What about Kabob?

I've been spending my weekdays working and living just south of Toms River, NJ, and luckily have a friend or two who are up for culinary adventures in that area. Unfortunately, the area is mostly culture-less. Lots of Senior Citizen "villages" and such, with the strongest local immigrant population being Mexican. As a result I've had some decent Mexican food down there, but not much else.

Driving down Lakewood Rd. in Toms River on my way home from my friends' house, I'd passed a place called Salang Kabob this summer, and of course it got me curious. Turns out it's a small Afghani restaurant that was getting solid reviews on local food websites. My adventurous friends Frank and Aimee have a townhouse 5 minutes from the place and had been curious about it as well. Now, Frank's family is right off the boat Italian, complete with grandmother whose English is barely intelligable (but whose meat sauce is apparently unbelievable) and family functions where Italian and English are spoken interchangably. Aimee is Irish-American. Her homecooking wasn't really what you might consider exciting, and her exposure to cuisines of the world is quite limited. BUT, I'm stoked on her willingness and desire to try new crazy foods she never knew existed.

I'd never had Afrghani food before, but have eaten more than my fair share of kabobs and middle-eastern cuisine. They hadn't. We decided we had to try the Kabob place together.

The restaurant is small, but cozy and clean. It seems to definitely be a family-run place, and the lovely lady who took our orders and explained what things were made a point to say that everything is fresh and homemade - my two favorite things to hear in this situation. We were given a small plate with a few vegetable dumplings without ordering it, and it was very tasty, with red and white (yogurt?) sauces. Then we were given the hearty, grainy bread to dip in the sauces, and it got our mouths watering.

Aimee's potato dish (a special not on the menu) had a yellow sauce with spices I truly couldn't identify (A RARE EVENT!). We all tried it and were LOVING it. I got a beef kabob that was perfectly grilled and seasoned, over lightly seasoned rice with raisins (sorry, not familair with actual terms for this food). Frank got a light beef stew over rice (also a special not on the menu) that was like a standard beef stew, but AGAIN with flavors I coudn't identify. I felt out-gunned, but in the most delicious way possible. The chutney Frank and I were given to go on the little salad on the plate was pure herbs in what seemed like lemon juice or some sort of slightly sweet acid, and it was spicy and just awesome. We were given more bread to dip in everything, and DIP WE DID!

It was a treat to talk briefly with our waitress about what the restaurant was about and what the food was, and the food itself spoke volumes more than she could have verbally. This picture of our messy table and mostly-cleaned plates tells the tale, folks.

Vietnamese food on Marz

This past Saturday a dear Peruvian friend of mine asked me to accompany him to a Vietnamese restaurant he wanted to try in Jersey City called Saigon Cafe. He'd eaten Vietnamese food before, but never tried "Pho", which is my favorite soup of all time. I have eaten at many Vietnamese joints in NJ, and have found that the best ones are the places where an enormous bowl of pho goes for about 6 bucks, there's no more than 10 tables, and hardly an English word is being spoken in the place. Saigon Cafe was pricier and nicer-looking than I'm generally comfortable with, but we sallied forth.

We had the pork summer rolls appetizer, which was really good with just the right amount of mint, and it made me hopeful. I ordered the grilled marinated pork(my favorite pork dish, I think) over vermicelli and my friend (we'll call him Marz) tried the pho he was so longing phor. They didn't give you optons as to what kind of beef you want in the soup, which bummed me out. Ususally you get your choice of tripe, tendon, flank, brisket, balls (not testes...I think), etc. His pho had what looked like some brisket and flank, and that was it. It was served the the customary condiments(bean sprouts, basil, and lime wedge), and I coached him on spicing it up with a bit of Sriracha and hoisin sauce.

The beads of sweat on his forehead after finishing half the bowl told me he weas pleased with the selection and spice level. I almost went and got a mop to wipe his face with. He told me about some Peruvian hot sauce his mom makes that I wanna try, then wiped his forehead and dove back in. My pork was tasty, and the pho was very passable, but I want to get Marz on some real deal stuff in Edison. I also want him to hip me to some good Central-American food in North Jersey. I'll report on that when it happens. Maybe next time I'll take him to a cheap place that puts more cow parts in the soup. Also, sorry for lack of pictures, Marz' sweat dripped onto the camera and ruined it. Here's a stock pho-to.

New Jersey is a GREAT state to eat out!

Hi, everyone on the Internet. I've created this blog for a few reasons. Let me explain.

First, I love food. I am a chubby dude, make no mistake. I got that way for a reason - because I love the hell out of some food. There are few things that I'm more passionate about than eating a good meal. Music and fishing are probably the only two, and luckily they can all be combined to make my life awesome pretty regularly. I'm also from central New Jersey, which is the most ethnicly diverse area in the country (according to me). It does have the highest concentration of Indians, as well as an awesome population of people from all over Asia. Just a bit north of me is northern NJ, which is densely populated with all kinds of Europeans spanning that entire continent, with a strong concentration of Polish immigrants and Italians with close ties to the homeland (think Sopranos). We have inner cities with awesome soul food, incredibly strong Mexican neighborhoods (especially from Oaxaca), Southern BBQ masters....we quite honestly are just a super diverse state. We're like the whole country crammed into one small coastal state between New York City and Philadelphia, PA.

Secondly, I love exposing people to types of food they haven't tried, but that I think they would love. When someone tells me they like Mexican food, but have only had it from a chain restaurant, I take them to a tiny place in New Brunswick where I have to order for them in Spanish and you can get a burrito the size of your thigh for 5 bucks. When someone tells me they like spicy food but are intimidated by Indian food, I take them to a place in Edison with friendly waiters who take pleasure in explaining what things are, and where the expensive things on the menu are 9 dollars. My passion for food and willingness to try different things since I was a kid, combined with the diverse area I grew up in, has given me a very intimate relationship with all kinds of "exotic" ethnic foods. I am seriously thrilled to share my experiences and guide people into a culinary world they previously thought out of their reach.

Finally, I'm just a culture junky. I LOVE music and food from all over the world. I think music and food are easily accessable keys to break down cultural barriers and get to know about cultures of the world. When I've shown genuine interest in and appreciation for Jamaican music to people from Jamaica, I've been readily accepted and gladly educated on the entire culture. When I've done the same for Thai food to Thai people, I've gotten the same open-armed welcome. People LOVE to share the cultures they grew up with in their countries of origin with open-minded and appreciative people over here. As a result of my good-natured curiosities, I've gotten some awesome insights into the food and music of many of the cultures that inhabit this great state. I crave authenticity in all aspects of my life, so this is very important to me.

So, here you go. I'm going to try to take people once a week to sample a type of food they've never tried, and let you in on our experiences. I'll try to take pictures and share some stories, as well as fill you in on restaurants that you might want to try, and good ways to get into foods you've never thought you'd even want to try.