It took nearly three years, but at last I’m back with another chip comparison, although in this case the chips were not purchased simultaneously and one could only in the most generous definition be considered a chip. Thankfully I make the rules here.
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I’ve always had a special fondness for Vegetable Thins, a snack that’s long occupied the second string of Nabisco’s cracker team, paired with perennial misfits like Chicken In A Biskit, Better Cheddars, Sociables, and the VT's polar opposite, the now-defunct Bacon Thins. Even in my early years, when I refused to touch a single earth-hatched tuber or legume, the taste of freeze-dried vegetable scraps preserved inside vinegary, MSG-laden crackers was alluring. even more so for the way the snack appeared in approximated vegetable shapes, all of them tasting exactly the same. Things have changed now in Nabisco Land, and while I do enjoy the fact that the above Wiki cites separate varieties clocking in at 40% and 44% less fat, respectively, it's likely that the VT will never be the same.
Nostalgia for this bygone taste may explain my tolerance for these Veggie Sticks, which are in many ways pretty foul. Purchased at Elmhurst Filipino grocery Sariling Atin, their packaging promises a bountiful field of baton-shaped crackers, sprouting from the soil like the Emerald City skyline. Instead the contents resemble a bizarro Cheez Doodle, with the cheese substitute swapped out for a sweet vegetal taste, dusted with a substance that's gently redolent of mulched grass clippings. Yes these are formed from a base of rice, not corn, but when you get down to the core mechanics of food-grade styrofoam snacks it appears that the grain of origin doesn’t matter too much. If nothing else, the bag at least blends nicely into the surrounding landscape. Lingering on the fringes of the Asian continent, equivalently influenced by its local neighbors, international shipping routes and years spent under Spanish and American hegemony, the Philippines long ago blossomed into something of a culinary funhouse, accommodating an outsized hodgepodge of ingredients, flavors and hues. The dazzling results can be seen in exciting dishes like afritada, embutido, bibingka and halo halo (the pictures say it all, sort of), their sing-song names and vibrant colors seemingly sprung from some magical fantasyland.
Joe DiStefano's Chopsticks and Marrow is an invaluable resource for New York City eating, especially for those seeking to comprehend the amazing, globe-spanning bounty of the borough of Queens. Great news, then, that he's responsible for selecting the vendors at the new Queens branch of the Smorgasburg empire, with a selection of local specialists that goes beyond the market’s usual roster of comfort-food dealers and cutesy appropriationists. On a recent visit I strolled around the enclosed cement area near MOMA PS1, marveling at the value of the chicken satay from Celebes Bakar (four sizable sticks for $5, sadly unphotographed) and the vocal range and carnival barker insistence of the guy hawking Balut. I demurred from trying this Filipino specialty, in which fertilized duck eggs are seasoned with a chili, garlic and vinegar broth. Instead I opted for the safer Kinunot Na Pagi (flaked stingray), prepared in a style specific to the country’s coastline-blessed Bicol region. Presented by Woodside restaurant Papa’s Kitchen in sandwich form, it took on the airy qualities of a good lobster roll, coconut-kissed meat swaddled in a section of soft baguette, topped with a few sprigs of Moringa, a green that’s of late been minted as the newest superfood. Equally interesting was the hallaca, an open-faced, tamale-like assemblage, purchased from the Ecuadorian-focused Son Foods, which also offers beef tongue tacos and empanadas. This log of stuffed masa was strangely sweet and pale in color, which led me to wonder if yuca was being employed (this is the case in the Puerto Rican hallaca, although who knows here) or if sugar had found its way into the mix. In terms of texture it was reminiscent of a recent meal of Pastel de Choclo prepared by some Chilean friends. The hallaca is also a reminder of the innovative use of corn across the entirety of The Andes; this particular preparation appears in different iterations all over the region and beyond, also sharing some DNA (and popularity as a Yuletide treat) with Caribbean pasteles, Queens Smorgasburg, meanwhile, holds steady at its current home (43-29 Crescent Street) until October 31.
Everyone has a different definition of what constitutes ‘fancy,’ with especially broad variations occurring across national and economic lines, but in the realm of the sweet most would agree that the French have this elusive descriptor locked down. And while the global masters of pastry may not be solely responsible for the wonders of the meringue - the Swiss and Italians both also claim ownership and probably had something to do with the confection’s creation - the airy snack does fit squarely into the French dessert tradition, with its routine elevation of earthbound items to a divine plane via the wonders of furious frothing. This brings us to the Philippines, an island with more than its share of foreign influence, but which has never hosted any sustained French (or Swiss, or Italian) presence. How then do we end up with the Puto Seko, subtitled here as ‘fancy cookies,’ which taste like a dustier, denser cousin to the meringue?
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The coded language of snacks, sandwiches and seasonings, in NYC and beyond.
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