StevenFro's Profile
Best Church Picnic Barbecued Mutton?
Fancy Farm is a town in far western Kentucky (near Mayfield and Paducah) where a
Catholic church (St. Jerome, I believe) holds a picnic every year in early August that marks the beginning of the Fall political season. There’s an all-you-can-eat buffet at this picnic, during which they serve (literally) tons of barbecued meats, mutton first among them.
However, there are supposed to be dozens of these church picnics during the Summer in
Western Kentucky, mostly around Owensboro. Some of these, I know, compete in the “International Barbeque Festival” in Owensboro, but I can’t seem to find any mention of who wins and whether these church picnics are worth the trip…or even if they’re open to outsiders. Having missed Fancy Farm this year (it took place last weekend), this is what I’m currently trying to learn.
Best Church Picnic Barbecued Mutton?
When I first came to Kentucky, I took the long journey at the beginning of August to the Fancy Farm picnic. As I trust all Kentuckians know, Fancy Farm is a church picnic in far western Kentucky that marks the beginning of the political season. While the political rhetoric is certainly entertaining, it was the barbecue that interested me far more. At that Fancy Farm picnic many years ago I became a convert to the joys of barbecue mutton: more flavorful than either pork or beef, and if properly cooked, plenty tender.
Since then, I've been to Owensboro, and sampled the BBQ mutton at the famous Moonlite Inn and other local establishments, but it seems to me that they didn't measure up to the mutton at Fancy Farm.
More recently, I've learned that Fancy Farm is just one of dozens of church picnics that take place in the summer in Western Kentucky. My question is: How good is the mutton at these picnics? Is there one that stands above the others? And how do they feel about "outsiders" coming to their picnics?
Maximal Flavor for Minimal Cash
Sam Sifton recently had a piece in the times with the title "Maximal Flavor for Minimal Cash" in which he offered some advice to a visitor to the city on how to get maximum bang for the buck.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/dining/11mrcritic.html?_r=1&ref=dining
I was wondering what the chowhound community might contribute to such a discussion
Do You Ever Feel Like Nothing Can Come Close?
If you like their cassis, you must try their passionfruit. You'll think you've died and gone to heaven.
Lexington Kentucky: Columbia Steakhouse since 1946
I got their Burger lunch special a couple of times; it's a pretty good deal: a big burger -- with all the fixin's, as they say -- and some nice steak fries, for $6, I think. I was enjoying one when I noticed that there wasn't much beef flavor to the burger. What with all the "fixin's" to enjoy, I hadn't noticed for a while. I tried a piece of meat without anything else...and stil little to no beef flavor. From a steak house, that's mighty disappointing.
Mexican & Thai food recs in Lexington KY
Our favorite Mexican restaurant is Clamato's on Versailles Rd, just west of Alexandria. They specialize in seafood, and so have a more varied menu than the standard Tex-Mex.
The best Thai restaurant is probably Planet Thai on Nicholasville, but that's more a statement of the sad state of affairs of Thai food in this town.
If you're looking for spicy ethnic food, your best best is Panda Cuisine. Now that Chef Tong Xu is back they have a nice selection of (authentic?) Sichuan dishes.
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Planet Thai
2417 Nicholasville Rd, Lexington, KY 40503
Clamatos
2304 Versailles Rd, Lexington, KY 40504
Mexican & Thai food recs in Lexington KY
If you're ordering prepared food there, what do you get? There are a bunch of small taquerias that have opened in town; I'd love to see a knowledgable review of them.
Mexican & Thai food recs in Lexington KY
Pho BC is the best Vietnamese in town. They're located on Lowery just west of Nicholasville Rd, across from the Kroger.
Asian in Berlin -- and Germany, in general
I'm glad to hear it. I've never been to Thailand, so I can't speak to the question of authenticity. And I'm not so concerned about that. If the food is delicious (and not the same old thing), I don't much care whether it's authentic.
In the US, any city will have a couple of Thai restaurants, but, unless you're in LA (or a couple of other big cities), you can almost predict the menu completely: a couple of noodle dishes, the same variety of curries (green, red, massaman), the generic Pad Thai and satays. And, even more annoying, the food tastes almost the same in all these places. One suspects that all the food is being produced in one central location and shipped to restaurants around the country. The food is OK, but it's uninspired, to say the least. The situation with Chinese and Vietnamese is similar. Decent food, decent prices, but quickly bo-o-o-oring.
I'll be in Berlin this summer, and I've read through Chowhound (and a couple of other sites) pretty carefully. The reports are encouraging, but I must confess I remain a bit suspicious. I'm happy for all the recommendations I can get, though!
Asian in Berlin -- and Germany, in general
In general, I agree with you: when in Germany, eat German food (and drink German beer). But I have an extended visit coming up (about 6 weeks), so I'm looking for a bit more variety. Most people speak highly of Thai and Vietnamese, but there are always a few nay-sayers like the one I quoted, and it reminds me of my experience 15 years ago, when the only Asian available was extremely mediocre Chinese -- allegedly Cantonese, but that's a slur if you've been to a good Cantonese place. These places were generally over-priced and dripping with red silk and Chinese lanterns, the dishes very timidly spiced, half of the dishes being of the "sweet and sour" variety with big chunks of pineapple.
If you want to hear my opinion about the state of Asian food in the States, I'd be happy to go on, but my concerns were whether the Thai, Vietnamese, etc. were merely an expansion of the Chinese restaurants of the Nineties, or whether they represent a significant improvement in the restaurant scene...at least in the larger cities.
Asian in Berlin -- and Germany, in general
An anonymous commentator to the New York Times said, "Any food with sweet and sour sauce or coconut milk is considered 'authentic' Asian" in Berlin. I know a number of years ago, the state of Asian cuisine in Germany in general was truly dreadful, but it seems that that has changed substantially in the past 10 years. Comments? Those familiar with Asian (esp. Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese) restaurants in both Germany and the US, how do the two compare?
Best Turkish Restaurant in the State of Kentucky
I tried the Istanbul Palace a couple of times when it first opened, and was a bit disappointed. I didn't think it was as good as Oasis, although there zucchini pancake was novel and pretty good. More recently, I've been going to Sahara in Beaumont Plaza. Perhaps it's time to give Istanbul another try.
Cheap to Mid-Range Kreuzberg Eateries?
First, a big thank you to lingua and desy. Going through the Berlin posts, you guys have been incredibly generous with your time and experience in helping us visitors to the Stadt. We owe you a major debt of gratitiude.
As for qype, it may have something to do with the way I was browsing. I think I was just looking at the top recommendations in each neighborhood, so that may explain why things were so positive. Of course, that's what I want to know: what's good?
Speaking of qype and "mid-range Kreuzberg eateries", the topic of this thread, two places got very good recommendations that haven't been mentioned on Chowhound: Mustafas Gemuese Kebab on Mehringdamm and a Vietnamese place called 3 Moms on Hornstr. Any experience with either of these places?
Also, lingua is always raving about Henne, but the qype-line gives the nod to Huehnerhaus. Thoughts?
Lastly, do you have the names of those Vietnamese and Egyptian places, Desy?
Thanks again for all the assistance. I'm eagerly awaiting my trip in July.
Cheap to Mid-Range Kreuzberg Eateries?
I looked at some of the restaurant reviews on Qype. It was fun to check out, but I was surprised at all the positive reviews. Everything seems to be 4- and 5-stars. I thought Berliners were more critical! The worst anyone seemed to say was, "I don't know what all the hype is about." The problem is one is left with a long list of interesting restaurants -- not all of which can be good. Can they?
Berlin recommendations?
Here's a link to a New York Times article about such Weinerein.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/travel/10Bite.html?scp=12&sq=Berlin&st=cse
Berlin Child-Friendly?
I’m going to Berlin for a month this summer, and we’re looking for recommendations for all sorts of places – except expensive up-scale. We’ll have our 8-year-old son in tow, so kid-friendly is a plus. We like charming smaller places and street-food/Imbiss-type places, too. We’d also like to hear about Biergartens and food markets. We love Doener, but would like to try some sit-down Turkish, too. Traditional German and Asian, too. We’ll be staying near the Gleisdreieck, that is, on the border of the Kreuzberg, Schoeneberg, Tiergarten neighborhoods, but we’re willing to travel, if it’s worth the trip.
