Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Polish/American Vegetables

      Today's post was another random find, which I discovered while shopping for regular old veggies a few months ago.  I happened to read some labels on some cans and jars nearby, and lo and behold, I saw that a couple of them were actually products of Poland.  Granted, the two examples were common foods, but since they were made and processed in another country I counted that as good enough.  Anyway, these were from the Pkl'd brand, their pickles (as in pickled cucumbers) and their sauerkraut.

     As usual, after trying them I went online, trying to get some background and information about the manufacturer.  And man, was that difficult.  This is one of the bigger mysteries I've encountered for this blog--not quite Kijafa liquor (see my June 5, 2021 post for more on that), but up there.  Because as far as I can tell, Pkl'd, or its parent company T'sty Brands Inc., doesn't have even a terse website, such as one which is just a product list and what stores stock them.  There's a website listed on the jars, but it led me to a message that concluded with "still being worked on.  Check back later.".  I couldn't find anything, not even a Facebook page.  It also was unfortunate that these folks chose one of the most generic company names--not shockingly many other businesses use "tasty brands," as their title.  (Even, oddly, a clothing line--I guess they're using "tasty" with a different meaning.)  The only info I could get was from other websites.  Some of these were mostly unhelpful, listing the calorie and nutritional details from one of their products.  Others gave some better background, but just a little bit.  For example, I learned that the brand name Pkl'd was registered as a trademark in March of 2019.  Three folks with the same surname were listed as director or officers--Anna Witek, Andrzej Witek, and Kryzysztof Witek.  (Although the first two were then listed as being removed a couple of years later.)  The company was said to be makers of meat, fish, poultry, game meat, meat extracts, dried and cooked fruit and vegetables, jellies, jams, sauces, eggs, milk, milk products, and edible oils and fats.  Another website, Buzzfile, gave an address, phone number, and a different list of executives--Andrzej Witek is the President, Krzysztof Witek is the Vice President, and Anna Witek is the Secretary.  Supposedly T'sty Brands was incorporated in November of 2017.  It also, amazingly, had an incredibly exact company annual revenue, of (allegedly), $367,688.  (What, no cents?!  How imprecise!)  The Connecticut address had an apartment number, and claimed the number of employees was 2.  Anyway, this information made it look like this company is still a very small business, perhaps working out of an apartment that's also a residence.  And probably needless to say, I could find absolutely nothing about what facility the foods are processed in back in Poland, or where they're grown, etc.  So I guess we're going old school, and the food itself is the only selling point, bereft of any online help as of now.

T'sty Brands, Inc., P'kld pickles:  These were small, gherkin-style pickles--about 2.5 to 3 inches long (about 7-8 cm.), with a diameter of about .75 inches (about 2 cm.).  Typical green color, with the warty bumps that are usually on gherkins.  Some vinegar-y odor.  I tried some plain, and they tasted like a regular sour gherkin.  Not the best pickle I've ever had, but not the worst either.  Solid, but not memorable.  I also tried some on a sub (aka hoagie) roll, with some beets and some of the P'kld sauerkraut.  This combo was okay, I guess.  All in all these were average pickles.  Additionally, for more information about gherkins, see my post on cornichons from February 17, 2016.

T'sty Brands, Inc., P'kld sauerkraut:  Again, the look was what I expected--shredded bits of yellow cabbage.  Smelled like vinegar.  As I mentioned for the pickles, I tried this on a roll with the pickles and some beets, and the results were okay.  Plain, it tasted like regular sauerkraut.  I'm kind of ambivalent about sauerkraut in general--it's alright on certain things, like hot dogs, but if it's not there I don't really miss it that much.  Plain this sauerkraut also tasted about the same as any sauerkraut.  It was better on the roll with the other things, but I can't say it was great or anything.

     In conclusion, if you enjoy pickles, and/or sauerkraut, P'kld's take on them will probably do just fine.  I was a tad disappointed, though.  I was kind of hoping that Polish style versions would be markedly different and special.   Like say, the subject of my May 1, 2021 post, about Cleveland Kitchen's sauerkrauts, including their take on Korean kimchi.  (That post also has some history about sauerkraut itself, if you're curious.)  

     As a preview, October is coming up soon.  Since it's Scary Month, I'll be posting about several classic horror movies, along with some other Halloween-ish themes.  And yes, at least one will be about a topical food or beverage.  Plus, obviously, detail about two publications that will feature my writing--the "Death's Garden Revisited" book, and the October issue of  "InD'tale."

  

New Issue of InD'tale is Out!

 

     As the title says, the September issue of InD'tale is out.  (Actually, it's been out for about two weeks--I forgot to post this on time.  Oops.)  Anyway, as in the past few issues, one of my articles is included, as you can see above.  Thanks as usual to Editor/Owner TJ Mackay, as well as to Executive Editor Katy Nelsen.  This month's features include articles by Tamara Cribley, S.L. Carpenter, Julie L. York, Grace Draven, and Breakfield & Burkey.   There are also interviews with authors Lucy Score and Kate Archer.  Along with the usual book reviews.  Here's the address:

http://www.indtale.com

     So head on over, and enjoy some free reading!  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A South American Meal

      About a month ago, on August 6, 2022 to be exact, I discussed a Nigerian meal I had while visiting a friend who lives in the Washington, D.C. area (Hi Dan, once again).  Well, we didn't just have the one exotic meal--we also got take out from Kumbia, a restaurant in Rockville, Maryland.  To be specific, I had the saltena appetizer, and the guatita entree.

    As so often happens, especially lately, it seems, the official Kumbia website was rather terse.  It essentially featured a list of their food and drinks, and then a link to their online ordering setup.  However, there were a few newspaper articles about it, so I was able to get some history about the place.  One of their co-founders, Steven Tobar, was until recently employed at the Cuban restaurant Cuba Libre.  He also enjoyed a local Spanish restaurant/bar/nightclub called La Tasca.  Alas, La Tasca was one of the many businesses that suffered during the COVID pandemic, and it closed in 2020.  Therefore, Tobar decided to open his own restaurant/bar/nightclub.  Tobar is Ecuadorian in heritage, and a friend of his, Alejandro Stoto, is Guatemalan.  The two decided not to specialize in one particular nation's cuisine, but instead make things a bit more diverse.  And so, their establishment serves food from throughout South America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador.  They chose a name inspired by a Latin American musical style similar to reggae and salsa, called cumbia.  (Obviously they changed the spelling a little.)  As is the case with the Nigerian restaurant I recently spoke about (Eko House), Kumbia is brand new, having opened on March 19, 2022.  Unlike Eko, Kumbia's hours of operation are much more extensive, as it's open 7 days a week, and closes at 2 am. on weekend nights.

     Saltena is a traditional Bolivian dish, which is a type of baked empanada, that's filled with either beef, chicken, or pork, along with potatoes, raisins, olives, and a sweet and spicy sauce.  (The sauce is inside the pouches, too, not just poured over it.)  Oddly the precise inventor of this food is apparently known, at least according to historian Antonio Paredes Candia.  He credits Juana Manuela Gorriti with creating it, in the early 19th century.  Gorriti was an interesting lady aside from her culinary skills.  She was a battlefield nurse, writer, and feminist, and was also married to the Bolivan President Manuel Isidoro Belzu during the mid 1800's.  The name Saltena is because Gorriti was from the Salta region of Argentina originally.  Saltena is often considered a snack food, and as such is a common offering of street vendors.  Each region of Bolivia has their own variant of saltena.  There is also a vegetarian version.

    Guatita is a national dish of Ecuador.  It uses tripe (stomach) that has been cleaned in lemon juice brine, cooked until tender, cooled, and then chopped up and cooked again in a stew.  Traditionally the other ingredients of the stew include potatoes, and the resulting mixture is then covered in a peanut sauce.  The vegetarian kind uses wheat gluten instead of tripe.  (I didn't see a vegetarian and non-gluten variant listed, so I guess if you have celiac disease and are vegetarian, you're out of luck on this particular dish, unless you want to invent something on your own.)  Guatita is also thought to be a good food to treat hangovers with, which is why it's often served on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  For more information about tripe, please consult one of my earliest posts, on July 3, 2012.

 

Kumbia restaurant, saltena appetizer:  These looked kind of like pouches, with beef, peppers, and potatoes inside them.  Also there was the gravy, which was brownish.  It made eating them a little tricky, as you had to bite them at the top so the gravy didn't pour out.  There was also a tomato based sauce to put on them.  All in all, the beef was decent, and these were a good appetizer.  They kind of reminded me of Indian style samosas.

Kumbia restaurant, guatita entree:  This was pieces of beef tripe with potatoes, sweet plantains, and avocados, covered in a peanut sauce.  The tripe was spongy in texture, as it usually is.  I'm a fan of plantains, so they were a nice addition.  Overall it was okay, but a bit bland.  However, I had some of the Nigerian gizdodo (see my post on August 6, 2022) left, with its spicy tomato-y sauce.  I put that on the guatita, and that improved things significantly, as the spice bite meshed well with the tripe.  So without the spicy gizdodo it was only mediocre, but with it the result was pretty good.  Finally, I can't confirm whether or not guatita is good for hangovers, as I wasn't suffering from one when I tried it.

     Although I obviously didn't try these, Kumbia does serve several other items that I've covered before on the blog.  Namely, the Colombian drink aguardiente (see my post on January 9, 2021), and chicharrones (pork rinds, and see the March 13, 2021 post).  Due to the continuing pandemic, we did not eat inside Kumbia, so I can't comment on its atmosphere and artwork, service, or musical entertainment.  Overall, I would give it a 4.0 out of 5.0 rating.  Or, a definite recommend, especially if you want to have some South American cuisine.  I'd certainly be willing to eat there again, presumably on a future visit with my friend.  For the record, online the Google reviews for Kumbia were an average of 4.7 out of 5.0, on 82 reviews, and Yelp had them at 4.5 out of 5.0 on 21 reviews.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A German Fig Liqueur

      It's booze time again!  This was another random find, which I noticed while shopping at one of my local liquor stores.  First, I saw it was flavored with figs, which is a liquor type I've never had before.  Second, when I picked up the bottle I read it was made in Germany.  So that sold it--a new kind of beverage, and from another country to boot.  The name of this drink was Kleiner Feigling, The Original, and it was made by the Waldemar Behn company.

     Waldemar Behn GmbH was created by a German man in 1892, who was not coincidently named Waldemar Behn.  This company, which usually goes by BEHN for short, started off by selling other folk's alcoholic beverages.  However, in the 1950's it started making its own.  These products were enough to keep the business going, but it wasn't until 1992 that BEHN saw one of its own brands become really popular.  This was Kleiner Feigling.  Which is a play on words, as in German "feige" can refer to figs, or to being cowardly.  So the brand translates into "Little Coward."  This is also the name of the brand's logo character.  Who is, like the Billy Idol song, or the fun old horror movie that song was based on, eyes without a face.  Two kind of crossed eyes, on a field of black, with apparent fear perspiration drops coming off the invisible, or incorporeal head of Little Coward.  All of the Kleiner Feigling drinks are made from vodka that's then infused with various flavors.  The original is fig-based, but other kinds include magic mango, red berry sour, coco biscuit, cherry-banana, bubble gum, licorice, strawberry colada, cookie vanilla, and green lemon.  Their alcohol content is mid-range, either 15% or 20% (30 or 40 proof).  These drinks are often sold in tiny 20 mL bottles, or basically, single shots.  Consumers have a custom of tipping the bottle upside down and then tapping the cap, to cause bubbles to form before the beverage is imbibed.  Kleiner Feigling was prominently advertised at the (now discontinued) German Love Parade, as well as being on the trunks of Hall of Fame boxers like Wladimir Klischko and Virgil Hill.  BEHN has many other brands as well.  Some of the more popular ones are Andalo (flavored with sea buckthorn), Dooley's (a cream liqueur), and Danzka, a Danish-made vodka that BEHN acquired in 2013.

Kleiner Feigling, The Original, natural fig liqueur:  Had a discernable and pleasant fig-y odor.  The taste was good--nice and fruity.  A bit strong, but not like a typical hard liquor, which makes sense since they're usually double the alcohol content.  I didn't enjoy it as much as the creme de cassis (see my post on August 21, 2021 for more information on that drink), but it was still solid, better than average.  Overall it was fun to try a liquor flavored with a different kind of fruit.  Also, I had mine plain, but others mix it with other liquids as a cocktail, or over ice.  And I didn't do the "flip it over and tap the cap to cause bubbles before drinking" tradition, since I hadn't heard about that until after I finished the bottle.  Therefore, I would recommend this for folks looking to try something new in a fruity liqueur.  Unless you hate figs, I guess.  I'll look for other Kleiner Feigling flavors as well.

     BEHN is based out of the small seaside town of Eckernforde.  Which, despite its size, has had a couple of famous denizens.  Olympic medalist Ruth Halbsguth was born here.  She won a silver medal in the women's 4 X 100 meter freestyle swimming event in the 1936 Summer Games.  Count Saint Germain  (1712-84) was buried here, until flooding destroyed his grave  in 1872.  The Count was a very colorful fellow.  He was renowned as a chemist, musician, diplomat, probable spy, adventurer, etc., and enjoyed the patronage of many royals of his day, because they found him endlessly fascinating and entertaining.  He might have been born in Transylvania, but nobody's really sure.