Square 1

The prettiest seat in town

The little town of Chambersburg, PA is slowly but surely taking on a more multicultural nature, from the Korean stone-pot bibimbap dishes in Bulgogi House to the juicy drool-inducing roast chicken in Inka Kitchen (the same kind of roast chicken that causes traffic jams in Washington DC's suburbs).

Inka incidentally has been so successful it's spun off a second location, focused not on Peruvian but a kind of Pan-Latino cuisine. Square 1 located smack dab on the center of Chambersburg's downtown features what's arguably the most sophisticated take yet on Mexican/Puerto Rican/Dominican Republic cooking. It also (see pic above) has what's easily the loveliest table in town, with an unobstructed view of the town fountain, and the surrounding trees draped with Christmas lights.

Pre-Emptive Thanksgiving

Working again this Thanksgiving so in the spirit of making fresh lemonade out of this particularly sour batch of lemons we did our feast last Sunday, when the family was together.

Southern Fried Solar Eclipse

Southern fried solar eclipse

When the NASA interactive eclipse map combined with weather.com showed that the best places to watch the Aug. 21 solar eclipse were all west of the Carolinas--well what d'you think we did? 

Road trip!

Not on the Fourth of July

Not on the Fourth of July 

So for Fourth of July we went to Cowan's Gap, basically a small lake surrounded by lush pine forest, with a little sandy beach at one side, picnic tables, grills, a stand renting kayaks and paddle boats. 

O it's not the Fourth you say? Got me there--we went last June 25. But I haven't properly celebrated any holiday secular or religious in years, usually settled for the weekend before or weekend after (helps explain in part my antipathy towards Christmas); either Luz or I or both work that night. Comes with a job that demands 24/7 staffing, 365 days a year--you don't live a normal calendar.  

Bad Saint (Tom Cunanan, Genevieve Villamora, Nick Pimentel)

Devilishly good

First heard of Tom Cunanan, Genevieve Villamora, and Nick Pimentel's Bad Saint from Bon Appetit Magazine's rave piece back in August of last year, declaring the little cubbyhole the second best new restaurant in America. 

Filipino? Second best in the country? Aside from a chauvinistic kneejerk reaction (Only second best?) I was skeptical. Then almost three months later the Washington Post's Tom Sietsema harumphed about the Michelin Guide's inclusion of the eatery as one of D.C.'s nineteen Bib Gourmand restaurants of 2016--places of good value for 'dining off the clock,' or cheap eats. The food critic opined that the Guide's definition of what's cheap isn't the same as ours (basically two courses and dessert or a glass of wine for $40, minus tax and tip). "The place deserves better," he declared, describing the twenty-four seat no-reservations establishment as a "gem, as gracious as it is luscious," and adding "Outside of a home, I doubt if there's better Filipino cooking anywhere in the country." In November the New York Times' Pete Wells wrote "I have now spent roughly twice as many hours standing on the sidewalk outside Bad Saint as I have spent inside eating its Filipino food" which sounded like the prelude to a complaint so I braced myself: turns out he considered the waiting part of the experience.

Weekend in West Virgina

The place I belong

Spent the last weekend on a brief swing through West Virginia--why? Why not? Never been there, heard a lot bout the state, wanted to see for ourselves.

Rabbit Stew with Tarragon Biscuit Crust

My pot runneth over

Was looking at Scott Conant's recipe for Stewed Rabbit with Tarragon Biscuits reminding myself of all the reasons not to try making it: 1) It's not going to be easy. 2) I've never really baked before. 3) I don't have all the ingredients (Morels? Spring garlic?).

But wow it looked good and I had bought three frozen rabbits from Giant the month before so so so

ReINKArnated

ReINKArnated

Inka Kitchen on 1228 Lincoln Way East isn't exactly easy to spot. If you check the photo below, they have an unpretentious storefront with a small emblem above the door, a roadside sign you see when getting off I-81 to turn towards Gettysburg, and that's about it. Easiest way to remember their location? They're the place beside Kentucky Fried with chicken that tastes much much better.

Pennsylvania Farm Show 2016

Penn eats

Managed to go to this year's Pennsylvania Farm Show and other than the horrific traffic ('well-attended' doesn't quite describe it) it was an easy drive.