the books, another year of good eats. It's always hard to narrow down all the good food we had over the past year to 10 memories but I think in the end I'm usually happy with my choices (see last year's favorite food memories here). After making some difficult cuts, I came up with the following 10. Looking over the list for some overall trends, some things were not a surprise (not many desserts or sweet items on the list) but some things were a surprise (not much from food fairs or food trucks). So, here's my 10 (in no particular order):

1. Crab toast from ABC Kitchen


We went to ABC Kitchen for our anniversary dinner this year (wedding anniversary, not the other 4 we celebrate). We got the crab toast with lemon aioli and it was fantastic. The toast was crunchy, but not too hard to bite. The crab was light and flaky, and full of flavor. The lemon aioli tied it all together with a nice light creaminess. We would definitely get this again. I know we didn't blog about it, but ABC Kitchen is a fantastic restaurant committed to local and organic ingredients and we highly recommend a visit (or more than one).

2. Santorini salad from Anemomilos


In May, we went on our (delayed) honeymoon to Greece and had a fantastic time. On our last day in Santorini, we were seeking a long leisurely lunch before heading to the airport, so we went to Anemomilos, a hotel just down the block from where we were staying, and ate at their outdoor restaurant. It was fantastic, a little cheaper than the touristy places in the heart of Oia and it had really delicious food.

We went for a "greatest hits of Santorini" sampling at lunch, getting the Santorini salad, fava spread, dolmades and tomatokeftedes (fried tomato balls). The salad was incredible. Santorini is known for their cherry tomatoes, and this salad consisted of tons of cherry tomatoes along with cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, capers, and a local Santorini cheese. The salad was light, refreshing, fresh and fantastic. It's been over 6 months since our trip but I still can't stop talking about how good it was.

3. Mushroom pie from Ariston


We previously blogged about our love for the pies at Ariston, a small but popular bakery in the heart of Athens. While the signature cheese pies were great and all of the vegetable pies we tried were also tasty, the mushroom pie stands out for its buttery crust and rich mushroom inside. I think any visit we make to Athens will include a trip to this excellent bakery.

4. Aushak from Ariana Afghan Kebab Restaurant


This year wasn't the first time we have had the aushak from Ariana, but this particular time is such a vivid memory. Aushak is an Afghan dish of boiled dumplings filled with leeks and spices, topped with yogurt and a spicy meat sauce. It's always tasty when we get it but this time was special. It was a Friday night and I had just been released from the hospital about an hour earlier, having been there since Tuesday morning when I was admitted with an extremely high fever and severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. I had survived for a week on mostly mediocre hospital food and had very little appetite (rare for me, even when I'm sick). I decided I wanted something small when A ordered dinner and got the appetizer size of the aushak. It was amazing. I loved the intensity and diversity of the flavor and the spices, and I felt like a real person eating real food again. I also felt like my sense of taste was more sensitive after so many days of no flavor food that I noticed every nuance in the complex flavors, and I felt more aware of what I was eating than I had for a long time. I will always remember this meal for being the first moment when I knew that I was on the road to recovery.

5. Bulgogi slider by Danji from Taste of Korea truck


We still haven't been to Danji (always crowded). But in the spring, the Taste of Korea truck spent a few weeks on the road giving out food from Korean restaurants in the city. I went on the first day when they were serving Danji's slider (despite just having a piece of my eyelid cut out and barely being able to see; the sacrifices I will make for good food). Danji's bulgogi beef slider (also on their regular menu) consists of the bulgogi, spicy pickled cucumber, and scallion salsa on a buttery slider bun. It was so good. I really hope we can try to get to the restaurant this year.

The slider from Danji is also representative of one of my favorite general food memories of the year - free stuff! I love all the opportunities for free food in the city, especially since sometimes it introduces you to things you've never had before, but might love (like the Danji slider). Over the past year, I've gotten for free (and clearly have not blogged about them all): sliders, cupcakes, hot dogs, ice cream, whoopie pies, dumplings, iced tea, Asian rice bowls, Turkish tacos, Korean tacos, pizza, a panini, energy drinks and a French sampler platter. One huge trend this year has been discounts and deals (with the proliferation of Groupon, LivingSocial, Scoutmob, Gilt City, Google Offers, etc), and what discount is better than free?

6. The Haribo section at Edeka


I wasn't looking forward to the end of our honeymoon, but I was definitely looking forward to the Munich airport, which we planned to explore during our layover. We had an excellent meal at Airbrau, the beer garden in the airport, and we also took part in one of my favorite activities in other countries - visiting the grocery store. Since we were in Germany, I was hoping there would be lots of Haribo candy, since, as I mentioned last year with the Smurfs, I love Haribo. I was not disappointed in our visit to Edeka, and in fact, there was more Haribo candy than I could have ever imagined. (I had not yet seen the video of the factory store in Bonn.) I was able to get a tub of smurfs, sour mangoes, juice-filled gold bears, all variations of gold bears, jelly beans and so much more. I completely lit up when I saw the giant Fruchtgummi sign and row after row of my Haribo favorites.

7. Stuffed vegetables from Cafe Lefteris


Our favorite place on our Greek trip was the island of Naxos. A little quieter and less touristy than the other places we visited, we really felt like we got more of a sense of the island, its culture and its people. (I put this list in no particular order, but Naxos comes up a lot in this second half.) One day we drove all over the island and visited the town of Apiranthos, thought by many to be one of the most beautiful towns on the island. We had also heard about a great place to eat called Cafe Lefteris. Once we finally found it, we stopped in for an early dinner filled with delicious fresh vegetables. Naxos is one of the most fertile islands in the Cyclades, and you could tell how fresh the vegetables were. One thing we love about Greek food is taking something that is really simple and just making it so well. This was the case with these stuffed vegetables, the special of the day. Fresh vegetables stuffed with rice, simple but incredible.

8. Loucoumades from Regina Rose Amat


On our way to Apiranthos, we stopped at two other small towns, Halki and Filoti. In Halki, we ventured into the town square and got a snack from Regina Rose Amat - loucoumades. Loucoumades are Greek donut balls with honey, cinnamon and sugar. These were sweet, delicious and the perfect snack.

9. Mercimek kofte from Antalia


Earlier this year, a new Turkish place opened near my office called Antalia. The second time I ordered from them, I decided to get mercimek kofte (red lentil patties). I thought they would be fried patties, but instead they were a cold appetizer of mashed lentils. The lentils are mixed with scallions, parsley and pepper salsa, and served with lettuce, tomato and cucumber. The combination was so good that I have gotten it every time I've ordered from Antalia since then. It's an addiction.

10. Naxian potato salad from Meze Meze


Another thing Naxos is known for is its potatoes. I'm not really sure what makes a potato a "good" potato, but there was just something about the potatoes we ate in Naxos at Meze Meze, a restaurant near the harbor in Naxos Town/Chora, that was just better. At our first dinner at Meze Meze, there were potatoes everywhere. We got fresh Naxian fried potatoes with kefalotiri local cheese, the octopus special which also came with fries and a Naxian potato salad. The Naxian potato salad consisted of boiled potato, tomato, pepper, onion, caper, olives, oregano, and xinomizithra local cheese. It was incredibly tasty and, as I said, something about the potatoes in Naxos was just better than other ordinary potatoes.

It's probably obvious that the majority of my choices came from our honeymoon, but the food we had was incredible and made such an impression on me. I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring!

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2010

Here we are, at the end of 2010. This year has been such a blur and the year in food has been no exception. It was so hard to pick out 10 top food memories from the year because there has been so much good food! A lot of things got left off the list that were good, including Shake Shack in its entirety. I think overall that has been one of the more significant food events of our year, since it opened in our neighborhood, making it easier for us to enjoy all the monthly custards, special concretes and special events like the entire Shacktoberfest menu. With something like that missing the list, what made it for me (A's list to come)? Here are my favorite 10 food memories of the year, in random order:

1. Waste em All burger from Grill Em All truck


The Food Network's Great Food Truck Race filmed its finale in NYC over Memorial Day weekend. We went down to the Union Square area to check it out, trying the two finalists - Grill Em All truck and Nom Nom truck - both from LA (we had been to Nom Nom in LA earlier in the year). We tried 2 different burgers from Grill Em All but my favorite (and one of the better burgers of the year) was the Waste Em All - topped with cheddar cheese, beer soaked onions and jalapeno peppers. The burger was definitely memorable (along with the yummy fries in truffle salt), and this also makes the list because we got to watch the filming and the end of the show before it aired, which was lots of fun.

2. Haribo smurfs


In the train station in Antwerp, Belgium, I found this bag of Haribo smurfs (smurfen, schtroumpfs). I haven't been able to find it anywhere else since then - not in Brussels, not in Brugge, not in the States. As soon as I tried the berry flavored smurfs, they shot up to the top of my favorite candy list. Unfortunately they're so hard to find. If you have any idea where I can find them, please help!

3. Patacon Pisao


When the Vendy Awards came around in September, one of the contenders we were really looking forward to trying was Patacon Pisao. They're usually far uptown (although they also have a place in Queens) so we had never tried them before. We tried the patacon sandwich (two flat green plaintains instead of bread, with chicken, ketchup, queso frito, lettuce, tomato and special sauce). It was delicious. We couldn't wait to get another one so we tried at the sh*tshow that was the Grub Street Food Festival where the line went in both directions, didn't move and there was no room to walk because of the mob scene (not their fault). After that failure, we ventured down to the Hester Street Fair on a different weekend they were there and had a patacon sandwich each. I got chicken again and it was quite delicious. They're opening a new location soon. I can't wait.

4. Veggie pancake from Pancakes! Amsterdam


We really wanted to try Dutch pancakes while in Amsterdam and Pancakes! Amsterdam seemed like a good choice. Dutch pancakes may look big but they're quite thin and filled with toppings so they're not that heavy. Our first pancakes there were so good that we decided while there that we would try to come back again the next day before leaving Amsterdam. I loved my veggie pancake the best - it had mushrooms, spinach, onions, tomatoes and pine nuts. Healthy and delicious!

5. Hazelnut dacquoise at the Bar Room at the Modern


Back in 2005 or 2006, I went to the Modern for an interview lunch. For dessert, I had the dacquoise. It was so good that it stuck in my head years later as one of my favorite desserts ever (along with Lahaina Grill's Iao Valley lime tart, Brasserie's frozen chocolate souffle from 2003, Perilla's cranberry apple cobbler, maybe a couple of others - since I'm more of a savory person, I can actually make a short list of favorite desserts but absolutely cannot do that with savory food). I remembered it being like a crispy upscale candy bar. When we saw the dacquoise on the bar room menu, the choice for our 6 month wedding anniversary was simple. I had the dacquoise for dessert and it actually lived up to the memory and my expectations.

6. Khao yam at Jitlada


Jitlada was a definite on our LA places to go list. We heard that their Thai food was excellent and being lovers of Thai food, we had to try it. We were not disappointed. If you love spicy food, you will also not be disappointed because they do not tone down the spicy dishes and just serve them as they should be.

We had so many good things there but my favorite was definitely the khao yam (rice salad). Khao yam, a Southern Thai specialty, consists of jasmine rice, mango, green beans, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, Thai chiles, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, bean sprouts, coconut and dried shrimp. This was one of those dishes where after you eat it, the only thing left to say is, wow, when can I have it again? Unfortunately for us, we cannot find it anywhere other than Jitlada and we live across the country from Jitlada! While there, I was googling khao yam looking for places in NYC ... and google sent me links to posts about Jitlada. Oh well. A must for our next trip to LA.

7. Fish Soup at Cambrinus


We got into Brugge, Belgium late in the evening after spending the entire afternoon in Antwerpen, so we ventured somewhere close to our hotel for dinner. Cambrinus was a great find, and confirmed our feeling that we were really going to like Brugge (and we did). It was a bierbrasserie, with a huge beer menu and so many food options. The portions of the entrees were huge. This was also where I learned that in Brugge apparently people love spaghetti bolognese. My plate of it was so gigantic that neither of us could finish it.

But even better than the spaghetti bolognese was my appetizer - the best fish soup I think I have ever had. The menu said it was fish soup with "rouille" (spicy garlic sauce). I don't know how to explain how good it was, but it was so tasty and comforting. It came with two pieces of garlic "bread" which were also delicious.

8. Tofu salad from Burmese Fun Fair


There aren't many options for Burmese food here in New York so we get our "fix" during the various food fairs they hold during the year (usually in the summer). The tofu salad is one of our favorite things. We get there early to make sure we can get some before they run out, but the problem is that I want more in the days after the food fair and it's impossible to get. It's really that good and the flavors are so unique. This tofu salad was for a fundraiser in Woodside earlier this year.

9. Beef and bernaise from wd-50


If you know me, it might be shocking to have a dish in the top 10 with beef in the title considering how little red meat I eat (and also to have a burger on the list with it). But it's wd-50, so nothing is really what it seems. It was such a dilemma for me deciding between this and the cold-fried chicken, but in the end this was the one that surprised me most with its flavors, its creativity and its complete difference from what I thought it would be. And it was so tasty. Instead of beef with a bernaise sauce, it was bernaise gnocchi topped with caramelized shallot paste in a beef broth and accompanied by snow peas. Amazingly good.

10. Chipa guazu from I Love Py


We previously talked about I Love Paraguay, the Sunnyside bakery with some of the only Paraguayan food we could find in NYC. Chipa guazu gets a spot on this list because it was delicious from the first bite and it also represents everything we wanted out of our World Cup challenge. We got to try something new for us while learning more about the country and its cuisine. To me, the World Cup is not just about soccer/football, but about coming together, understanding one another and learning about the rest of the world in one of the few true moments of togetherness. Our Paraguayan lunch trip did this in so many ways. Not only did it have great new food, but I got to put my shaky Spanish to use, tried the chipa guazu on a recommendation from someone actually in Paraguay, and got to spend lunchtime surrounded by Paraguayan folks watching deportes on TV. The World Cup was also one of the main motivators to us finally putting this blog together so it holds a special spot on this list. (After all, at least one spot had to go to something we ate from the World Cup challenge!)

I can't wait to see what delicious food 2011 will bring. What were your favorite (or top or best) food memories of 2010?