Tag: food

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Chicken-Fried Steak

Alton Brown had an amusing take on these flat meat diner foods in which he concluded that regional variances render this American staple undefinable. And if you were to try to find agreeable definitions, you would indeed be engaging in folly. Fortunately, I’m never too concerned with being agreeable here, so I’ll happily offer definitions.

Chicken-fried steak: flattened beef cutlet breaded with flour and deep-fried, then topped with sawmill gravy. Served with fries.

Country-fried steak: flattened beef cutlet breaded with flour and pan-fried, then topped with broth-based brown gravy. Served with fries.

Salisbury steak: cubed beef cutlet breaded with flour and pan-fried, topped with onions and braised in tomato sauce with broth. Served with mashed potatoes or vegetables.

There. I’ve managed to piss everyone off now.

But as for the nostalgia-based reason for this post: I miss chicken-fried steak, which was a staple of my west-Texas childhood. Every restaurant, diner, and cafeteria had it – usually as the first item on the kids’ menu. The Midwest, however, seems to favor country-fried steak. And I don’t remember ever seeing Salisbury steak outside TV dinners. And none of these variations are very common at all now, seeming only to occupy a niche in country home kitchen type restaurants like Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel (neither of which are very good, I’ll add).

But not being terribly culinary difficult, it can be easily made at home. Which I did.

Family reviews indicated that it was “not terrible”, and “not the worst thing I’ve ever had”. So I guess that’s why it doesn’t find its way onto many menus. It’s in actuality cheap food with minimal spices, relying on flavor through caloric addition.

But it did bring back memories.

–Simon

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Kurobuta Copa

I’d never had a copa roast. It’s apparently from the neck meat. Which means lots of connective tissue. Which means low and slow cooking…like in a crock pot!

Paired with mashed potatoes and an oniony brown sauce = yum.

–Simon

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Pawpaw Patch in the Making

We planted a pawpaw tree about 3 years or so ago, and now it’s finally bloomed! It does, however, require pollination from another tree, and I’m hoping the neighbor’s trees are close enough, and of a different genetic variety. We shall see, if a fruit appears.

The pawpaw is a bit of a culinary curiosity. Despite their prevalence in eastern North America, I’ve never seen them on menus, probably because the fruit seeds are poisonous and the fruits don’t ripen once picked. That makes commercial operations non-viable, relegating this native to local cuisine. They’re also a bit of an acquired taste, sort of like a mild mango. I used to pick them at the old farm and grandma would make them into pies. A unique slice of Americana.

–Simon

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Is it Pronounced “Louisville”?

I resisted the temptation as I was visiting by request. I did, however, maintain the correct pronunciation by spelling, even though it isn’t considered true. And while accepted, I noticed that the locals preferred the schwa variant instead, though to me it sounded like they’re trying to regurgitate the name rather than say it. As though someone was asked the city name and they tried to answer after being immediately punched in the gut. “Loo *punch!* UH!…ville…”. The gateway to the south, I suppose. Where it gets too hot to enunciate, and phonemes just kind of melt and ooze together in a drunken slur. Of course, it’s also bourbon country, so that might have had something to do with it. “Luvil…ughhh…*barf*.

But this is not an anti-south post. I jest in good faith here. Midwesterners are certainly not exempt from hilariously incorrect pronunciations. Bellefontaine is for some reason pronounced “Belfountain”, and Versailles is “versailes”, and Mackinac is…correctly pronounced in the French: “Mackinaw”, so then that must mean Fondulac would also follow suit. Haha, no! It’s pronounced with the hard “c”.

Anyway, we were visiting Liz’s sister on invite as she had a work celebration function. At a women’s soccer match. I’d never seen one live, and I must admit that compared to trying to watch a football game, which the NFL has unceasingly tried to make unwatchable, soccer isn’t too bad. It’s constant action, albeit a little lower-key, and with a perfectly reasonable game time. A 90-minute game with their bizarre stoppage time meant the game lasted less than 2 hours. Compared to a football game with halftime, which usually lasts over 4 hours.

Then we tried a couple restaurants, as one must do when visiting a new place. And like most large metropolitan places, there were lots of options. The tacos were good, but no better than what we can get in little ol’ Dayton. And we went to a nice Cuban place, which is something we can’t get in Dayton, but I was a little underwhelmed with my entree. The mojito, however, was fantastic.

They have more and better alcohol down there.
This was good but I can make better. Although that banana leaf-wrapped steamed yucca was delicious and something new for me.

Speaking of liquor, it was an excellent opportunity to stock up and try things we can’t get up here.

In summary, it wasn’t a trip I can use to give the city an honest review, since it was just an overnight trip and devoid of any cultural immersion. All I can do here is document a quick visit and hope to see some parks and museums next time.

Oh and I stand by my assessment that the Ohio river defines the midwest boarder. “Midwest nice” turns into “Southern hospitality”. The “Midwest goodbye” turns into the “Southern hello”. No, really. Down there new introductions are lengthy and rambling and packed with random information, none of which includes anything about the person you just started talking to. Then when the conversation is over they just walk away. It’s a Midwest goodbye in reverse! Culture shock!

–Simon