Taste of Melrose Park, August 30-September 1

Taste of Melrose Park, August 30-September 1

Though it has never been quite the same without the monkey, I still totally dig this event. I think you will, too: http://www.melrosepark.org/melrose.php?melrose=mp/taste

Me and Gebert (mostly Gebert) put together this video a few years ago, which I think does a good job of giving you a taste of this Taste:

My second favorite food event in Chicago behind the LTH picnic. I cant wait to go!

How is the parking there? What is the best time to go where its not so crowded? I imagine the afternoons are not as crowded as the evening.

We always park on the street (though sometimes 3 blocks or so away). Earlier is always better.

David Hammond wrote:We always park on the street (though sometimes 3 blocks or so away). Earlier is always better.

Parking can be frustrating because it's pretty spread out on the adjacent side streets -- and not right at the actual event -- but once you walk to 25th Avenue, they'll be running plenty of golf carts to shuttle attendees back and forth (along 25th Avenue).

=R=

Thanks. Looks like I will go on Sunday later part of afternoon. By the way, great film.

Toria, just so you know, some vendors may be sold on by the last hours of the last day of the festival (e.g., Dom's lupini beans, maybe the arancini, are usually sold out by then).

Fingers crossed the rain misses us this evening. We are looking forward to sfingi, arancini, and artichoke casserole!

Octarine wrote:Fingers crossed the rain misses us this evening. We are looking forward to sfingi, arancini, and artichoke casserole!

We were going to head out there this evening, but this rain will most definitely put the kybosh on most festivities.

Yeah, its clear now but i doubt they are open Maybe tomorrow night!

Its sad its rained on all these Labor Day festivals. Chance of rain tomorrow too. They probably will have a lot of food left over as people won't attend in many numbers.

Just came back from the TofMP. It was beastly hot but it was a well organized fest and seemed to have facilities for shade and sitting down. Wish the food tents were closer to the front instead of back as far as they were. High points were the stuffed Melrose peppers, the arancini and the sfingi. The artichoke casserole was bland and tasteless and the stuffed mushrooms were just okay. I would have like to have tried more things but I was stuffed from the above and it was beastly hot. They need to have a double tent for sfingi as the line was long. We saw Governor Quinn there.

Does anyone know if the sfingi that are featured has ricotta cheese in the dough? I would like to make them but there are such a wide variety of recipes on the internet its hard to know which one to use.

We were here a little later than toria, so the weather was actually kind of nice. Gotta disagree on the artichoke casserole. Mine was absolutely delicious. The hightlight for me were the baked clams. So flavorful largely because of the herbacious breading. I went to get 3 raw clams at $1.50 a piece, but they had no quarters for change. So I said I'd take 4 so they wouldn't have to make change. Instead of charging me $6, the kind lady gave me 4 for $4. With a dash of hot sauce, these were really refreshing - redolent of ocean goodness. The aranchini and fried bologna sandwich with mustard and grilled onions were also standouts. I don't think I tasted one dud there. At the end of the night, we did wait in line for over 30 minutes to get a dozen sfingi. Well worth the wait. I'd never had them before, so I was surprised at the delicate ricotta flavor wrapped in ooey gooey sugary, doughy delights. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Thanks to everyone who attended this weekend. The weather definitely put a damper on things, particularly on Friday night. I enjoyed a lot of the same things everyone else did, including the stuffed peppers but i prefer them without the bun. A lot of great vendors there, and my personal tip on sfingi is to get there early on Saturday or Sunday. No lines then, or minimal at best. I love them, but if mass is shorter than the line to get them I will wait until the next day.

toria wrote:Does anyone know if the sfingi that are featured has ricotta cheese in the dough? I would like to make them but there are such a wide variety of recipes on the internet its hard to know which one to use.

Hi,

According to a friend who is familiar with the nun's sfingi recipe, there is ricotta in the dough. This recipe is supposed to be close to the nun's: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sfingi/

If you check out SkyFullOfBacons.com video on Taste of Melrose Park, the sfingi segment will confirm presence of ricotta in the dough.

Regards,

Thanks.

Does anyone know if you can use regular old store bought bologna for the fried bologna sandwiches? Is there a special kind?

In the event Sicilianos doesn't answer, I will paraphrase Don from last year: "We use the cheapest bologna we can find. We tried using the good stuff, but nobody liked it."

toria wrote:Does anyone know if you can use regular old store bought bologna for the fried bologna sandwiches? Is there a special kind?

Oscar Mayer Classic Bologna ("made with Chicken and Pork"), standard thickness, do not score / puncture dome as it fries, on Butternut White Bread, is my Melrose Park family's way. Nick DiGilio will tell you thin-cut and puncture. Do not believe him.

French's yellow mustard if you must, yellow onions "frizzled" (sauteed, in this context) in olive oil with a pat of butter to finish if you're getting fancy.

Check on all. Oscar meyer lunchmeat was the go to in my childhood. Do not eat it much any more but will make an exception to try to make this. The only thing I won't do is the butternut white bread....instead it will be Pepperidge Farm Italian style white bread which is a little more to my taste. I am wondering what caused the Italian community to embrace this dish. I know cheap and tasty but what else.

Toria,

I stand by what I said and what David posted. I have used Eckrich and the like and it doesnt seem any better. I did buy from GFS one year and that worked well too. I would tell you that Aldi's bologna is what i fry and I think it works very well. Not to stomp on Oscar Meyer, but when i used it at the stand, it was a nightmare. It shrunk into nothing and didnt cook too well in my opinion. If you like a thicker piece, Jewel carries one too, like the Scott Peterson (sp?) brand. I do tend to score mine on the side with a one inch cut or so because it keeps the slice flat and gets it cooked quicker, and more well done in my opinion.

As far as bread, Wonder or Butternut or the like works well. Any soft white bread really. The onions need butter, but add a little bit of sugar. They carmelize nicely. All this being said, i am not the chef that some on this board are, so ymmv with other options. Its just how I make mine. Yellow mustard preferred.

Thanks. Easy enough to do Aldi.

sicilianos wrote:As far as bread, Wonder or Butternut or the like works well. Any soft white bread really.

I would listen to what Don is saying. I would buy Wonder or Butternut for only two applications: BBQ when Gary Wiviott tells me I have to, and fried bologna sandwiches when Sicilianos says that's what they use.

Thanks David. Wonder is good for the sandwich, but if you are at Aldi, get their white bread. It works well and saves you a trip. There is no magic to the fried bologna sandwich. It is cheap, quick, and easy. Dont go crazy with them, save some for the next TOMP. I don't want an angry letter from anyone's cardiologist.

I made this for lunch today and thought it was good. I did not see it at the ToMP unfortunately. I sautéed a little sweet onion in a pan with oil and a bit of butter and a pinch of sugar. Then I took the white bread (I used Pepperidge farm because this is what I had) and buttered it and grilled the bread in the same pan the onions cooked in. Then I removed the bread and put on a plate. Added the bologna, again I used Oscar meyer cause I have not gone to Aldi's yet. Fried the bologna in the pan and when it looked done I put it on the bread. I added French's mustard to the whole thing. Very good indeed. I will be making this again.

Toria,

Happy to hear it went well. We are located in the Western set of rows on the south side. Our row starts with Cannoli and ends with Chicken Parm. Hope to see you next year.

Don