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The festival also had bbq, which I can't vouch for - including M + M. Among the vendors (generally selling crafts) was one guy selling pepper jelly - spicy and sweet. You often will find one or two "artisanal food" booths among the crafts; it's always worth a cruise through! (Sometimes there are also things like handmade iron utensils; this year a booth selling African crafts had a beautiful set of salad tongs. Just an example.)
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galangatron
Jun 17, 2008 10:31 AM
had a combo plate ($11) from the small jamaican stand. generous portion of curried goat and oxtails served with rice and beans, steamed vegetables, and fried plantains. meat was moist, flavorful, and fork tender. nice slow burn in the curry from ample use of habaneros
they also had beef patties, chicken patties, jerk chicken, homemade ginger beer, and sweet potato pie. i chatted briefly with the women behind the counter. she said they're a family operation and don't own a restaurant. or, as she put it, "...not yet!"
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Joanie
Jun 13, 2008 05:27 AM
I usually go. It's like your typical Harvard Sq. Mayfair or when the Central Sq. World's Fair used to happen. Lots of Indian, lots of sausage carts, random Thai, Midwest Grill, etc. Maybe you'll find a couple different things but don't expect too much out of the ordinary.
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re: fredid
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re: Prav
BarmyFotheringayPhipps
Jun 13, 2008 10:05 AM
Wow! We had so much given up on finding a place that serves okonomiyaki that we've just started making our own -- it's what Allstonian made for dinner last night, in fact! -- but it's good to hear that there's at least a cart!
I had considered responding to a call for volunteers at the Obama booth at the River Festival, but unfortunately, we've got unbreakable other plans. I definitely want to try to hit those JP festivals though if this cart will be there. When are they?
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re: BarmyFotheringayPhipps
galleygirl
Jun 13, 2008 07:51 PM
Wait, kids, Fredid didn't actually _SAY_ they were okonomiyaki; I was just guessing...maybe they were those octopus balls (which I think are more like fritters), takoyaki? Fredid?
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re: fredid
galleygirl
Jun 13, 2008 08:12 PM
well, if they weren't octopus balls, but fried pancake/pizza-things where you can choose toppings, they may well have been okonomiyaki... sounds like a safe bet...
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re: galleygirl
Don't know! Definitely not octopus balls...I WAS going to say they're kind of like omelettes, and having just read the Wikipedia post, and given autopi's and Joanie's posts about JP, I'd say there's a good possibility that Okonomiyaki are what I saw! No lashings with a wet noodle if they aren't! (Can you tell I wasn't a full-blooded Chowhounder, yet, at last year's river festival?!)
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re: fredid
galleygirl
Jun 13, 2008 08:15 PM
Any kind of Japanese pancake will do; you must have been a hound then, because yours was the only report!
Darn, I have to work tomorrow......
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re: fredid
Kip McSkipster
Jun 14, 2008 03:05 PM
For what it's worth, they had okonomiyaki there for $7. I didn't try one, and didn't get the impression that you could choose your own toppings. Seemed to be a pancake sandwich 6-8 inches across with some kind of fried noodle concoction in the middle. The top was zigzag drizzled with what looked like two different sauces.
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re: Kip McSkipster
Mmmmmm. okonimyaki-- I'm sorry I missed it! :S
This sounds like hiroshima style okonimyaki (layers, with noodle and cabbage in the middle). The sauces are probably okonomiyaki sauce (fruit-based sauce, dark, sweet and salty, sort of like the Japanese version of worcestershire sauce) and Japanese mayonnaise.
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re: another_adam
BarmyFotheringayPhipps
Jun 14, 2008 08:02 PM
No, thicker than worcestershire -- it's more like HP sauce. (In fact, some online recipes say you can sub HP Fruity if you can't find okonomiyaki sauce.)
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re: BarmyFotheringayPhipps
Oh, I don't know what HP sauce is, but if it's like okonomiyaki sauce, I'm intrigued! (I guess I didn't literally mean that they were the same thing, just that they have a similar underlying concept, of a salty sauce made based on fruit... Okonomi sauce is a lot smoother, though, and of course, less anchovier...) Some Japanese friends of mine say that when they were kids, their moms would sub ketchup with soy sauce mixed in, if there wasn't any okonomi sauce on hand...
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re: Kip McSkipster
litchick
Jun 14, 2008 08:14 PM
I can affirm that Okonomiyaki was there, and it was tasty! The choice was either with bacon, or without. We had it without, and it was big hit and big enough to share.
Other noteworthy items included drinks at the Irie Juice and Tea stand. We had the homemade ginger beer and the "nojito" (a mojito w/out alcohol) -- both from very fresh ingredients. I think the nojito was a bit better than the ginger beer, the latter of which, while it had a good flavor and fresh ginger & spices, lacked the intense heat and bite I would've liked. There was also a nicely spiced, though somewhat soft/mushy jerk chicken patty at a one of the Jamaican food stands. It tasted terrific, but I think that the texture problems were partially inherent, and partially due to the fact we didn't get one until 6p, and the fest started at noon. Our bad.
There was a lot of interesting stuff I wish I'd had the time/hunger to try, including the curried goat and some bbq. One thing I'm glad I missed was Thai Hut -- I can't believe that joint is still in business.
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re: litchick
galleygirl
Jun 15, 2008 07:10 AM
They sell Irie teas at the Cafe at Harvest Coop in Central Square. My favorite tea blends...
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re: litchick
Joanie
Jun 17, 2008 05:48 AM
A friend got a plate of food at what I think was Callabash, a Brockton Caribbean place, $10. Lots of food that was pretty tasty, tho the meat was on the dry side. Just had a little taste of pork. We also got ice cream at England's Creamery, or something like that. Had a half vanilla, half blueberry that was decent, $3. But the blueberry ice cream had an interesting side effect, ha ha. It seemed like there were more vendors and fewer food stands.
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