Swamp Cabbage Festival

This celebration of the Florida state tree began in LaBelle in 1966 (and yes, swamp cabbage comes from the core of a tree, the Sabal palm).  LaBelle puts on a major shindig, which begins this year on Friday, 2/26/10 at 8 p.m. with the famous LaBelle Swamp Cabbage Festival Rodeo & Pro Bull Riding.  The rodeo will continue with shows Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday afternoon.  Saturday’s swamp cabbage parade begins at 10 a.m., which will be preceded by the Swamp Stomp at 8:30 a.m. (this is a 5K run/walk).  Even earlier than that, the annual bass tournament will start at dawn, with a $2000 first prize.

There’s a Super Cruise for car enthusiasts, a motorcycle show, mower racing, and the legendary armadillo races.  An hour-and-a-half cruise of the Caloosahatchee River will be available for $20.  And there will be lots of music and dancing all day Saturday and Sunday, featuring Bobby Bare at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.  There will, of course, be plenty of swamp cabbage to enjoy, too, in the form of stews and fritters, along with such local edibles as alligator and boiled peanuts.  See the festival website for all the details.

The Smelt Derby

45 years of smelt!  This coming Saturday, February 27, 2010, La Conner, WA holds their 45th annual Smelt Derby.  What does one do at a smelt derby?  For starters, you can witness smelt jigging duels between the area’s mayors and county commissioners.  Enjoy a pancake and egg breakfast from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.  Participate in a 5K or 10K run.  Kids can win $100 in a fishing contest.  There’s fish printing, where kids can print the image of a fish on a shirt using a dead fish.  Take a schooner tour, or take a chance in a raffle.   Lots of hot dogs too.  See the local Rotary website for more info.

Roadfood Glee Club Conquers Charleston, Day 3

Though some Roadfooders had already departed, the remaining group soldiered on for multiple brunches centering on higher-end RF establishments in downtown Charleston. Our first meet was at Magnolia’s on East Bay Street, where we shared a smorgasbord of fine Lowcountry fare: housemade pimento cheese (made with diced green olives) on flatbread crackers, Down South Egg Roll (stuffed with chicken, collards, tasso ham, and served with red pepper purée and spicy mustard), fried green tomatoes, and crab cakes topped with poached eggs. Our main entrées were blue crab bisque and Shellfish over Grits, an amazing amalgam of lobster, scallops, and shrimp in a butter sauce over creamy grits and topped with fried spinach.

Our second stop was at 82 Queen on Queen Street. Hot biscuits were placed on the table after ordering, so we dispensed with the appetizers and headed straight for the main dishes: pesto-crusted grouper on fried green tomatoes and grits, shrimp & grits, and the city’s best she-crab soup. We tapped out after these magnificent meals, as did others, though we knew no one could beat the inimitable ChiTownDiner, who managed to hit an astonishing 22 eateries in three days! Could that be a Roadfood record? A few locations were bandied about for the 2011 meeting, including Houston and Key West, the latter surely stemming from South Carolina’s abnormally snowy weather. Special thanks to The Travelin’ Man, Buffetbuster, ChiTownDiner, and WanderingJew for advance planning; to WanderingJew and Nocarolina for treating the group; and to Nocarolina, Nancypalooza and Julie, and Louis and Anna for conquering storm-swept highways to join us—and of course, a tip of our collective hats to Mayor Al, Glee Club founder and primary source of inspiration.

Cinnamon Rolls With a Side of Bluegrass Gospel

Johnson’s Corner is a full-service truckstop located in Loveland, CO, famous for its enormous cinnamon rolls  and rib-sticking meals.  It’s open 24/7 and hasn’t closed since their opening in 1952.  Besides the popular restaurant, Johnson’s Corner features a truckers’ store where drivers can rent books on tape, take showers, drop off FedEx packages, and hit the Internet.  There’s also a convenience store, a service station, and a chapel.  It’s that chapel that we’re most interested in here, because in addition to regular services and prayer meetings, it’s also the home of the National Bluegrass Gospel Jam.

The Gospel Jam takes place the second Saturday of each month from noon until 4 p.m., and it’s free.  Audience participation is encouraged.  Says Ron Camerrer, the founder of the Jam, in a Longmont Times-Call story by Magdalena Wegrzyn, “We don’t say a prayer or anything like that upfront. We just start playing and participating.”  If you enjoy bluegrass, grab your mandolin and sit in next month, March 13.  We’d suggest you attack a Johnson’s Corner cinnamon roll after the session, however, so as not to gum up your fingering.  If you don’t play, go to listen and sing along. 

See the Roadfood.com review of Johnson’s Corner here.

Roadfood Glee Club Conquers Charleston, Day 2

With some areas recording up to five inches of snow, Charleston looked like it had just rained by 10 a.m.: the sun was bright, the temperature rising, and the snow melting. By the afternoon, there was snow only in shady spots and a lone snowman here and there in front yards. Nancypalooza and Julie rode with us to Charleston’s Café on Johnnie Dobbs Boulevard in Mount Pleasant. We chose the Southern Benedict with fried green tomatoes and chippers (housemade potato chips), but a daily special also caught our eyes: deep-fried peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Lunch followed at Gullah Cuisine, also on Johnnie Dobbs, with she-crab soup, fried catfish, shrimp, and two trips to their hot buffet: fried chicken, pork BBQ, succotash, red rice, collards, mac & cheese, okra gumbo, stewed cabbage, and candied yams. Amy wanted to see the Angel Oak on Johns Island, so we drove across the Ashley River and over washboard roads to marvel at the massive, Tolkien-esque tree with its tentacle-like branches.

After snagging a rockstar parking spot, exploring Upper King Street was a cinch. The Southeastern Wildlife Expo was in town, and Cupcake on King Street was preternaturally packed with camo-clad cakehounds. We shared Pumpkin, Almond, and the curious Black Bottom (chocolate cake with a cheesecake center) cupcakes before a final, pre-dinner stop at Hannibal’s Kitchen on Blake Street. One glorious, $2 fried bologna sandwich and a Cheerwine later, we were heading toward Folly Beach and Bowen’s Island for dinner. Armed with oyster knives and rags, we pried open trays of roasted oysters and slurped them down alongside fried shrimp, fish, Frogmore stew, and deliriously good hushpuppies. Local patrons didn’t bat an eye at our Hawaiian garb, and we had a dining room to ourselves as we exchanged Roadfood gifts from around the country with each other. We said our goodbyes to a few Roadfooders and planned to meet with the remaining group for Sunday brunch.

Roadfood Glee Club Conquers Charleston, Day 1

Charleston, South Carolina received record snow last weekend, but that didn’t dampen the appetites of the West Tennessee Glee Club’s seventh annual meeting of Roadfooders from around the country. From roasted oysters to okra gumbo and every Southern staple in between, the group made its way around greater Carolopolis and visited an equal number of Roadfood-reviewed restaurants and as-of-yet undiscovered gems. Joey Holleman of Columbia’s The State newspaper caught wind of the event and wrote an article spotlighting the meet.

Arriving late Thursday night, we made a beeline for the one Roadfood outpost that we knew would be open after 10 p.m.: Dave’s Carry-Out on Morris Street. The fried shrimp was excellent, as were the deviled crab and French fries. Friday morning began with a bowl of hot grits at Hominy Grill on Rutledge Avenue. An egg & sausage biscuit, pumpkin-ginger bread, and buttermilk pie rounded out our meal before we walked it off in the Historic Market. The pink cinder blocks of Martha Lou’s Kitchen on Morrison Drive beckoned us, and inside we ordered a plate of fried chicken, lima beans, macaroni & cheese, and cornbread. The rain turned to snow halfway on the drive to Holly Hill, but Sweatman’s Bar-B-Que (a mainstay in the older editions of the Roadfood books) stayed open long enough to accommodate us before closing early, due to bad weather. Their buffet featured light and dark ’que, pork ribs slathered with mustard sauce, BBQ hash and white rice, and sweet ‘n’ sour pickles, and a few added banana pudding for dessert. We then drove slowly and carefully in the windy snow on slippery I-26 back to Mount Pleasant to rest up for Saturday’s festivities!

International Pancake Day

Who wouldn’t want to see women running down the street flipping pancakes?  The tradition began in 1445 in Olney, England when a woman who was making pancakes to use up cooking fat before Lent rushed to church, pancake pan in hand, apron on, for Shrove Tuesday services.  505 years later the town of Liberal, KS got into the act, and a competition developed between the two towns.

The 2010 events began this past Saturday with pancake eating and flipping contests, a cooking contest, and a high tea.  Yesterday they held a scholarship pageant and an artist showcase.  There’s a talent show today.  But the big stuff kicks off tomorrow morning with a pancake breakfast and reception.  Youth races begin at 10 a.m. and the big Liberal-Olney race starts at 11:55 a.m.  Note that all entrants must wear “usual housewives attire”!  The skillet and pancake will be provided by the race committee.  The course runs 415 yards and contestants must flip their pancakes both at the start and the end of the race.  Only Liberal (not necessarily liberal) women may participate.  The race will be followed by a shriving service and a parade.

For more info on International Pancake Day, see their website.

Florida State Fair

Tomorrow’s the final day of the 2010 Florida State Fair, America’s first state fair each year.  For Monday’s finale they’re running an unlimited ride special for $30.  Monday will also see Canadian fiddlers, dog shows, wood carving demonstrations, wrestling, arts and crafts, and the opportunity to interact with dairy farmers.  Cracker Country, where visitors can participate in things like flax processing and open fire cooking, will be open until 6 p.m.

There’s plenty of new fair food this year.  Deep fried butter (ugh!) seems to be a coming trend.  There are also those notorious burgers sandwiched between Krispy Kreme donuts.  Another strange edible is spaghetti ice cream, where they put the stuff through a pasta extruder and top it with pureed strawberries (marinara) and shaved white chocolate (Parmesan).  Doesn’t sound half-bad, actually.  There will be Pittsburgh-style cheesesteaks, where a regular Philly cheesesteak is given the Pittsburgh treatment: fries and slaw in the sandwich.  On the classic side of things, there are boiled peanuts to be enjoyed, and jambalaya makes its way from nearby Louisiana.

The fair takes place in Tampa.  Admission is $10 for adults/$5 for children. 

Devour Downtown Indy

Today begins Indianapolis’ Devour Downtown event, where over 40 downtown Indianapolis restaurants are offering special menus at the special price of $30/person (and, in some cases, $30 for two).  You can see the list of participating restaurants, along with the menus being offered, on the Devour Downtown website, and in many cases you can even reserve a table from that site, too.  Two Roadfood restaurants are among those offering the special menu: St. Elmo Steak House (Roadfood.com review) and The Rathskeller (Roadfood.com review).  The $30 menus will be available through February 6.

National Cheese Lover’s Day in Gooey Style

Today is National Cheese Lover’s Day on our 2010 Roadfood Calendar, which makes us ponder all the great cheese dishes we’ve eaten lately. The Pre-Schooler (grilled cheese with the crusts cut off) from the Grilled Cheese Grill in Portland, Oregon immediately comes to mind, as does the fabulous Boursin Burger at R.F. O’Sullivan & Son in Somerville, Massachusetts, with its housemade Boursin cheese. But the Fried Mac & Cheese from Soul Fire BBQ in Allston, Massachusetts is truly haunting our taste memory, with its salty, deftly crisp crust and melty yet firm innards. For those lactose-intolerant folks, today is also National Granola Bar Day and National Buttercrunch Day, according to this Food Holidays site.