Showing posts with label pop-up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pop-up. Show all posts
Chips, Crisps & Wafers Pop-Up Potato Chip Shop
About 2 weeks ago, I stopped by a market in Little India to get some supplies. In the impossibly long check-out line, the people behind me were carrying armfuls of Lay's India's Magic Masala chips. Chips have been my favorite unhealthy indulgence for a long time and over the years, I've more or less managed to wean myself off them. It wasn't easy.
Now they are a very infrequent treat, and this enticing flavor seemed to be worthy of breaking my chips ban. I enjoyed the Indian "chaat" type of flavor.
I found out that for more than 30 years, Barbecue flavored chips were the only flavor available outside of plain salted chips. In the 1990's, other flavors started coming in. Many crazy flavors can be found for sure these days, but after comparing them to some of the international and even U.S. regional flavors, I craved something more than Zesty Ranch!
When a friend emailed me a link to this global Potato Chip Pop-Up shop, in the IAM8BIT art gallery, called Chips Crisps &Wafers, I knew it had to fit into my busy holiday schedule somehow.
I was detained at another event during opening night, but later on in the weekend, we managed to squeeze a visit in. Good thing because today is the last day it's running.
The exhibit is pretty straightforward with over 50 varieties of chips flown in from around the world as well as within the U.S. The bags went for a fairly steep 5 bags for $20 and a bit more for larger bags.
Samples were not offered, nor were bags of sold out chips on display, so the mysteries inside each bag could only be discovered on your own. They'd also make stocking stuffers anyone would love.
On opening night the inventory practically got decimated. I read that the first flavors to sell out were President's Choice Maple Bacon from Canada and Haldiram's Aloo Masala from India (which might have been similar to the bag of Magic Masala). Even the Ketchup flavor had sold out.
Here are a few flavor highlights from what remained during our visit. Let's start closer to home.
USA
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| Herr's Baby Back Ribs - Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Zapps' Cajun Crawtator - Louisiana, USA |
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| Zapps' Cajun Dill Gator-Tators - Louisiana, USA |
Zapps chips seem to have a cult following, and like most food from Louisiana, they never disappoint. The Cajun Dill Gator-Tators is a flavor I tried and they were fantastic. I love sour and love spicy, so this blend worked on all levels.
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| Utz The Crab Chip - Pennsylvania, USA |
I didn't taste these, but one can hardly go wrong with crab + old bay seasoning on something fried. An added fun fact is that Utz was a product represented by ad agency Sterling Cooper on Mad Men, my favorite TV Show.
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| Dirty Potato Chips Funky Fusion - Tennessee, USA |
I stared at this bag for a long time wondering what Funky Fusion entails. The woman from the gallery noticed and shared that it mixes all of the Dirty flavors. Sold! They were very highly seasoned, to the point where I couldn't taste the potato, but I do enjoy over-spiced food.
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| Herr's Fire Roated Sweet Corn - Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Dandy's Hot & Spicy Shrimp - Louisiana, USA |
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| Herr's Old Bay - Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Zapps' Voodoo - Louisiana, USA |
Louisiana clearly wins on tempting flavors, in the US category.
UK
England definitely loves their meat and potato flavors, but also managed some creative combinations.
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| Seabrook's Beefy - Yorkshire, England |
Notice the "Lovingly Cooked in Yorkshire" slogan. Charming.
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| Tesco's Goat's Cheese & Sticky Chili Jam - UK (sold out) |
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| Tesco's Hoisin Duck - UK (sold out) |
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| Seabrook's Prawn Cocktail - Yorkshire England (also lovingly made) |
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| Walker's Roast Chicken - UK |
These chips had a mild chicken flavor, very subtle. The potato taste shone through. Walker's makes the shortbread cookies, very popular in the US also.
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| Walker's Salt & Shake - UK |
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| Roysters' T-Bone Steak & Golden Wonder's Sausage & Tomato - UK |
Let's move on to Asian flavors, which always come through on creativity and taste.
Japan
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| Calbee's Seaweed & Salt - Japan |
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| Calbee's Seaweed & Salt - Japan & Haldiram's Aloo Masala - India (sold out) |
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| WME Wasa Beef's Plum Wasabi - Japan |
Canada
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| President's Choice Spicy Peri Peri (African Birds Eye Chili) - Canada/South Africa |
Within about 15 minutes we were checked out with purchases and on our way.
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| Gallery's window display, from inside |
Le Comptoir Pop-up Dinner
While we are on the vegetables as star of meal subject, with the Leif Hedendal post, there is another great example of this style of cooking.My visit to Le Comptoir, months ago, was not my first experience with Chef Gary Menes' bold cuisine. I've enjoyed his food at Palate and Marché, both of which have since closed. He also is known for his stint at French Laundry, my dream dining destination.
The meal consisted of 5 courses set menu, with optional swaps for 3 of the courses for a supplemental fee.
He describes his food as "hyper seasonal" and indeed that fits the bill.
amuse bouche - buratta, cherry tomatoes, farinette
A farinette is a savory pancake from the Auvergne province of France. All components combined into the perfect bite.
Le Comptoir is now in a new location, however, our meal there was at the whimsical Tiara Cafe setting in downtown L.A.
The name, Le Comptoir is French for "the Counter", and that's how dinner is served - on about 12 counter seats with a great view of the kitchen action.
first course (supplement) - hudson valley foie gras terrine, cherry compote, saba
Choosing supplements over the original mushroom course of veloute champignon de paris changes the direction of the meal a bit. My dining companion and I both chose the foie since the foie gras ban loomed in the not too distant future. Other than this, we did not choose any supplements.
The rich terrine balanced well with the sightly tart compote and the saba, an unconcentrated slightly sweet grape vinegar, thought of as tasting like carmelized grapes. I tried saba for thte first time at the Wolvesmouth underground dinner, in a stunning tomato salad which you can see at this post, if interested.
The presentation of this and all dishes impressed.
second course - sunny side-up egg, young lettuce, herbs jus vert
Where to begin with this dish? I sat somewhat mesmerized just watching the technique and the care that went into this dish. It turned out to be one of the most decadent and tasty egg experiences I've ever experienced. And I do love eggs!
second course - sunny side-up egg, young lettuce, herbs jus vert
Where to begin with this dish? I sat somewhat mesmerized just watching the technique and the care that went into this dish. It turned out to be one of the most decadent and tasty egg experiences I've ever experienced. And I do love eggs!
Who wouldn't want a perfectly cooked egg in a blazing hot personal sized skillet? The egg generously browned with butter, came with a platter of interesting accompaniments - flower petals, baby lettuce, pepper, that can be added to personal taste.
On top of that the server brought over a pitcher of sorrel herb jus to pour on top, which she said she forgot to bring earlier. The freshness of the greens with the creamy egg presented something new. You don't have to eat eggs only with toast.
Frankly I'm happy I got to eat half the egg before the jus got poured over it. Although I loved the jus on its own, the strong herbal taste overpowered the egg just a bit. At least I would have liked to control the amount of jus myself.
I could gush about this dish the rest of the post, but let's move on.
I could gush about this dish the rest of the post, but let's move on.
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| Click on photo to enlarge |
third course - veggie & fruit plate
I heard this is the chef's signature dish. The humble name fails to capture the variety of flavors and textures bursting from the plate. They seemed to have been prepared in all different ways, reminding me of the Raymond's Salad of Forgotten Root Vegetables, which you can see here.
The plate featured yam, carrot, pickled onion, corn, beet, kohlrabi, tangerine, fava bean, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, celtuce lettuce (lettuce with celery-like stalk), carddon, green bean.
fourth course - artichokes, english peas, spring onions, sugar snaps, pea trendils, jus d'onion
The next course, wonderfully savory, also featured a gorgeous assortment of vegetables, particularly highlighting the peas - hearty and delicate at the same time.
fifth course - chocolate cake, orange, chocolate, sour cream, graham cracker
After eyeing the supplemental cheese plate from our neighbors, we opted for the dessert. I'd rarely turn down cheese instead of dessert, but wanted to taste how these flavors would combine.
The impossibly rich chocolate was tempered well by the other ingredients. I enjoy a bit of savory in a dessert and thought the unsweetened sour cream proved to be a smart idea.
My friend topped the meal off with the slow drip coffee, prepared by the Chef himself!
Walking around the Tiara Cafe between courses, I enjoyed all the creative decor.
During the meal we got to chat with Chef Menes a bit, as he interacted with all the diners. It surprised me at the end when he came around to our side of the counter to have us pay our bill on his iPhone. Once again, a very smart way of containing overhead, which is the true nature of the pop up concept.
