Since i have not seen anybody post about this today, i'd like to take this opportunity to point out, today is the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. You can learn more about it here.

I just got back from the grocery store, and i picked up some kombucha.

Yes, Bibulb, that kombucha.

I got the bottle home and suddenly had a sense of foreboding and didn't want to drink it, but then i thought of it sitting in the fridge for months (good till July 09) and actually going bad. So i read the bottle, and i learned a few things:
1. you don't shake it. because it's fermented, it's a tiny bit carbonated
2. it's also a tiny bit alcoholic (approx 0.5%), again because of the fermentation
3. it's supposed to be good for digestion, and the Chinese believed it helped balance qi

It tastes like a fruit juice that's been diluted and then carbonated. It has a bite a little like ginger. It smells like flat beer. It has little bits of goo ("the mother") floating in it, and it's freaky as hell the first time one of those touches your lips, but you get used to it. It's better to take swigs rather than small sips.

Gosht haryali is lamb and spinach in a red sauce. It's apparently a specialty at Shiva. When i read about lamb on the menu, i assumed it would be a lamb meatball, rather than chunks. It was a little tougher than i expected, but i enjoyed it. I ate too much Indian food, though, and got rather sick later.

I hope this doesn't discourage people from ordering the gosht.

I'll take suggestions for the next food to try.

This week's food: kishu.

I got an email from Central Market, promoting their kishu. Since they're only available a few weeks per year and i'd just started a food blog, i figured i should go buy some and try them out.

A few days later at CM, I had a little trouble finding them and was worried they'd sold out, but then i saw the sign. I picked up a couple, and they were very squishy, as if they were already quite ripe, so i figured i'd need to eat them quickly. I got one home and peeled it, and by the time the skin was off, the fruit was only a couple of mouthfuls. It's true they have no seeds, but i prefer tangerines.

Thumbs down. You can skip the kishu, unless you're desperate for novelty fruit.

Next: gosht haryali.

The same night i ate the boxty, i also had a Shandy.

I've heard of lemonade and beer, but the one i had at Fiddler's Hearth was ginger ale and beer (can't remember the type of beer now). It was good and sweet, with just a hint of beer aftertaste. Good way to drink beer, as the pub was out of cider. (Yes, really. Out of cider.)

I recommend the shandy.

NEXT: KISHU.

IT'S UNPRECEDENTED!
IT'S UNFRIENDSLOCKED!
IT'S FOOD-RELATED!

Starting now, i will post once a week to the best of my ability, a review of a food or drink i am trying for the very first time. Or maybe just info about it, so you can see all the yummy possibilities. Cuz i know you all care what i'm eating as much as i do. :)

Our first topic is : BOXTY.

A boxty is an Irish potato pancake. It seems to differ from a latke in that a boxty has a smoother texture. There is an old rhyme, "boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan, if you can't make a boxty/you'll never get a man", that was printed on the menu at Fiddler's Hearth. I can't decide if the rhyme amuses me or makes me angry. It's very silly by modern standards, but i bristle at it, too, because there WAS a time when that seemed totally reasonable and women were expected to catch and please a man.

I went to the aforementioned pub on Tuesday night with friends to catch a replay of President Obama's inauguration speech. I ordered the boxty mainly because of what was in it: smoked salmon, mushrooms, onions, and (i think) spinach. It came with a side salad with yummy tomato vinaigrette dressing. The boxty itself was huge; i made two meals out of it. It was folded over to contain the filling and topped with a cream sauce. The filling was delicious but nothing terribly out of the ordinary. The boxty had an interesting tang that i couldn't place, almost like it had a dash or so of malt vinegar in the potato batter. It was interesting in a way that makes me want to eat it again. It's something i could probably make at home (there's a recipe on the wiki). And besides, "boxty" is fun to say.

Next week : SHANDY.

i'm just trying to see how this thing works. maybe i should switch...

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