Under The Copper Tree

Stewart's Buttered Roll

2012-01-27T00:21:00.001-05:00

So there was a discussion on Twitter recently about the buttered roll. One person in particular didn't understand what the big deal was and why people could eat such a thing.

Why? Why the hell not?

It's bread and butter, conveniently put together and in grabbing distance as you pay for your morning coffee. And it really isn't an upstate thing, nor is it really a New York thing. I've bought these at Stewart's here in the Capital Region; 7-Eleven in New Jersey, Maryland, DC; Wawa in Southern Jersey; and Sheetz in Western PA. Hell, I bought buttered rolls in a tiny hotel shop in Hawaii! I've bought these at gas stations, bodegas, the corner food cart. You don't buy it because it's flavorful. You buy them because it's cheap, portable, and tides you over until you actually eat.

Okay, I'm done complaining.

Anyways, I went to Stewart's this morning on the way to work to pick up some ice cream for a party (Crumbs Along the Mohawk, on sale this week for $3.19). I poured myself a large coffee and there they were... the buttered rolls. But there was more... much more. Peanut butter rolls! Peanut butter and jelly rolls! Plain rolls you can toast and then butter! And bagels with the same options, but I didn't really pay much attention to those since the hoopla was all about the rolls. I grabbed a roll and scooted over to the cashier. Paid for my food and went on my way. I put my coffee and roll in the staff lounge to eat once I got settled at work. This was about 9AM. When did I finally get around to eating that roll? When I got home, which was about 6PM. Bread didn't taste stale, butter I'm guessing was salted.

Whatever, still hit the spot.

Taiwan Noodle (Albany, NY)

2012-01-25T10:40:00.001-05:00

Is it just me, or is Central Avenue trying to Asia-fy itself?

It seems like it, with yet another Chinese restaurant opening up on the same stretch that houses Shining Rainbow, CCK, Van’s, Ichiban. Not that I’m complaining, but come on… spread the love (especially to Troy where it is much needed but will be poorly received)!

Anyways, there’s a new noodle shop in town where Saso’s used to be. I’m not sure how long it’s been open, but I found out about it from Albany Jane. Checked out their menu online and there were things I was interested in trying. Their prices looked more than reasonable, another plus.

There about a dozen items to choose from in each category – appetizers, dim sum, noodle soup, and entrees with rice. Prices range from a dollar for a five spiced egg to $5.95 for mixed mushrooms with noodles or rice. On the day we visited, they were serving homemade soy milk, which isn’t listed on the menu. You can order it either hot or cold. I’ve had soy milk before and hated it, but this was good. It was slightly sweet and faintly tasted of soaked beans. If they make their own soy milk, I wonder if they make their own tofu?

M and I split a double order of scallion pancakes ($1.95).They must have just come right off the stove because they were HOT. Unlike other restaurants, these are thin and crispy. Not oily. Tasty. I ended up only having two pieces of this because I had a lot more to go. M happily finished this off.

After the pancakes, the food pretty much came out all at once, so I tried to dim sum first before I tackled my soup.These are the pan fried pork buns ($2.95), which is just the steamed version that’s been thrown into a frying pan for a quick second. I don’t remember if the bottoms were browned up, but there is that sheen to these, which would make you think it spent some time in a frying pan, no? Sprinkled with some scallions and sesame seeds. Good, although pork buns in general have more bread than stuffing in my opinions. GIVE ME MOAR MEAT.

There aren’t a lot of options for vegetarian, so I ended up ordering M the veggie dumpling ($2.95). Good sized portion, filled with a mix of veggies (cabbage and mushroom I can clearly identify) and glass noodles. There was something in the mix that M didn’t particularly like (I’m thinking it was the mushrooms) but otherwise he thought they were good. I wonder if they make these in house or if they buy them frozen?

That picture of the beef noodle soup on the front of the menu was taunting me, so I decided to order the stewed beef chuck ($4.95). Okay, so not exactly what the menu picture looks like, but holymolyfreakingoodness, the taste exceeded my expectations. Crazy for a simple bowl of noodles with some bok choy, some meat, and broth. Oh, that broth! I slurped half of it down before I remembered there were other things in that bowl. Over on Albany Jane’s post, she mentions how the broth for all the noodle dishes are vegetable based. That’s awesome, and means that M can get something… meat free, of course. While eating, I had this crazy thought that I would order something else and take it home for the football games. This never happened because after finishing that soup, there was no way I could eat anymore that day… and perhaps part of the next day.

I may have been full, but I still ordered some almond cookies. Had to… there was still some soy milk to finish. Pretty sure these were store bought, but if they make them in house, nice. As you can see, our lunch came out to just under twenty bucks, which is not bad, considering how much food we got.

I think the man who took our order and served/cleaned up the table was the owner. Very nice, and kept asking how we were doing and how the food was. Very nice, attentive. And he also let us know that next time we visit, we should park in their parking lot (I was wondering about those spots… now I know).

Yesterday I wanted to go back and grab some food to go, but alas! They’re closed on Tuesdays. Weird, considering the area likes to shut down on Mondays.

Taiwan Noodle
218 Central Avenue
Albany, NY 12206
(518) 436-1328
http://taiwannoodle.net
Facebook page

Accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover

Hours:     Monday – Friday 11:00 – 10:00
                Saturday              11:00 – 10:30
                Sunday                10:30 – 9:00
                Closed Tuesdays

Stale Steel

2012-01-24T07:40:00.001-05:00

I’m a mess today. Woke up hours ago because of some sharp pains to my thigh. Not that you really need to know, but the pain is anterior-lateral is occurs when sitting down or getting up. Abduction or adduction is possible, but not without me almost crying. Most likely this is all muscle related, and the sensible thing would be to just rest.

Sensible thing.

Instead, I’ve been hobbling around the kitchen and living room, packing my pool bag and getting something in my stomach so I can take a pain reliever. I went swimming last night, and there is a good possibility that session aggravated this problem even more. But I paid this membership off and I intend on using it as much as possible.

Since I was up, I decided I should have something more than several cups of coffee (I’m in my crazy coffee drinking phase again). It was still dark, and the heat wasn’t going to kick in for at least another hour. So oatmeal was the only answer. But not the instant stuff I have laying around in the pantry, but steel cut oats.

It’s not add-some-water-and-zap-in-the-microwave quick, but cooking steel cut oats is not hard, nor does it take all that long. Bring three cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Add in a cup of oats and cook on low for 20 minutes or so. Cooking directions may vary depending on your brand, but that is really all there is to it. I added brown sugar to the mix, hence the brown tinge to the oatmeal. Smelled wonderful.

But then came that first bite. The oats had some give, which I like, and it was lightly sweetened. But it was stale. There’s no amount of toppings to cover that stale taste – it just coats the inside of your mouth.

Just how long have I had this stuff sitting around? I took a look at the expiration date on the bag, and hello! Use by date was a date last year.

Whoops.

I really need to clean out that pantry.

Things To Eat

2012-01-22T13:10:00.001-05:00

You may have seen this list on Facebook. How many on the list have you eaten?

1. Abalone – I’ve probably had this but don’t remember.
2. Absinthe – I’ve been meaning to try this stuff… really.
3. Alligator
4. Baba Ghanoush
5. Bagel and Lox
6. Baklava
7. Barbecue Ribs
8. Bellini
9. Bird's Nest Soup – Soup make with bird spit? Eh…
~~10. Biscuits and Gravy~~
~~11. Black Pudding~~
12. Black Truffle – Had food with truffle oil, but never the actual truffle.
13. Borscht
14. Calamari
15. Carp
16. Caviar
17. Cheese Fondue
18. Chicken and Waffles – I eat my chicken and waffles separately thankyouverymuch.
~~19. Chicken Tikka Masala~~
~~20. Chile Relleno~~
21. Chitlins
22. Churros
23. Clam Chowder
24. Cognac
25. Crab Cakes
26. Crickets – Ick.
~~27. Currywurst~~
28. Dandelion Wine – Another one of those things I may have had but can’t remember.
~~29. Dulce De Leche~~
30. Durian – Double ick.
~~31. Eel~~
32. Eggs Benedict – I have a thing with eggs. A not-good-thing with them.
33. Fish Tacos
34. Foie Gras
35. Fresh Spring Rolls
36. Fried Catfish
37. Fried Green Tomatoes
38. Fried Plantain
39. Frito Pie – Never got around to it
40. Frogs’ Legs – Save Kermit!
41. Fugu – They don’t really have puffer fish here…
42. Funnel Cake
43. Gazpacho
44. Goat
45. Goat’s Milk
46. Goulash
47. Gumbo
48. Haggis – I’ve had haggis-like things, but not the original
49. Head Cheese – Just doesn’t sound right
~~50. Heirloom Tomatoes~~
51. Honeycomb – Why eat wax?
~~52. Hostess Fruit Pie~~
53. Huevos Rancheros – Ugh… eggs.
~~54. Jerk Chicken~~
55. Kangaroo – One of these days.
56. Key Lime Pie – Never looked like something I would want to eat.
57. Kobe Beef
58. Lassi
59. Lobster
60. Mimosa
61. MoonPie – Never see them in the store.
~~62. Morel Mushrooms~~
63. Nettle Tea – It sounds like it’s a bug tea.
64. Octopus
65. Oxtail Soup
66. Paella
67. Paneer
68. Pastrami on Rye
~~69. Pavlova~~
70. Phaal – Do they serve it around here?
71. Philly Cheese Steak
72. Pho
73. Pineapple and Cottage Cheese – Dislike cottage cheese.
~~74. Pistachio Ice Cream~~
~~75. Po’ Boy~~
76. Pocky
77. Polenta
78. Prickly Pear – Don’t even know why I haven’t had this.
79. Rabbit Stew – I’ve only had my rabbit grilled
~~80. Raw Oysters~~
81. Root Beer Float – Not a big root beer fan.
82. S’mores
83. Sauerkraut
84. Sea Urchin – Eh…
85. Shark
86. Snail
87. Snake – I wear it, not eat it.
~~88. Soft Shell Crab~~
89. Som Tam – Spicy papaya salad? Really need to try this.
90. Spaetzle
91. Spam
92. Squirrel – Ooof.
93. Steak Tartare
94. Sweet Potato Fries
95. Sweetbreads – Not opposed to it, but never had some.
96. Tom Yum
97. Umeboshi
98. Venison
99. Wasabi Peas
100. Zucchini Flowers

Cut. It. Out.

2012-01-19T00:20:00.001-05:00

And put it on your grilled cheese.

A return is sure to follow.

Project 365: Day 6

2012-01-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

My hands are too dry.

Project 365: Day 5

2012-01-05T18:50:00.001-05:00

Does my face look swollen to you? This was post-dental visit, when my ice bag had warmed up, and I reverted to drinking iced coffees.

At least I was told I was a good patient.

Project 365: Day 4

2012-01-04T08:17:00.000-05:00

Pool's closed. But amazingly enough, I've swam every day they've been open in the new year. And that's only been two days... seems longer than that.

posted from Bloggeroid

Project 365: Day 3

2012-01-03T23:23:00.001-05:00

Cookies! And on sale with a coupon. Now I don't feel bad buying six boxes.

posted from Bloggeroid

Project 365: Day 2

2012-01-02T17:22:00.001-05:00

This was so not worth nine bucks. Really need to curb my eating out.

posted from Bloggeroid

Shortcut Wonton Soup

2012-01-01T16:29:00.001-05:00

With all the food we had last night, I'm surprised I wanted to consume more, let alone think about cooking.

My NYE was low key - celebrated with family and Mags. M had to work last night, and from the sounds of it, not a very fun start to the year... work wise. I brought a couple dozen of those mini hot dogs the Capital Region is known for - complete with the mini buns and meat sauce. It was a huge hit, and one of my uncles has already requested to bring more the next time I go home.

I also ended up making wontons with the leftover lumpia filling I made for the work pig out. It just so happened I had some wonton wrappers in the freezer (one of those "just in case" purchases), and through trial and error, I finally remembered the right way to wrap them. Not really sure how to cook them, I decided to fry about a third of them, and save the rest just in case we didn't have enough food.

Yeah. What was I thinking?

We had tons of food. And forced all attendees to bring home at least two containers of food. Brunch this morning made a slight dent in what was left over, and once again bringing food home was pushed on people.

My parents won't eat all that food. Why waste it?

Anyways, I'm still at home, listening to the Steelers game and finishing up the last of my laundry. And not that I'm really hungry, but I needed to use those wontons. It would be wasteful to just let them sit there. And I've had wonton soup on the brain.

No recipes needed, just wontons and broth. Filled up a pot of water and added the corresponding bouillon amount to it. Brought to a boil and dropped in the wontons. Lowered the heat and covered. Kinda forgot about it because the Steelers game was that distracting (we won though!). Added pepper. Would have thrown in some scallions, but my grandma used the rest of it for the pancit I made for brunch. Definitely hit the spot.

posted from Bloggeroid

Project 365: Day 1

2012-01-01T00:44:00.001-05:00

New Years Eve. Mags and I trying to spruce up the Christmas village.

The Final Countdown

2011-12-31T23:10:00.001-05:00

Of 2011.

And I am exhausted.

Wontons

2011-12-31T16:30:00.001-05:00

I had leftover filling from the lumpia, so wontons for new years

posted from Bloggeroid

Family Traditions

2011-12-25T19:11:00.001-05:00

It's not Christmas without cut throat bingo

posted from Bloggeroid

Turn Off

2011-12-22T21:26:00.001-05:00

I guess Flavour Cafe is alright. But not liking the fact I had to pay for a refill. Even Professor Java's gives you one.

Oh well. I tried the place out.

posted from Bloggeroid

Me Time

2011-12-22T17:40:00.001-05:00

No crazy shopping for me tonight.

Tonight, I drink all the coffe my heart desires and read one of my favorite series.

posted from Bloggeroid

The Brown Bag UPDATE

2011-12-11T02:46:00.001-05:00

It has been a little over a week since we were here last, and I’ve noticed some things:

More staff. The first time we were there it was just two people and a whole lot of customers. Tonight, there were two more guys – one manning the stove, the other at the grill. Perhaps they just work the weekends to help with the high volume.
More seating. When we walked in, the place was empty, save for one guy at the counter. Because it wasn’t full, I got a better look at the sitting situation. There’s a couch, which I don’t remember from before. But it could have been there all along, and the people from before could have moved it to accommodate their group. I’m not sure how much more you can add to it before it starts getting crowded.
Game selection. Not that you can see all of them there, but you have your choice of: Connect 4, Checkers, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Whatzit?, and a couple others I can’t remember.
Christmas tree. I am really slacking on putting ours up.
Regulars. It looks like there are some now. Good sign.
How I take my burger. No cheese. Sautéed onions, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup. So good. As I’ve gotten older, my ability to inhale food has diminished, but not tonight. M had a grilled cheese again, but this time he added tomato. Thumbs up from him.
Location. This may be premature thinking, but this couldn’t be in a more perfect location. There are the bars down the street, and the new dorms (er, student housing) a couple of blocks up. It’s right on a bus line, and so far no problems with finding parking.

The Brown Bag (Troy, NY)

2011-12-08T03:13:00.000-05:00

Before I had to go across the river for some late night/night out eating. Now it looks like I won’t have to.
I found out about The Brown Bag when I spotted their menu on one of the windows at Footsy Magoos. Not that you really need to know this bit of info, but M found out about this place because there was a menu taped at eye level above the urinal in the bathroom (one of the best marketing efforts we’ve experienced, in my opinion).Even though we had already had dinner, I suggested we go anyways and check it out.

The space is sparsely furnished – there’s some built in seating along the window front and a handful of small tables, and just enough chairs for these tables. We walked in and all the tables were occupied with students chatting and playing board games. So it’s kinda got that coffee shop vibe going. If you can’t find a table, you can always sit at the counter, which is what M and I ended up doing. I actually preferred sitting there, because I got better view of the cooking.

I'm not really sure the name of the guy running the counter, but I want to say it's Josh (I swear that's what I heard, and it's one of the names listed on their Facebook page.) He takes your orders, tends to your bill, and will take a picture of your sweatshirt because there’s a terrapin on it and he had to send it to his friend because that guy’s a Maryland fan or doesn’t like them (I didn’t catch that part.) Awesome. As if you were at someone’s apartment and were just hanging out. Just seemed very laid back, playing music from an ipod, cranking up the volume when a good song would play. More and more it made me feel like this was my kind of place.

So I guess this place used to be a pizza joint? If that’s the case, it was a long time ago, because I don’t remember anything ever open there. I just remember the Chinese place, but how can you not with that huge sign? Josh had mentioned if we knew anyone that was interested in one. Um… yes. Me. Too bad I don’t have the space.

Aside from the big pizza oven, is a grill and six range stovetop. On the stove was a large pot that was being used as a fryer, and some various grill and frying pans. The grill I envy. I covet. I want, I want. No, it’s not realistic, but neither is a pizza oven.

This is Terry Matthews. He’s the owner/grill man. And even though he was busy, he did stop for a second to chat with us. Even though the conversation was brief, he seemed pretty cool. When our food was ready, we paid the bill (which I almost forgot… whoops) and headed home.

M’s grilled cheese. I’m pretty sure it was real butter Terry used for the bread, but I don’t know what kind of cheese. American most likely. And you can also see the grill marks… I’m impressed. Not something you usually see.

Burgers looked like the popular choice, so I went with that. I would have ordered fries as well, but I had some for dinner and didn’t think my stomach could handle the spud overload. The patty looked to be about hockey puck size. At least it looked to me how big a hockey puck should be. Anyways, they weren’t skinny discs of meat – they looked hand made, and for some reason made me think about that bit Eddie Murphy did back when he was ~~funny~~ a comedian about McDonalds hamburgers. Would I ever be compelled to dance around singing “I got a burger?” No, but possibly if I had just enough alcohol in my system. And even then it would be in private so no one would know… expect for the people reading this and have already guessed that yeah, it could happen.

The burger wasn’t bad, although next time I probably won’t ask for cheese. And even though I had eaten not too long before that, the burger really hit the spot. Burgers cost $3.50, for one dollar more you can have bacon or a fried egg on top, $2.00 for the grilled cheese. Maybe I’d try a burger with the fried egg, but it would have to be really fried… don’t like runny yolks.

Grilled cheese, burger, and large coffee came out to $7.25.

The Brown Bag
156 4th Street Troy, NY 12180
Open Monday – Sunday 9:00PM – 6:00AM
Cash, Visa, Mastercard

Souped Up

2011-12-05T21:20:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago I ordered some ramen and it cost me just over six dollars. What I got was not what I had expected and now I wonder if I'll go back to this place again (review in te works I swear).

Friday I made myself some ramrn. The cost of that? Two bucks... at most.

Top Ramen + stir fried bokchoy + scallion garnish = warm and satisfying meal

Thanksgiving Leftovers

2011-11-29T10:12:00.001-05:00

If there's one thing I love about Thanksgiving, it's all the leftovers you need to consume for the next week or so. My sister and brother-in-law came out for the holiday weekend to spend some time enjoying the finer things the east coast has to offer -- namely, lots of beer.

Oh yeah, and we had Thanksgiving dinner, too. I decided it'd be nice to do something for all the poor Mexicans that weren't able to celebrate our holiday, so in lieu of a turkey -- which also happens to not be vegetarian (you can look it up if you don't believe me) -- I made an assortment of Mexican dishes to snack on. My family was a bit more adventurous, as well as drunk by the time we got around to it, so for our main course we had Thanksgiving pizza.

Allegedly my sister has a kick-ass recipe for pizza dough. Maybe it was the booze, or maybe just her knack for not giving a shit, but she just threw a bunch of things together and we wound up with something that was perhaps the most edible part of the entire meal. This dough was smothered in gravy (sauce), covered in mashed potatoes (cheese), and topped with chicken (our turkey substitute, playing the part of meat), stuffing, and brussel sprouts (pepperoni and what-have-you). This was then brought out into the backyard and lit on fire over some charcoal.

We also made a green bean casserole pizza, made in much the same way as the above except using cream of mushroom soup for the sauce, green beans, fried onions, and roasted red peppers for the toppings. This was definitely more appealing than the thanksgiving pizza. Or maybe that was the booze. Either way, these things quickly found their way into the dog bowl the next morning, leaving just the foggy memory of the abomination we created. (Anyone ever see The Human Centipede? Yeah, something like that.)

Kilawing Kambing

2011-11-25T17:35:00.001-05:00

We may not have had turkey, but goat was the key player of the night's dishes - caldareta (meat stew), papaitan (offal and bile soup), and kilawin (ceviche style meat and offal).

The goat kilawin caused a bit of a debate, since kilawin is traditionally made with seafood. Can you actually call it kilawin if it's made with meat? I said yes, because kilawin is cooking raw meat with vinegar. I suppose technically it isn't since the goat skin and meat were cooked... but that's just splitting hairs, isn't it?

This stuff was fantastic. Slightly smoky taste from the butcher taking a torch to the skin to remove the hair. Spicy from the thinly sliced jalepenos, and slightly sour from the vinegar. If I threw this on a hot plate it would be sisig. Perfect with beer and rice (I'm Asian... I had to.)

I'll Get You Next Time Turkey

2011-11-25T02:07:00.001-05:00

I really hope the reason there was no turkey this year wasn't because I couldn't cook it.

posted from Bloggeroid

Joe’s Grill (Albany, NY)

2011-11-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

Photo by Pete Dzintars (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31451603@N02/5787152791/)

The saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And while this may not always hold true for eating establishments, it does apply to Joe’s.

I’ve always wondered about this place. The picture makes it look a lot better, but to me it has always looked shady. It may be because it is located on a stretch of Central Avenue that I wouldn’t be walking on by myself at night. And for a place that has been around for decades, I have never heard any local people talk about it, like some other places on the avenue.

It was one of those rare occasions when M had a day off during the week and we found ourselves on that side of the river doing some errands. Wolf Road places were out of the question; Ralph’s was packed as usual; and Grandma’s was most likely out of their macaroni & cheese.

“Well, there is Joe’s,” I mentioned to M.

“But isn’t that a bar? Do they have food? Let’s go.”

We walked in to a bar full of friendly regulars who were very enthusiastic about helping us find our way around. Just like Ralph’s, the layout is somewhat similar – as you walk in, the bar area is on your right, the dining room to your left. The bar has a couple of two tops, but the space is tight and the bar takes up the majority of the room.

The dining room was completely empty, save for the constant flow of bar traffic to the restrooms. Although we felt sort of bad for making the bartender walk all the way over into the other room to wait on us, we likely weren’t in the same state of mind as most of the other patrons at that time. We were looking for a cheesy-food-fix, stat. What we found at Joes was glorious.

Garlic bread with cheese and tomatoes. Cheese crispies! I’m not sure what bread they use -- whether it’s homemade or not -- but after adding garlic, cheese, and tomatoes (as well as a little salt and pepper), the thought quickly left my mind. The outside was crispy, the inside was warm and soft, and the cheese was gooey. Paired with a basic marinara it was a great way to start dinner.

Large cheese pizza. After consuming all that garlic bread, I know… a bit of a redundancy. But M defended our selections, mentioning that at other places you get breadsticks with your pizza. And the garlic bread is in the same vein, albeit a whole lot better. Whatevs, can’t go wrong with bread, cheese, and tomatoes.

The pizza was another cheesy marvel. It’s a thin, hand-tossed crust, with sauce and a very generous amount of cheese. I would wager the cheese to crust ratio is somewhere in the ballpark of 3:2. And again, it definitely hit the spot, even though we ended up taking most of the pizza home with us.

Beer were on tap and your usual domestic. For three bucks, you really can’t complain. Food total was just over twenty-five dollars, which was reasonable. Pretty sure we’ll be going back there for more of that garlic bread.

Soft Diet

2011-11-23T19:01:00.001-05:00

I had dental work today, and I was told only applesauuce and ice cream until tomorrow.

Not complaining, but it is a little chilly.

posted from Bloggeroid

Under The Copper Tree

Stewart's Buttered Roll

Taiwan Noodle (Albany, NY)

Stale Steel

Things To Eat

Cut. It. Out.

Project 365: Day 6

Project 365: Day 5

Project 365: Day 4

Project 365: Day 3

Project 365: Day 2

Shortcut Wonton Soup

Project 365: Day 1

The Final Countdown

Wontons

Family Traditions

Turn Off

Me Time

The Brown Bag **UPDATE**

The Brown Bag (Troy, NY)

Souped Up

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Kilawing Kambing

I'll Get You Next Time Turkey

Joe’s Grill (Albany, NY)

Soft Diet

The Brown Bag UPDATE