A Condiment that Really Cuts the Mustard

I don’t know about you, but I consider myself a connoisseur of condiments. Our home pantry is filled from top to bottom with all sorts of ketchups, marinades, relishes, mustards, sauces, chutneys, jellies and rubs. Does that make me a culinary oddball? Probably, so.

My father-in-law was truly a food purist, rarely ever pounding on the bottom of a ketchup bottle above a quality hamburger or steak. He believed that ketchup and mustard had no other purpose other than to mask the intended flavor experience enjoyed when eating Grade A beef in one form or another.

Perhaps, he had a valid point. Non-descript foods are given a boost and made tolerable enough to ingest when smothered in something other than grease. A fast food hamburger without ketchup, onions and pickle is sacrilegious. I hot dog without kraut, chili, chopped onions, relish and/or ketchup and mustard is unheard of. The problem is that many of the condiments offered up at fast food eateries are common, pedestrian and unremarkable. I find nothing redeeming about regular ketchup or plain yellow mustard, myself.

Fortunately, the adventurist foodie can find many variations on a theme when it comes to condiments. There are store out there that sell nothing other than hot sauces with hundreds of blends on their shelves. This is also true of mustards. They, too, come in many flavors.

On a recent trip to New England, Betsy and I stopped for lunch at a terrific Jewish Deli in Woodbridge, Connecticut called Katz’s. There we discovered Beaver Brand Deli Mustard, made in the great state of Oregon. Apparently, at Katz’s Beaver’s mustard is a big deal. They sell bottles of it to their patrons to take home and have quite a large inventory of it on some shelves near the cash register.

“Beaverton Foods has an international reputation for manufacturing quality products and the development of innovative condiment flavors,” according to their website. They regularly use ingredients like honey, horseradish, wasabi, garlic, cream, bacon and even cranberry and pineapple in their mustards to give them kick, sweetness and unique flavor.

The mustard we tried (on our corned beef and pastrami sandwiches) and later bought at Katz’s was “Beaver Brand Deli Mustard” with horseradish. The flavor was great with just the right amount of kick, without being overpowering and a consistency that I would call coarse, whole grain with mustard seeds. I love mustard seeds in mustard that flavor burst in your mouth when biting down on them. It’s the same sort of experience one gets when enjoying caviar on sushi or steel cut oatmeal.

Beaverton Foods must be something right with their condiment products. They’ve been in business for over eighty years (1929) and four generations of “beavers.” Today, they are recognized as the largest producer of non-refrigerated horseradish and specialty mustards in the United States.

Their story goes that in 1929 Rose Biggi started Beaverton Foods in the cellar of her farmhouse. To help endure the Great Depression, she began grinding her horseradish crop, bottling it, and selling it to local grocery stores. Through her hard work and perseverance, she not only survived the hard economic times, but also built the foundation of this now great American food manufacturer.

Calling it “The Mustard with the Biggest Cult Following,” a “Serious Eats” foods reviewer shared the following about this wonderful condiment in his/her review:

"Unbelievable stuff!”... "I'd just squeeze out a little bit on my finger and eat it raw." … "The favorite in our house."

So, why haven’t many of us heard of this great product before? The Beaver brand is easy to find all over the West Coast, and according to Beaver Mustard headquarters, parts of Chicago, Texas, Florida, and South Carolina—but beyond that, not so much. "Beaver has always been easier to find on the West Coast and Inglehoffer on the East," said representative Roger Klingsporn on the phone. That is why!

You can buy it online, though. Amazon.com offers it – FOR $17.00 A CASE! Believe me; a case is probably not too much to have around of this terrific mustard. According to Amazon.com, a case is only 6 bottles.

Wanna know what’s in Beaver Brand Deli Mustard? I thought you might.

Water, Mustard Seed, Vinegars (White Distilled, White Wine and Red Wine), Soybean Oil, Sugar, Salt, White Wine, Grated Horseradish Roots, Garlic, Eggs, Spices, Xanthan and Cellulose Gums, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Citric Acid, Turmeric High Fructose Corn Syrup, Lemon Juice, Calcium Disodium Edta (Retains Product Freshness), Artificial and Natural Flavors, Annatto, Red Chili Peppers, Ginger.

So, if you are hankering for a great hot dog or thick deli sandwich on rye, break out the Beaver and spread it liberally. Sorry, Dad-in-law, this one time a condiment really cuts the mustard.

Want to Make a Deer Dance? Offer It One of These Little Buttery Cookies

Dancing Deer Baking Company is a company of people passionate about food, nature, aesthetics and community. That’s a lot to be passionate about and still have enough energy left to invest into baking delicious, buttery cookies.

Dancing Deer was started by three company founders; all successful businesswomen from Boston, Massachusetts. The name comes from that of a quaint little New England antique shop owned by one of the women's grandmothers.

The founding troika included: a talented baker, Suzanne Lombardi, who originated many of Dancing Deer's recipes, a theoretical physicist/business strategist, Ayis Antoniou, who loves to cook, and a business woman/artist, Trish Carter, whose passion is nature and the environment. According to the company history; all three have since moved on, but many of their founding principles still remain with the management and employees of Dancing Deer.

Since 1994, the company has been known for its delicious tasting all-natural brownies, cookies, cakes and baking mixes, which are sold in specialty, natural food and grocery stores nationwide and online as gourmet gift arrangements for consumers and corporations. Dancing Deer has won many national awards and accolades for its distinctive products and innovative business practices, and was one of the first 25 Massachusetts companies to be certified as a Sustainable Business Leader. The company was awarded Elite status by STELLA Service in recognition of its high quality customer service. Dancing Deer places an enormous emphasis on giving back to the community, most notably by helping homeless and at-risk families through their Sweet Home Project.

On a recent trip through New England, Betsy and I discovered the great taste of Dancing Deer gourmet cookies in a little gift ship in Concord, New Hampshire. The store had four or five different types of cookies on their shelves. They looked awfully good, so we decided to try some at the shop owner’s recommendation.

We tried the “Tangerine Butterfly” shortbread cookies and found them to be firm, buttery and with a hint of orange flavor. They are so good you can’t eat just one. This is an all natural product with 0 transfat. Two small cookies equal about 150 calories, so go lightly – if you can.

Dancing Deer produces a fair number of distinct baked goods from brownies to shortbread cookies to cakes. The flavors are pretty unique, in many cases. Among the cookies are Molasses Clove and Sugar Cane Lime; the brownies include: salty caramel and peanut butter and jelly.

On a culinary website unrelated to the company a past customer of Dancing Deer products – perhaps - sums their cookies up best using the following expression:

"Surely these must be the cookies they serve in heaven!" They are among the best cookies I have ever eaten!

Now, these cookies aren’t cheap – especially if you order them at the company’s website. Even in the stores a small bag of cookies will run you about $6.50. The Dancing Deer website also provides an option to search for their products, locally. In doing our own search for New Jersey, we found Dancing Deer cookies to be available at a local Whole Foods Store in Middletown, NJ among other locations.

And so, you will ask, if company recipes are available for home baking. They are. In fact, company founder Trish Carter offers up some of her shortbread cookie recipes online at:

We enjoyed these cookies very much and will look for these and other Dancing Deer variations in our local area. If you like good cookies with a tall glass of ice cold milk, you should, too.

Mofongo Sounds Like an Insult to You, But is a Fine Complement to Your Wine

You are traveling to a place where English is a second language. One has to imagine that the locals are the best ones to ask when it comes to “getting around” town without getting ripped off for food and drink. So, we asked our taxi driver, “what's good to eat around here?”

“Mofongo!” the cab driver shouted out loud and seemingly in anger. “Same to you!” Betsy and I thought.

“...and the best place for mofongo is Cafe Puerto Rico at Calle O'Donnell, 208 San Juan (Puerto Rico),” the driver continued in his near perfect English.

Cafe Puerto Rico is a cozy little, bi-level restaurant on O'Donnell Street next to Plaza Colon featuring menu items that are prepared at the time the order is taken. The food there is fresh and delicious; especially their signature dish - mofongo rellenos.

Mofongo is a fried plantain-based dish native to Puerto Rican cuisine. It is typically made with fried green plantains mashed together with broth, garlic, olive oil, and bacon bits. It is often filled with vegetables, chicken, crab, shrimp, or beef and is usually served with fried meat and chicken broth.



At Cafe Puerto Rico, which is only a couple blocks from where most cruise ships dock, I chose the shrimp mofongo. Betsy had the chicken version. Both were equally well prepared and absolutely delicious.

So what is the taste like? Well, it's got the consistentcy of what one might call a "Plantain stuffing." The taste is rather Caribbean and unique with a hint of garlic and salt pork; balanced by a light Plantain sweetness - not too sweet, though. Of course, what you choose to put in it (i.e. chicken, beef, pork, seafood or vegetable) also influences the taste. The dish is considered a starch (Plantains), so take a calorie counting break this time around.

The Dish

Though the portions at Cafe Puerto Rico are sizable, the mofongos were so good that we left the place wanting more – knowing we probably would not find the awesome equivalent back in New Jersey.

Apparently, another past diner identified with our bigger-eyes-than-stomach lingering desire by sharing the following about this wonderful dinner entree:

“The mofongo was nothing less than heaven in my mouth! I wished I had two stomachs so I could order another one! (Well, as a woman...not really.) The plantains and fritters were yums as well but I was too full to finish them.”

The Place

From what we heard, this small and nondescript (inside)San Juan restaurant is probably best known throughout Puerto Rico for this particular dish. Not having tried these Spanish delights elsewhere in town, we will have to accept this nearly standard recommendation from the locals and other tourists. Coming off a cruise ship, it is certainly conveniently located. The square right outside the restaurant's door is filled with street vendors and music. It's a great place to pick up and smoke a hand-rolled cigar to walk around with. Nothing says "that was a great meal" better than a fresh cigar rolled right before your eyes.

Pricing for mofongos at Cafe Puerto Rico range from $10 for vegetable mofongos to $24 for the seafood filled ones. By the way, the restaurant has a very extensive menu filled with many Spanish and Caribbean choices. We are not able to recommend any of these other dishes, since we only dined at the Cafe one night. General reviews on the food served there are mixed, but our experience with the mofongo dishes was positive. By the way, the service was a little slow (it was very busy), but the servers were very pleasant and tried to be accommodating whenever we asked for something.

Again, the restaurant is rather small and centrally located, so if you go try making reservations or getting their early. As we were leaving, we noticed the wait getting longer. Apparently, this place is no longer a well kept secret to many out-of-towners.

Cafe Puerto Rico has a decent mixed drink, wine and beer menu; not overly impressive, but sufficient to choose from. There is also coffee and dessert available; that is if you are so inclined to enjoy an after dinner sweet. We hear that the Tres Leches is the favorite of most guests.

The Recipe

Want to try mofongos at home? We were unable to find a recipe from Cafe Puerto Rico, but we did come up with a video and recipe from an experienced Puerto Rican chef. Let us know how they come out.

Next time a taxi driver tell you to “go mofongo yourself,” take his words as a compliment and visit the Cafe Puerto Rico in San Juan for a wonderful dining experience.

Treat Your Tired Dogs - And Yourself - to a Wonderful Taste You Will Relish

If you are satisfied squirting thick and gooey yellow mustard on your hot dogs, you do not need to read this post. This one is for the adventurous tube steak eater; those searching for something more to top off their ‘dogs.

Traveling through southeast Maine, Betsy and I stumbled upon a roadside “joint” that seemed to have attracted a lot of customers; all lined up at the window ordering fast food. From the look of things, the place seemed long since established and – no doubt – popular with the locals. We decided to pull off the road and see what all the attention was about.



As we usually do when visiting a new food establishment, we asked some of the other customers, “What’s good here?”

“This place has the best hot dogs around and you have to order them with Flo’s Relish,” one fellow in line recommended.

“Flo’s Relish?” we asked.

“It’s like hot dog relish on steroids,” explained this nice fellow. “It’s what make’s Flo’s hot dogs better than anyone else’s”.

And, so we ordered our hot dogs Flo’s-style and ended up going for a second round; something we rarely ever do with fast foods that are ordinary and unremarkable. The hot dogs were great and the Flo’s Relish made them even greater.

Flo's Hot Dogs is located on Rte. 1 in the seacoast area of Maine, in Capeneddick, between York and Ogunquit.

Florence Stacy bought the business in 1959 and operated it for 14 years, then sold it to her son and daughter-in-law, John and Gail Stacy, who have operated it ever since. By the way, Gail is often behind the window and she is known by many regular customers as “the Hot Dog Nazi”. You either follow her ordering protocol or endure her stern look of impatience.

Ordering is easy at Flo’s. There are only two types of hot dogs: the "House Special" (Flo's relish, mayo, and celery salt) and the "Loaded" (Flo's relish, green relish, mustard, onions, and celery salt). Just get the House Special and get out of Gail’s face. These are small steamed hot dogs ($2.50@), so order yourselves two right off the bat.



Now, as for that Flo’s Relish we’ve been talking about. Flo's famous relish works well with many condiments such as mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. It is also very good on: hamburgers, steak, ham, eggs, beans and just use your imagination…

So, how would we describe this great relish? It’s dark - in color - and a bit chunky in texture. Call it a pleasant blend of sweet and sour ingredients. A food critic describes Flo’s Relish as “a bit relish-y, vaguely chutney-like and altogether mysterious”.

Yes, it remains “Mysterious.” Only two people know the ingredients, said co-owner Gail Stacy: herself and a company employee she has hired to produce a bottled version ($7.95). When pressed, Gail will say only that it contains onions, molasses and "spices." Whatever is in it – it is darn good stuff and worth buying on location or ordering online.

There are various unofficial recipes on the web for Flo’s Relish including this one. You can try it at home, but unless you have actually had the real thing, you will never know how close you have come to copying the mouthwatering taste of Flo’s Relish.

In the "Thick" of Clam Chowder Searching We Discovered Old Salt's

New Hampshire isn’t really nationally known for its beaches. Yes, they have a small shore of their own and most people who visit there either already live in the state or in one nearby. That being said, the east side of New Hampshire still makes for a nice late spring through early fall getaway destination.

Our children live near Keene, New Hampshire in the southwestern portion of the state and close to the Vermont border. Keene is a little, cozy college town best known for its annual Halloween festival, which tens of thousands of people flock to each fall.

Last summer, Betsy and I decided to vacation in Hampton, New Hampshire and meet up with the kids there. They decided to weekend in Manchester, about a 20 minute drive from where we were staying. This would be their own getaway.

Checking out Inns and Bed and Breakfasts in the Hampton area, we can across Lamie’s Inn (490 Lafayette Rd (Rte 1) Hampton, NH 03842), with its regionally well-known Old Salt restaurant. It was described quite nicely as a very homey sort of place with an excellent restaurant, attached. We later found out that it once served as the base of operation for the Eisenhower’s Thanksgiving celebration.

Thanksgiving of 1963 brought President and Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower, along with their son John and his family, to Lamie’s for two nights while grandson, David, was a student at Philips Exeter Academy. A personal note from the President expresses the sentiments of Lamie’s visitors for decades, “I cannot tell you how pleased the entire family was with the hospitality and courtesy that they constantly encountered during their stay at Lamie’s. All of us are more than grateful…”

Frankly, we are not quite sure if the place has ever been renovated since then. It is a decent place to stay, but nothing much out of the ordinary. But, what they do have at Lamie’s is a very good restaurant on the premises – The Old Salt. Gourmet restaurant? Not really. It is just a warm and cozy place that happens to serves good food at fair prices. What they do offer is an award winning clam chowder that they serve to diners on-site and offer to the public in cans at the restaurant and online.

Old Salt’s Clam Chowder (New England Style) has good flavor, is very creamy, and is a nice mix of potatoes and clams. If you buy the can, expect to have some cream on hand to add to the well seasoned stock. The stuff is very good out of the can, but is a notch lower than what they serve hot at the table of the restaurant. Still, it is better than most canned soups we have eaten.

Recipe? Of course, we’ll share that. But, for this one there is a video with the Old Salt’s Chef mixing up a batch of the stuff.

Another customer says this about Old Salt’s Clam Chowder:

“This restaurant had the best clam chowder I've ever had. We stopped in during their "Tavern Walk" this weekend (October 13). They had samples of the chowder during the Tavern Walk so my husband & I loved it so much we decided to stay and eat lunch.”

So, if you like good clam chowder and don’t want to spend the night at a – just OK – Inn. When you are in the are, stop by the Old Salt Restaurant for a bowl or stay home and order some online. It be clams, mateys!

Only the Margaritas are on Fire at El Compadre's in Los Angeles (CA)

Sure, sure. You probably have a favorite Mexican restaurant in your own neighborhood and don’t have too far to travel for your burritos and tacos. Besides, if you live on the east coast you are not likely to travel across the entire country for dinner, even if one of the better Mexican restaurants you’ll probably ever “chimichanga” at is in Hollywood California.

The restaurant I am talking about is El Compadre’s located at 1449 W Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles. For those more familiar with this part of Sunset Blvd, this is the Echo Park area of the city. By the way, El Compadre's has a second location also on Sunset Blvd.

On a visit to the "City of Stars," our son took Betsy and me to El Compadre’s for some “flaming margaritas” and dinner. The restaurant is well known for these (literally) fiery drinks – or should I say, drinks on fire! The margarita menu at El Compadre’s is sprawling - so many different kinds to choose from; and they are all well-mixed.

According to its very musical website (I enjoyed listening to the peppy selection playing as I browsed the menu), El Compadre Restaurant has been a Hollywood fixture since 1975 and “has been one of Southern California’s hot spots for Mexican cuisine and drinks”. Located along trendy Sunset Blvd in the City of Los Angeles, it was founded by lifelong friends.

Waiting for our drinks, we picked at the chips and salsa – picked some more - and we continued to pick until the waiter brought another helping. Sure, chips and salsa are to a Mexican restaurant what fried noodles and duck sauce are to a Chinese joint, but the chips and salsa at El Compadre are excellent and pretty highly recommended by many Los Angelinos, who know about such things. The salsa had the hint of a fruity taste mingled with its obligatory ripe tomatoes all pared to a perfect balance of liquid and solid – not watery, at all. Good salsa has to be moist and firm, not wet and runny.

The chef offers a recipe for his outstanding salsa. You can give it a try at home, if you are so inclined to do so. You will not be disappointed if you stick to the recipe and keep it firm and moist. Remember, firm and moist.

For my main course, I ordered the combination fajitas with beef, chicken, jumbo shrimp. This dish is also one of the restaurant’s signature items and spoken very highly of in many restaurant and customer reviews. It certainly lived up to its hype and its promise. It was crunchfully fresh, spicingly tasty, hottifyingly sizzling and demonstrably satisfying. Yes, it was YUMMY!

Let me just say that the portions here are immense. I probably would have needed a lawn and leaf bag to serve as my “doggie bag” had I taken any of my left-over portion home. The fajitas were so well prepared and delicious that I made a large dent in my serving, despite its battleship size.

Betsy ordered the Burrito Reanchero and Chile Relleno combination off the “Combinations Specials” menu. It was well-prepared and presented as a huge portion. She was very happy with it.

I do not recall what our son Steven ordered, but will say that El Compadre’s has an extensive dinner menu with House Specials, Chef Specials, fine seafood and steaks to choose from. This is not your typical tacos and burritos sit down "joint," though these old favorites are on the menu for all you traditionalists.

El Compadre’s is much more of an upscale gourmet Mexican establishment offering exceptional food, large portions, great service and fair pricing. And, let us not forget those superlative drinks – especially those Margaritas on fire (pictured above)!

As you dine, you are serenaded by a talented, traveling mariachi band playing traditional Mexican songs. This makes for an even more memorable dinner experience.

The desert menu is very limited here, but there is one treat worth ordering. The Bunuello Mexicano is a warm cinnamon tortilla topped with vanilla ice cream accompanied by Kalua, whipped cream and a cherry. It’s wonderful.

Another dining customer sums up El Compadre’s pretty well:

“My friends and I (4 of us) arrived on Friday night at 6pm and were seated immediately without a reservation. The service was prompt. The margaritas were good. The food was very delicious. Being from Texas and used to some good Tex-Mex food, I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant in WeHo. There was even a "trio" playing music”.

The Comfort Food of "Simple People" Soothes the Modern Soul

What can possibly smell better than buttery soft pretzels baking in an oven and wafting into the air in a confined space? Is there anything on earth that makes a better sandwich than sweet bologna on a soft roll with honey mustard? Can processed American cheese beat the clean, fresh taste of home-made cheddar or alpine Swiss from a local farm with well-bred cattle? And, where can you go for good and wholesome dishes like dried corn, cauliflower au gratin, green bean casserole and barbecued chicken, turkey and duck? The answer is: an Amish market offering Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine.

Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine reflects influences of the Pennsylvania Dutch's German heritage, agrarian society, and rejection of rapid change.

The Amish are a religious group who find their heritage in the Protestant Reformation. Generally, the Amish reside in close-knit communities in 47 states of the United States as well as Ontario, Canada. The largest concentrations of Amish in the United States are in Holmes County, Ohio, LaGrange County, Indiana, and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. If you happen to live near any of these areas, you are sure to be in driving range of an Amish Market, selling a variety of home grown and home-made produce and comfort foods guaranteed to satisfy anyone with a love of creamy casseroles, hearty soups and stews, smoked meats and a variety of entrees and side dishes based on the sweet and sour cooking bias of German immigrants.

The average size Amish family is seven or eight persons, so they have many mouths to feed. The typical Pennsylvania Dutch table setting during a meal often includes side dishes or "relishes" 7 of which are sweet and the other 7 which are sour. Such items have include items like Red Beet Eggs, which is a standard "sour" to things like cinnamon bread, or bread and butter pickles which would be a sweet, in addition to the regular side dishes and main course offered by a Pennsylvania Dutch Family style meal.

Many of the foods offered to the public at an Amish Market represent the above “7 sweets and 7 sours” typically served to families at an Amish Homestead. Granted, they are “simple people”, who don’t prepare such a magnificent feat each and every night. And, it is also true that some of the recipes made for the public are romanticized concoctions made especially for the American palate. But, it is all good and usually available at an Amish Market, which by the way are always closed on Sundays – the Amish/Christian day of worship.

When we are not visiting Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Betsy and I get our Pennsylvania Dutch cooking from the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmers Market 4437 Rt. 27 in Princeton, NJ. It is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays.

The market is made up of individual merchants that include: Beiler’s Dairy and Meats, Smoker’s Deli, Stoltzfus’ Poultry, King’s Salads and Jellies, Stoltzfus’ Fresh Pretzels, Fisher’s Bakery, K&R Lunch Counter, R&B Produce and Juice, Mom’s Candy Corner and B&L Woodworks. The prices for everything are reasonable and the choices, plentiful. There is also more than adequate on-site parking, if you go.

Here is what another customer had to say about this place:

“Omgggg pretzels with cheese steaks in it are just the beginning. They have amazing steak cuts (and other meats) that are $10 which make a good $50 steaks. The Delmonico’s, rib eyes, and filets are just out of the world. With a candy sections with everything you would imagine. They also have pies, cookies, baked goods, over 30 types of cream cheese, ready-made desserts, smoothies and milkshakes on site, different types of butter honey.....racks of ribs that are amazing and chicken in the back that is already prepped. Just bring cash (some of the stands don't accept credit) and enjoy the end of your week! They are open thurs-sat! :)”

Now, for those of you who cannot get to or find an Amish Market in their area, here is a tried, true and easy Pennsylvania Dutch recipe you can make at home – Shoo-Fly Pie:

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) pie shell, 1 cup of molasses, 3/4 cup of hot water, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 egg, beaten, 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup of shortening.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. To Make Bottom Layer: In a medium bowl combine molasses, hot water, and baking soda. Stir well. Whisk in beaten egg. Pour mixture into pie shell.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: In a medium bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Mix well, then cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of molasses layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 30 minutes.

If you have never been exposed to Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, you are in for a real treat. “Schmecks”, (Tastes so good)!

Moist Chinese Cakes Trounce Fortune Cookies

In order for a cake to be great, not just good, Betsy and I believe it should be moist. All of our young lives, we grew up believing that the best bakers in the US were inspired by Europeans. We had never been exposed to nor heard of the wonderful cakes made by Asians.

Who would have thought that Chinese desserts were anything other than Fortune cookies, kumquats and lychees? Growing up in the 60’ and 70’s we didn’t even realize that the Chinese had an authentic cuisine all of their own. In those years, Jewish kids never ate anything more exotic than chicken “charmain” and Won Ton Soup.

It was only after we escaped the clutches of our World War II era Brooklyn-born parents did we really begin to explore foods that were misunderstood and forbidden at home. “No pork spare ribs for you. You’ll get worms (Trichinosis).”

Passing through Philadelphia’s China Town some years ago, Betsy and I stumbled upon KC pastries. It still exists at its newer location at 109 N 10th St. Boy, is that place ever so good!

According to their website, K.C.'s Pastries, Inc. was established by K.C. Leung in 1995. K.C. started his baking career in 1976 at Hong Kong and continues his success until now. K.C. has been spending tons of time on bakery and pastries, his professional experience is going to benefit everybody who always wants to taste and enjoy something new! K.C.'s Pastries, Inc. has been voted as one of the best bakery in Philadelphia since 1996 from Philadelphia Weekly.

At K.C.’s, we found some of the most delicious treats we ever packed into a box to bring home. In addition to their wide assortment of pork buns (and buns filled with other wonderful delicacies). Among our favorite buns at K.C. are the curry beef puff, custard egg tart, red bean mochi bun, shredded pork bun, red bean cake, and custard cream bun. But, this post is about their moist cakes.

For starters, we like their sponge cakes, both the chocolate and coffee flavored ones. And...for finishers, too. Very moist and very satisfying. By the way, Chinese pastries and cakes tend to not be overly sweet like American-made pastries and cakes. However, the tastes of the Chinese pastries and cakes are still satisfying and just sweet enough to not give you a tooth- or stomachache.

Here is what another customer had to say about K.C. Pastries:

“This place smells heavenly. They have two locations in Philly, and they both sell the best pastries/baked goods in Chinatown. Prices are reasonable and they have some unique buns and cakes. I love their Snowy Mountain Top buns, so moist and topped nicely with a sugary crust that melts in your mouth.”

Would you like to try making your own Chinese Sponge cake? Here is a recipe that we are sure you’ll enjoy. As good as it make taste, it won’t be as much fun as visiting Philadelphia’s Chinatown and washing it down with K.C.’s famous Bubble Tea.

It's all Yummy!