Heads Up! Lowell Folk Festival...

[fredid]

Next weekend is the Lowell Folk Festival (July 25 - July 27). Lots of food prepared by local organiations - but because they're making it for crowds, sometimes a bit ordinary in quality. Last year, Hounds found and posted about a variety of unusual, tasty things - octopus stew at the Portuguese booth (JFK), goat at the Nigerian table (part-time) at St. Anne's, some nice treats at the Latino booth at Boardinghouse. (These are the names the festival uses for various stages and their general (food) areas.) Some other goodies there every year: sweet potato pie at the African American booths (a personal favorite!), lots of Greek and Italian homemade cakes, pastries, desserts, pirogis at the Polish booth at JFK (they start lining up for these a half hour before the booth opens!), pilipino lumpia (fried pocket w/shredded veggies and bottled condiments/sauces)(This booth always has a HUGE line - 30 minute wait. Try going first thing at noon, if you really want it.) Lots of satay, etc in general. Poke around, and you might find other "off the beaten track" things! (And please don't forget to post! Hungry CHers will be grateful!)

Great music everywhere! "Tradtional" stuff from around the world - feeds the soul! For comestibles, I like to bring containers and bring some home. And be sure to bring a water bottle - although lots of grassy areas, it's usually hot!! Also, free shuttles from the commuter rail, and inexpensive parking.

http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/
http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/food.html
http://www.chow.com/search?search%5Bq...=

[catsmeow]

I've never been but am probably going on Sat. Any good recs for food stands to head for?

[three of us]

By city hall, the Polish booth has great pierogi. In that same area, the Portugese booth has grilled sardines (though not last year) and octupus stew and the Greek booth also has very good salad, spinach pie and other greek foods.

[lexpatti]

We love the Folk Fest, for food and music. I always love the food in front of Boarding House Park. Lots of asian cuisine. I was one last year that ran out to try that Octopus Stew and loved it. It's a great time. And come back for the music every weekend at Boarding House Park - you can pack a picnic and enjoy the bands or buy food there.
http://www.lowellsummermusic.org/page...

[fredid]

Just a reminder! Have fun...

[Prav]

aight

[Aromatherapy]

This year's highlight: the pepper soup at the Nigerian table at St. Anne's. I have posted about this place before. I was ordering a combo (goat stew, spicy chicken, rice) when galangatron walked by. G kindly helped me out with my combo and ordered the soup, which I sampled. Damn, it was good. So good that I returned hours later for another bowl. It's greasy, very pepper/spicy, and really delicious, but you should know that it contains organ meats (my 2nd bowl had a chunk of liver and something liverish but possibly sweetbreads, tasty with silky texture). Lord knows what else is in it. If that doesn't gross you out, try it! The goat stew was excellent and the chicken really spicy--my pieces were mostly bone but they gave me a lot of goat, so can't complain. The table in back was serving good-looking shredded pork sandwiches, but I was too full of goat. Note that the folks at St. Anne's aren't "official" festival vendors and aren't on the website etc.

[fredid]

Same good things as last year - stewed octopus (Portuguese/JFK, no sardines on menu - but I didn't ask!); Nigerian at St. Anne's yesterday; bacalaitos at Latin American booth/Boardinghouse, w/green cilantro and papper (? I'm not good w/ingredients...) salsa, also good pernil there (thanks, Galangatron!) We tried te beef satay at the Pilipino booth (also BH) which were tasty, and G. liked the sweet potato pie at NAACP, but not the fried chicken. Too stuffed to try much more in one day! PS - Also saw mortar and pestles in action for papaya salads...and G. didn't care for the pirogis he spent 10 minutes waiting for! He also spotted losh kebab at the Armenian booth (JFK), but don't think he got to them, and I didn't get my fatoosh - salad w/toasted pita and zatar. Rain or shine, folks!

[Infomaniac]

I asked for the sardines at the Portuguese booth and they told me they did not have them this year.
I did get a losh kebab sandwich and a side of pilaf from the Armenian's and both were excellent.

[galangatron]

had the losh kebab sandwich and it was decent. wasn't blown away. highlights for me were sweet potato pie from the NAACP booth and everything from the nigerian booth. especially the goat stew and pepper soup. thought the polish booth and filipino booth weren't worth the wait

walked down merrimack street and found two small farm stands selling asian greens. one of which had unripe baby watermelons. the man inside the booth said they're not sweet and are used as a vegetable in cambodian dishes

[galleygirl]

TC got the shredded pork sandwich from the stand at St. Anne's, thanks to Aromatherapy's post/// Chunks of pork (lots) with crispy skin, but no sauce to my eyes....It was $4; ridiculous! He thought it was better than his kibbee wrap from the Armenian booth back by Boardinghouse Park, which always has excepional stuff.
I got the Papaya Salad from the Cambodian booth back there; a little watery by the time I got to it, but they HAD made it up in a mortar and pestle.

Portuguese booth in JFK Plaza had NO octopus on Sunday, but I had bacalhao a Gomes, which is bacalhao stewed with hardboiled eggs, onions, peppers and big potatoes....Very good, if a little soupy. They asked if I wanted a bowl or a plate; should have gone for the plate. I also got a fewpasteis a bacalhao for us to share...Could have been hotter, but they were well-liked.

The Indian booth at the ambulanceentrance there had wonderful Indian Sweets, called Indian sweets. Homely little round balls that looked like savory fritters, we had to ask to find out what they were. Combination of flour, butter, sugar, honey and cardamon. Delicious, dense and sweet. The guy would have done a slightly better business if he had been sampling pieces, because for $2 a piece, they weren't cheap. At 1/2 hour before the end of the day, he had two huge trays that weren't going anywhere, but he didn't offer more than 1 for the price...Talk about bad marketing...I told TC I could have cleared that inventory in a half an hour for him...;)

[Pia]

I missed the Portuguese booth somehow, even though (I think) we were near JFK! I was excited for the octopus stew.

We had:
Papaya salad (didn't seem too hot at first, but I felt like my tongue was on fire afterwards) and chewy beef teriyaki skewers from the Lao place
Lumpia, fried rice, noodles, and chicken from the Filipino place -- I liked the lumpia a lot, chicken was a hit with the kid, rice and noodles were okay
Goat stew and spinach stew from the Nigerian place -- goat stew was mostly non-meat (I don't know WHAT that was, it looked like a fish skin crossed with a banana and I don't even want to know what part of the goat it might have been) but meat part was excellent, and the spinach was great too.
Empanadas from the Latin place -- the only bad part, they had been sitting out all day and were tough with a mushy filling.