Upstate Gold: Country Sweet Sauce

In honor of my impending visit to Rochester, N.Y., tomorrow afternoon, I thought I'd make special mention of perhaps the best sauce condiment on the planet. The supermarkets in Rochester are to me like a toy store might be to a collector. Living in New York City, we are hamstrung by grocery stores with little shelf space, the majority of that precious space being taken up by the endless General Mills, Kellogg's and P&G's of the world. Up in Rochester, the locals are fortunate to have such wonderful supermarkets as Wegmans, Martin's and Tops, all with wide aisles, lower prices and lots of interesting local fare, including Country Sweet Sauce. Since I like much of my condiments on the spicy side, I picked up a bottle of Country Sweet's hot variety which proved to be a good move. There's nothing like the combination of sweet and hot. This sauce tastes sweet to start, then kicks in at the end with just the right amount of heat. It's quite a versatile sauce as it can be used for cooking, marinating, barbecuing or even dipping. If you'd like to give it a try, you'll find it sold up in Rochester in at least one of the above-mentioned grocery stores. Additionally, it can be had by searching the internet as a few merchants do sell it online. Country Sweet is available in habanero and mild as well as hot. If you find yourself in the land of Kodak and Bausch & Lomb, you might want to check out the Country Sweet Chicken and Ribs restaurant and explore the restaurant's other offerings, including their breaded and fried chicken wings smothered in sweet spicy sauce. Sounds like a plan to me.

Latest Obsession

Do you like ice cream? Check. Do you like doughnuts? Check. The ultimate perhaps in desserts is just around the corner and alas, probably unobtainable for the majority of us. For one day only, Ben & Jerry's is unveiling its Homer Simpson-inspired ice cream, "Duff & D'oh-Nuts," a concoction of chocolate and cream stout ice creams along with glazed chocolate doughnuts. The treat will be available on Saturday, July 21st, for just that single day. Stock up if you can find it (I've read conflicting accounts of the ice cream's availability, including that it'll only be at the Springfield, Vermont, movie premiere), and good luck. No word as to if the flavor would at least be available at the Ben & Jerry's scoop shops. Indeedly-do!!

It Isn't Fried Ice Cream But Nice Try

Breyer's has finally decided to try to be hip by putting out a version of Fried Ice Cream. I haven't had any Breyer's in ages. Maybe the last time was when I visited my grandmother and she had a container of Breyer's in her freezer (no doubt it was the vanilla/strawberry/chocolate trio). You get the idea: Breyer's is for those who grew up eating it and aren't into the crazy concoctions of Ben & Jerry's or Edy's. Give Breyer's credit for their attempt at something unique. While there's no way it is Fried Ice Cream, it is quite good. It has lots of cinnamon taste and caramel light ice cream with honey caramel along with cinnamon tostada pieces which are a bit on the mushy side. I do think this product could also use a few more of the tostada pieces but overall it's a winner and definitely worth a try. If you want real fried ice cream (or a reasonable facsimile), try your local Chinese or Japanese restaurant, or Mexican places like El Torito or Chi-Chi's. In the meantime, I'll add this one to my rotation of tasty treats.

http://www.breyers.com/products/product.cfm?u=77567-26402&b=1

Now It's Really Miller Time ... Chelada Style

While watching television last night, I happened to catch a spot for a new beer by Miller called Miller Chill. I am a fan of beer, mostly the girlie-types like Hoegaarden and Corona, although at times Dos Equis, Tecate, Red Stripe or Negra Modelo work just fine as well. Needless to say, I've always found the manly brews from the Anheuser-Buschs and Millers to be undrinkable. Nonetheless I'm always a sucker for trying a new beer that sounds as though it could be very delicious so I set out to track down a Miller Chill, which is a beer that is inspired by a traditional Mexican recipe known as the "chelada," which is slang for the Spanish words "helada" (iced), and "chela" (beer); basically it's to serve light beer with a bit of fresh lime juice over ice in a salt-rimmed glass. My Chelada hunt only lasted two stores as I found it in a nearby bodega after coming up empty at The Food Emporium (I thought maybe it would be stocked for the NYUers, silly me). Even if the beer sucked, I'd be interested in trying it based solely on the green bottle which is quite eye-catching. After chilling my Chill, it was time for the taste test. I opened up my lil greenie and the verdict is in. Although I don't taste too much of the salt, the lime really shines through and it's quite refreshing. I'd say that people who enjoy Corona/Corona Light, Stella Artois and that ilk will really enjoy this beer. It's sort of like having a margarita in beer form. Miller's really gotten it right with this one and I think I'll now head out to pick up a few more Chills to have on hand in the fridge. What do you think? Will you be Chill-in with me?


www.millerchill.com

A "Plus" For True Lemon & Orange

As mentioned in a previous post, I was hoping that my friend Kristin—who visits a Target on Long Island on occasion—could pick up a box of True Orange for me. She came through again and not only did she get True Orange Plus but she also scored True Lemon Plus. After finishing our Thai food, she passed me my treasure. Finally I could try my newest obsession after weeks of "fruitless" searching. Once again, the True Lemon company has perfected the drinking art of getting the fresh-squeezed flavor into a bottle of water (they also make an additional flavor, True Lime, my sister-in-law Christine's favorite). The Orange flavor tastes exactly like just a few drops of orange were dropped into the water. It's very refreshing and a fantastic alternative for those who don't love the taste of plain water. It comes in little handy dandy packages (14 packets to a box) that you can toss into your bag. I've been drinking the True Lemon for at least a year and this version is also wonderful (the "Plus" refers to the fact that these mixtures contain 100% of one's daily vitamin C requirements). True Lemon and Orange are all-natural with no artificial sweeteners or ingredients, and have zero calories, no sugar and zero carbs. Try these as a rub or seasoning on meat or fish for a special treat. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Here's hoping that True Orange will be more readily available soon. If you can't find it in your local grocery store or Target, the products are available for order via the web. Here's to a refreshing, citrusy summer! Drink your lemon, orange and lime!

www.truelemon.com

Getting Naked For Chocolate

I've been a fan of Bear Naked's line of granola for as long as it's been available. I happened to be at Food Emporium when a Bear Naked employee was giving out free samples of--at that time--their newly-launched granolas. I was very impressed and immediately purchased the Apple Cinnamon cereal, which is still one of my favorites. Since then I've revisited Bear Naked from time to time but with so many varieties of cereals available nowadays, I've not paid all that much attention to the Naked line. That will now be changing. Bear Naked has come up with some more granola flavors that warrant a lot of attention, one of which I have sitting in front of me as I type this--I've been snacking on it the entire night. Heavenly Chocolate is its name and that it is. This stuff is as delicious as any chocolate bar and is truly out of this world. It's made with the better-for-you dark chocolate, whole grains, and makes a wonderful treat. You won't feel guilty snacking on this granola either. I haven't had it with milk yet but can only imagine that it would be addicting as a breakfast cereal. Bear Naked's line includes such flavors as Fruit and Nut, Banana Nut, and two other flavors that I am looking forward to trying: Blueberry Walnut and Peanutbutter & Jelly. Throw some of this in yogurt, enjoy it on the run, or as a delicious breakfast treat, it doesn't matter. Just eat it.

www.bearnaked.com