The FoodieBytes.com Blog

The New York Times has an article titled Does Recession Mean Doom for Restaurants? - which did get me thinking a bit. As the Times noted “The average restaurant meal, after all, costs three times as much as one cooked at home, according to the NPD Group, a consumer research firm.“

While my husband and I are not affected by the recession (yet?), we have been in a mode of financial reservation. He is an entrepreneur who began a new business last year, so we are watching the numbers of everything we buy. Our restaurant expenditures have definitely taken a hit, but probably not as much as folks would expect considering our lack of a paycheck. The problem is that eating out is “what we do for fun”. Like many foodies, eating out is not just about eating. It is the entire experience - exploring different areas of the city, trying a new cuisine - maybe a new wine to go with it, meeting up with restaurateurs that we have gotten to know over the years. And we love taking our children with us on these outings. Sure, we have decreased the total amount spent per month eating out, but we are still eating out nearly as much.

Admittedly……we are most certainly frequenting our local Mexican joint here a lot more than we had in the past since the days of steak and sushi have passed us by…… Ahem.

One thing that frustrates me about many ethnic restaurants is that the kiddie menus are pathetic. Usually, the menus only contain bland foods such as hot dogs, grilled cheese and hamburgers. Sure, my 2 year old likes cheeseburgers and hot dogs, but he also likes ethnic food - he has been eating curry since he was 11 months old. For his first birthday, we took him to a Middle Eastern restaurant because at the time, chicken shwarmah was one of his favorite dishes. We even stuck a candle in his piece of namoura which Made His Day.

FoodieBytes.com can actually help you find fun kiddie menus. In NYC, Planet Thailand 212 has a children’s menu that includes such fare as a kid’s dragon roll, crispy sweet noodles with shrimp and fried rice with choice of tofu or chicken satay. In DC, the Lebanese Taverna offers a limited children’s menu, but each selection comes with hummus and they even include kibbeh as a menu item choice.

Now you’re talking.

While I like to pretend that my gaping maw is adventurous, I admit that I have my limits. Some of the following dishes definitely look better than others. Some even push the definition of “edible“.

Which ones would you try or have you tried? What is the most unusual food you have ever eaten?

1. Biltong - South Africa

Biltong is a cured meat process that originates from South Africa - it is commonly made from cuts of beef, but can also be made with venison and ostrich (a version with fish is called bokkums.) Biltong differs from jerky in that the meat strips are a bit thicker and vinegar is used in the cured process. If you happen to be in Brooklyn, you could get a gander at some by visiting the Madiba restaurant.

Chance of me eating this bad boy: 75% (this looks worthy of my gullet.)

2. Tea With Yak Butter - Tibet

Okay, I could not help but include this one since I have actually tried it. Truthfully? I liked it. An odd concoction, to be sure, it was milky, salty and a little “oily” — which is an interesting addition to one’s tea. Definitely not a tea you would be served at Buckingham Palace, although if you happen to be in the Boston area, Martsa on Elm will serve it to you. And mostly likely with far less attitude than the Queen…….

Chance of me slurping this again: 100%

3. Century Egg - Asia

Century eggs actually arose as a solution to a common sense problem - how to keep a precious food from going rotten in times of hardship. Generally, century eggs are duck, chicken or quail eggs that are preserved in a “mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing.” If you are in San Francisco, you are in luck because the Grand Palace just happens to serve these babies. Let me know how that goes because personally? I prefer my eggs not to be featured in odd hues of green.

Chance of me eating this bad boy: 0% (although admittedly, the odds would be greatly improved should I ever find myself faced with a Triple Dog Dare while plied with booze.)

4. Durian - Asia

Obviously, any fruit that gets itself banned from mass transportation is worthy of some sort of title. However, it is not clear whether it is the actual stench or the fact this fruit looks like a lethal weapon that prompted such a ban. In that vein, the durian is probably the Official Stinkbomb of the fruitworld. As such, Wikipedia had this to say regarding the durian:

The unusual flavour and odour of the fruit have prompted many people to search for an accurate description, with widely divergent and passionate views expressed, ranging from highly appreciative to deep disgust.

In NYC, you can find at least 15 different places serving this smelly delectable. I will admit that I am curious enough to try this.

Chance of me eating this bad boy: 90% (Why not? At least it did not once have a heartbeat, right?)

5. Ants

Actually, ants are eaten in a variety of locales all over the world including Australia, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, Columbia, etc. (the ones pictured are Honeypot Ants which are eaten by Australian Aborigines). I remember reading about this as a kid, so perhaps this is why it does not freak me out nearly as much as say, a roasted tarantula.

Chance of me eating these bad boys: 90% (Not much would be needed to bolster my gastronomical resolve on this one.)

6. Sannakji - Korea

I will never forget when my Korean marketing professor in college told our class about his favorite dish, sannakji, a food that he missed desperately from back home. In short, this consists of eating octopus while it is still alive. He even giggled when he described how the tentacles would stick to the inside of your mouth. Oh sure, I love me some squid/octopus, but I would rather my food not be able to mount a rising protest while I am consuming it. If you have a hankering for such fare, there are 6 spots in New York City that will serve you. However, you might need to hit that before PETA gets a whiff of this potential animal rights violation.

Chance of me eating these bad boys: 0% (Consuming food as it is fighting for its life is simply not my Thing.)

7. Balut - Asia

File this under the “Interesting in Theory, Not So Much On My Plate” category: balut is a fertilized duck or chicken egg that has not quite completed its development, much less hatched. While it is considered a delicacy in parts of Asia including the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam, I hesitated including this stomach-turner. However, it won out in the Interest of Interesting, although I did decide to spare you the pictures (click the link if you have a strong stomach.) Oddly, I could not find any restaurants serving it in NYC, Boston, SF, Chicago or DC. I wonder why.

Chance of me eating this bad boy: 0% (Dude. No WAY.)

Lifehacker.com has a rundown of their Top 20 Top 10s for 2007. My favorite was the Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks which included such goodies as how to “close chip bags without a clip” and how to “make clear ice cubes”. Although the “open a bottle of beer with a piece of paper” turned out to be a hoax (look for the coin!), this was still a fun read.

In other news, FoodieBytes is getting more buzz in the media.

Kerry Byrne of the Boston Herald declares in this article that “FoodieBytes.com is the coolest new restaurant site on the Web.“

Not bad!

Before I commence to some cool MediaBytes, I have a question. Let us say that you only get one food for Christmas. ONE. For example, not turkey and mashed potatoes - you get to choose only one. To be nice, I’ll let you include the gravy for free.

My choice? I would need my great-aunt’s weird whipped cream cranberry and pecan salad thingie. I could eat pizza for Christmas dinner and be okay with it as long as I have this weird concoction to follow it. It simply would not be Christmas otherwise.

Okay, on to MediaBytes….

Micaela of KillerStartups writes in Where Can You Find that Mango Salsa?:

FoodieBytes helps you to avoid the aggravation of arriving a restaurant and realizing there’s nothing on the menu you want to order. It also helps you determine how far these dining establishments are from you, and what else they have to offer.

Over at GeekSugar, FoodieBytes was a Website of the Day feature on Dec. 7th:

Foodie Bytes is not only great because it tells you where to get your garlic-fries fix, but it also shows you restaurant options for gluten-free food if you have celiac disease or where to go if you follow a strict vegan diet.

John del Signore of Gothamist writes in New Website Ensures You Never Crave in Vain:

Intertube-savvy metropolitan diners now have yet another way to make sure their every culinary craving is sated: the new website FoodieBytes, now beta testing, lets users search restaurant menus based on the food they desire.

and

Of course, the oh-so-mature bloggers at Eater SF immediately searched for restaurants serving “human” and “crap”, which – no surprise here – turned up results in San Francisco. Oh, California. Discerning cannibals and coprophagists in New York won’t find any local restaurants to satisfy their cravings through FoodieBytes, but Roebling Tea Room does serve a tea “scented with rose penis”. Ha. Okay, so we’re as puerile as San Francisco.

Lately, FoodieBytes has gotten some pretty positive media mentions…………

SFWeekly’s SFoodie blog says:

“…..new restaurant directory FoodieBytes could prove an essential time-saver for diners looking for that one particular dish they like so much.“

Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com had this to say:

“There are plenty of sites geared towards helping you find information about local restaurants, but I like the approach FoodieBytes is taking here – it actually works in the way people think about deciding where to eat. As the company expands to more cities (currently in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC) it could also become very useful for travelers.”

Robin Mather Jenkins of the Chicago Tribune said the following:

“If you’re hungry for a specific dish, type it in and find the nearest restaurant that serves it. We tried it and found it pretty danged cool. On a recent day in the fro-zone, we found the pho we craved at Le Colonial.”

One of the exciting things about FoodieBytes is how damned useful it is. When the idea was first conceived, I was struck with how much fun it could be to discover new foods or to be able to find restaurants serving whatever it might be for which I have a hankering. However, I had not really considered the ramifications of its potential benefits for those who may have dietary restrictions.

Today, I was reading an article about folks who suffer from celiac disease and need a Gluten-free diet. I wondered what FoodieBytes could do for these people - a quick search of restaurants serving gluten-free dishes revealed 4 restaurants in New York City and 4 places in Chicago.

The options are pretty varied, as well. Say, you are following a vegan diet - it would be easy to find some spots in San Francisco by using FoodieBytes. The same goes for restaurants serving say, organic pasta, in San Francisco or say, soy burgers in Boston. Awesome!

When I was a kid, we always went to my grandma’s house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. She has 6 siblings and when you add in spouses and offspring, the math got quite crazy. These days, my family rents a hall for Thanksgiving. Then, for Christmas, we go our separate ways (for example, I host a smaller gathering at our own house. It makes me feel quite grown up. ahem.) It is actually quite nice that we get to see each other all at once, in one place, once a year.

Anyway, I cannot imagine not getting together with family for the holidays. In college, I met a gal who said that every major holiday, her family ate at a fancy restaurant. I was shocked. Until then, I did not realize that restaurants were even open on Thanksgiving. Now that I am all “grown up”, it is a topic that I have thought about - particularly considering the fact that I may not always get to live so close to my family. If we do move away - what would I do? Eat in a restaurant? Or cook at home? The mind boggles…………

Cooking at home?
It has its pros and cons, to be sure. It can get quite expensive - turkeys are not cheap birds. And personally, I require the Full Fixin’s. I need bird, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and some sort of pie. Preferably a pumpkin and a fruit. I guess the food pyramid insists on some sort of veggie and grain, too. Whatever. And let us not even get started on the Time Factor. You slave for hours, only to consume everything within a matter of minutes. But still. Dinner. At home. With football in the background. And burnt food with half-cooked bird. Salmonella? Is an under-rated tradition.

Eating in a restaurant?
Everyone is relaxed. There is no hurry. No rushing around, ensuring that all the dishes are timed to within a minute of the cooking completion. And there is not just a simple selection of foods, but a full range of choices. And all the food is cooked to perfection. And when you get home, the house is still clean. Yum! Right?

I think it really comes down to personal choice, of course. And it is not a simple case of economics, either. Depending where you live, Thanksgiving dinner can get quite expensive. Kansas City blogger, Goofy Girl, talks about her family going to a high-end restaurant in a high-end neighborhood of Kansas City - all for $20 an adult, kids for free. Which, compared to the rest of the country is pretty damned good:

Alioto’s, in San Francisco is serving a traditional dinner for $26.95 per person (includes soup, salad, and fresh free-range organic roasted turkey, served with all the trimmings)

Bistrot Margot in Chicago is serving a 3-course, prix-fixe menu for $29.95 per person (they offer many selections, including Turkey and Stuffing, along with many of their menu specialties)

Top of the Hub in Boston’s Back Bay is serving a 4-course, prix-fixe menu for $58 per adult, $25 per child under 12 (a credit card is required to hold your reservation, 48 hour advanced notice required for cancellation)

Georgia Brown’s in DC is serving a traditional dinner with turkey and all the fixings - $36.95 per adult, $25.99 per child.

Scarlatto in the Theatre district in NYC is serving a 4-course traditional turkey dinner for $49.95 per person.

Still, I wonder. Is it socially acceptable to loosen your belt when not within the safe confines of your home.

Over at Bay Area Bites, they have a great article about portable chopsticks. Huh? Chopsticks you take with you? I had no idea it was such a issue, but apparently, disposable chopsticks that are thrown away, instead of washed and re-used are indeed, a problem:

China, the major producer of waribashi, exports the equivalent of 25 million trees annually so that we can slurp noodles conveniently and swallow sushi hygienically. While bamboo makes up a small number of high-end disposable chopsticks (the bigger, longer ones) most of the break-apart versions come from birch, aspen or poplar trees. Since 2001, universities and entire cities in China have increasingly banned the use of disposable chopsticks. Demand from abroad, however, continues to grow. Last spring, in an effort to slow the deforestation of its country, Beijing imposed a 5% tax on the handy little chopsticks. Japanese businesses, ever adaptive, are now looking to Vietnam and Indonesia for new sources of wood.

While pregnancy and budget issues have prevented me from slurping down my fair share of sushi lately, I have to say that I will definitely be keeping this in mind the next time I go out. After all, disposable chopsticks is the equivalent of eating with plastic cutlery - what a waste, right? I am just not sure how I feel about carrying my own chopsticks, though. I imagine I would feel sort of goofy.

Welcome to the FoodieBytes blog, the official blog of FoodieBytes.com. To explain what FoodieBytes is all about, it may be helpful to first explain the problem. For once, the cart before the horse is applicable….

Usually, when my husband and I are attempting to figure out where we are going to go out to eat, we run into the same old problem. We want to eat something new….something different. But, we have no idea how to go about discovering that Something New. Or we may feel like the same old food, but would like to find a new restaurant in which to try our favorite dish. To find new restaurants or new foods, you must know what those new restaurants or foods are. Right? Is that not counter-intuitive? If I knew what they were, I would not have to search for them. Hello!

And this is where FoodieBytes enters the scene…

For example, I love a good, traditional Neapolitan pizza and I would never have discovered 2 Amys (an excellent source of D.O.C. pizza in the Tenleytown neighborhood of D.C.) had a fellow blogger friend not introduced me. But, how do I find Neapolitan pizza when I am in San Francisco? This is where FoodieBytes comes in. But, what if I am in Brooklyn? Again, FoodieBytes. What if I am simply tired of 2 Amys and the next time I am in D.C. want to try something different? Yep, FoodieBytes.

So there you have it. If you are in San Francisco, Chicago, D.C., Boston or New York City, you now have a new way to search for food and find some cool things to eat. What are you waiting for?

Get out to FoodieBytes now and find something new.