Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Philrad's Phoodie Thread


Philrad71

Recommended Posts

^ I hope you don't mind Phil, I posted those two delicious looking photos of your burger

in the Mmmmmmmmm......Burger thread.

 

Looks amazing. And Michael's Reuben looks pretty nice, too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

It's been a while since I have posted in this thread, so shame on me.

 

Yesterday, Michael and I went to the 2016 Taste Of Buffalo. TOB now proclaims to be the biggest two day food event in the country, despite Chicago still taking top honors for largest (plus they are a five day event).

 

One thing that I noticed this year (we were out of town for last year's event) was that they don't seem to offer as many of the smaller amount of samples for 2-4 tickets like they used to, instead wanting to dole out bigger servings for 6-8 tickets. My personal opinion is that this is a money grab by the restaurants to make as much money as they can at this event, which diminishes people's ability to sample smaller portions from each restaurant. I certainly hope that this trend doesn't continue because I don't want to attend only to get full from sampling 2-3 portions when I used to be able to sample around 10 before I was too stuffed to eat anymore.

 

I think that in the future, the best way to tackle this event would be to bring about four to six people so that everyone can sample more and not get full as quickly. Perhaps this is the method to their madness in order to get more people to come, who knows?

 

Oh well...are you guys ready to check it out?

DSC05863.JPG.4300f8b66d87c8138b2f41d27d785eb8.JPG

This meatball from local restaurant: Osteria 166 won the award for "Best local comfort food." Yep, it definitely tasted like a meatball. Personally, I wished that I would have tried the much more daring sounding 'Risotto Stick'.

 

As soon as I saw someone else walk away with a Risotto Stick, I realized that I may have made the wrong choice. But with so many things to taste (over 60 restaurants participated), I didn't want to get two items from one particular restaurant!

 

Oh well, the meatball was just that...comforting. Although not one to brag, Michael said that my homemade meatballs tasted much better! :-)

DSC05864.JPG.d57d1d8de474128324567f64d3e192af.JPG

As you can see, Western NY'ers take their food festivals seriously - the streets were PACKED!

DSC05865.JPG.e650716c049cd6acb63ce49bfad00a52.JPG

I'm your Venus...I'm the fire at your desire.

 

A shout out to Bananarama and the other dude that originally recorded this song.

DSC05866.JPG.896a55d8f0067de357e5baa9f92c9587.JPG

Another shout out to Venus for their Greek Fries.

 

These bad boys consisted of feta cheese, tomatoes (I picked around those because I hate raw tomatoes), onion and Greek dressing. Quite good!

 

Although I was all set to order a Lamb Gyro (I LOVE Gyros!), when I asked if I could get it without tomato, the girl said yes, asked the "Chef" and then came back and said that "if I wanted it without tomatoes that it would cost me double the amount of tickets"!!! I asked her, "So that would be 16 tickets to have something without one ingredient?" She said "Yes, Sir" so I said "No thanks, we'll just have the small order of Greek Fries, please)".

 

All I could think of was the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld! LMAO!

DSC05867.JPG.b0538edc00a3d2cecf798afafedd6e38.JPG

Let's change gears from Greek to Chinese.

 

One thing that I do love about Taste is the ability to try multiple ethnic foods. While I like to try different ethnic foods, Michael is somewhat reluctant to go to say a Thai, Burmese, or Indian restaurant.

DSC05868.JPG.57fbfea86d965cb58232800bcb783a00.JPG

The Ginger Garlic Chicken was okay - some of it was chewy and overdone, but the flavor was good despite not really tasting much ginger. Michael liked this more than I did.

 

Again with the bigger portions and higher amount of tickets needed though - boooooo! I wanted to try the pork egg roll or veggie lo mein, but this was just way too much chicken to add on another choice.

DSC05869.JPG.dd7cc7ae8bdbd4acf64011f8b7ac1773.JPG

One can only eat for so long before the beer tent starts to beckon. I like the fact that they were focusing more on local beers this year and Flying Bison's Rusty Chain was a perfect compliment to our savory delights. One thing that I noticed this year was that they let patrons walk around the streets with beer whereas in the past, you weren't allowed to leave the beer tents. Given the way our society is today, this kind of surprised me!

DSC05870.JPG.c86e36cfae6056925d44407ca94a43d9.JPG

Trying to be good and sample some healthier options this year, I next went with the Thai Cucumber Salad from Jack Astor's.

 

Yes, this restaurant is one of three chains that participate in TOB (in addition to Applebees and Joe's Crab Shack). Jack Astor's is Canadian I believe, so that automatically makes them awesome. ;-)

 

And yes folks....believe it or not, this was my FAVORITE taste this year! Fresh, healthy and whatever tangy dressing they used was a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Kudos to Jack Astor's!!!

DSC05871.JPG.e9dd285e9ab278760b29e13997926d25.JPG

Now we really switch gears and go to unhealthy!

 

This was Michael's mini-pancake hot fudge Sunday from Anderson's Frozen Custard. I had two strawberries from it, but that's it for me and the sweets - just not a fan. That and the fact that this type of stuff is so filling that I stay far, far away during food events like this.

 

This did in Michael for the rest of the event - no surprise there.

DSC05873.JPG.4c04ef8eef703b2bf8edfbb2fda0be90.JPG

Next I went with another heart healthy option - the Thai Curry Noodle Bowl from Savor, which is a culinary arts restaurant located in Niagara Falls. This probably tied for 2nd place with the Greek Fries.

 

Actually, I take that back...this IS the #2 ranked item. Venus gets knocked out of #2 for their Soup Nazi-styled approach for the Gyro without tomatoes! ;-)

 

While I would have preferred more curry flavor, the noodles had an interesting, almost crunchy, under-cooked texture while the peanuts added a unique flavor when blended with fresh cilantro, scallions and fresh lime juice.

 

Good stuff!

DSC05874.JPG.8c791cede989460cd2d9f6cd56f68fab.JPG

Last up, I had to try some Indian food. In the past, Indian food has always ranked high on my list of top tastes.

 

This was the Chicken Makhani w/rice, which is basically what we know as Indian Butter Chicken. The sauce was great with a little splash of Sriracha on top, but the chicken was overcooked and too dry. I would much prefer smaller cubed chicken, but it was still an okay dish. However, I give them kudos for having the four ticket sample, which is more than enough in my opinion. This stuffed me to the gills to where I actually had to pitch some of the leftover rice.

 

I do have a jar of butter chicken sauce in my cupboard so I am going to try and make this myself, add more curry and spices and pre-marinade/grill the chicken beforehand.

DSC05875.JPG.dc2be839418df0d49f71d885bd73f80d.JPG

Well, this wraps another year of Taste Of Buffalo for us...thanks for reading!

DSC05862.JPG.a9ee98c909f1924bb4b923c6abd31c5a.JPG

BONUS PIC!

 

This was a homemade pizza that I did a couple of weeks ago. While the crust was store bought, there was fresh basil from my garden on it, along with fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, cubes of smoked gouda and diced onions/green peppers. The sauce was a blend of tomato vodka and creamy alfredo that I had leftover in the fridge

 

It turned out great!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate your metabolism, Phil! (Or what appears to be...)

 

It all looks awesome - what more can I drool, here?

 

Thanks for a thoroughly disgusting (YUM) TR. Shameless.

 

 

 

 

The pizza looks AWESOME, too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Bill!

 

And yes, luckily a high metabolism runs in the family although there are two things that I really need to work on....and those are: Eating later in the evening versus "normal people dinner time" and my love for things like chicken wings and pizza. I hope that my disdain for sweet things like doughnuts, cakes, cookies, soda and ice cream sort of makes up for that though?

 

Oh and the drinking...I should probably drink less too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ I actually stopped drinking any alcohol whatsoever all of June, and this month, too.

Just looking to see if a)The weight changes - at - all (and so far, it ain't), and b)How I'm

generally doing, having not drunk a drink every night (or other). And so far, I'm just as

nasty and bitchy sober, than with a drink in my paw, ha!

 

I have major "cocktail events" coming up in August, so I may just stop the drought, and

have them during those dates, only. Which is only a few. I think.

 

Pizza still looks good, there, by the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was a homemade pizza that I did a couple of weeks ago. While the crust was store bought, there was fresh basil from my garden on it, along with fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, cubes of smoked gouda and diced onions/green peppers. The sauce was a blend of tomato vodka and creamy alfredo that I had leftover in the fridge

 

It's all awesome pizza!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Wow...I can't believe that it's been over a year since I have posted in this thread. How time flies when your (not) having fun.

 

Anyway, I ran into these today whilst picking up a couple of subs for lunch at a local deli and garden store...Chickie's & Pete's Crabfries potato chips! While no where near as good as the fries, they weren't bad. Kinda like a saltier version of barbeque chips.

 

But the pastrami sub....OMG!

20170805_142809_resized.jpg.9486e3e7e1115dd8594e8a6ce6a198aa.jpg

Getting ready to feast!

20170805_142817_resized.jpg.1b81b5b9a765b15d033f808e72c9df84.jpg

Best pastrami sub ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Cool that Chickie's & Pete's have/had potato chips, like their fries! I really liked the fries,

when we were at Cedar Point, back in June. Don't expect them to "taste just like the fries!", heh.

 

 

That pastrami sub looks pretty delish, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm already craving another one of those pastrami subs, Bill!

 

Will probably take more of the chips in with my lunch tomorrow or Thursday - although I am trying to eat a little healthier now that fresh fruit and veggie season is finally here!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Gotta try to eat right every now and again, Bill!

 

My Dad just gave me tons of cucumbers and a recipe for the best pickles that I have ever had. I'm going to the store tomorrow to buy vinegar so that I can get to canning some of these bad boys!

 

He got the recipe from a woman that sells them at the local flea market - apparently winning several ribbons at the county fairs for 'Best Pickles'. I told my Dad that they are like crack...they are soooooo addicting!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pickles are DONE!!!!

20170812_165140_resized.jpg.4a62dbbddf12f1e48b13c8e90471f933.jpg

Today was pickling day!

 

Made four jars of pickles with a couple of jalapenos thrown in for some heat. Also had enough jalapenos and other hot peppers from my garden to do one small jar of those. I coined most of the pickles, but also did some spears and chunks.

 

The hard part is that I need to wait 10 days to properly "cure" before I can eat them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

OMG I am desperate here! No where to put this but..... heeeeyy Phil, hows it going? :classic_biggrin:

 

Starbucks.ca is announcing a new flavour in their frapps......

And it's <drool> Strawberry Funnel Cake Frappuccino! ☕ 🥶

Starbucks-StrawFunnelCake21.jpg.f673068d9866d54904885a2817f241b0.jpg

Is this Theme Park Phood, or what? (o: Thanks Phil! 💋

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, thanks for bumping up this thread. Just spent my last hour reading the entire thing (and drooling!) as it was my first time seeing it.

 

And Bill, we got that released in the USA as well! I will pick one up tomorrow and let you know my thoughts.

 

Very interesting to see your perspective Phil! Other than the taste of Elicottville festival and the one restaurant there, and the wing festival (just like you I always have other plans) I think I've been to every WNY restaurant and festival you've listed / talked about!

Keep posting maybe you'll find a gem I haven't eaten at yet and I will have a new place to try, lol!

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/