Yummy African Food

Pumpkin Fritters

My husband and I were wandering around Brooklyn one day looking for a place to have lunch. I did a search on Yelp and Madiba Restaurant appeared in the list nearby. Madiba is a yummy South African restaurant located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

My husband I shared the Shebeen salad. It was quite tasty and a great starter for our main course.

There were so many interesting choices but we decided on the bobotie. It came with rice and and some toppings. It also proved to be a good choice.

Bobotie

We decided to order some pumpkin fritters on the side. Not too sweet, they were great as a side and a dessert.

Pumpkin Fritters

I also loved the African decor and vibe of the place. I saw people relaxing outside. I would love to come back here and chill over a couple hours with a drink and some food. Next time Brooklyn, next time.

Highland games

Once a year a time comes in Central Florida where there is a celebration of all that is Scottish. It is called the Central Florida Scottish Highland Games. Every year it comes and every year I miss it because it is always scheduled on a weekend I have to work. Luck would have it that I was able to arrange my schedule to have this day off work so I could attend this year.
I am glad I finally got to attend.

The first task was to find my clan. I recently became aware of my Scottish heritage so I spent some time trying to locate the clan I hail from. There are a series of tents set up that talk about each of the different clans. Locating my tent proved harder than I thought because a name could possibly be part of a couple different clans. What matters is the area that your relative lived in. I wasn’t 100% sure so it was back to the drawing board to figure that out later.

Along with the clan tents, there were tents set up to purchases things to represent your Scottish pride.

I really wanted to buy a tartan that represents my heritage but not being 100% sure of the clan I held out this time.

Next it was on to the snacks. I started off with a haggis taco from tijuana flats. It was decent. The toppings masked the haggis flavor quite a bit. It was no haggies, neeps and tatties but it would suffice.

I love Sticky Toffee Pudding. But I didn’t get any; too much food to try and I didn’t leave room.

Later on I had a craving for a meat pie. I shared a meat pie and sausage roll with my husband. MMMMM meat in bread, yummmm!

One of the highlights of the festival is the beer vendor Dunedin Brewery. This Florida brewery provides all the tasty beer beverages for the festival.
The only bad thing about the process is the 2 separate line process that these festivals like to do. You wait in one long line for a ticket to buy and beer and then another long line to get served the beer.

They do have these handy pitchers that can be reused year after year. It saves line time.

After gathering food and beverage they have a limited number of tables under tents, or you can sit on the lawn and watch the entertainment.

We ate quickly and went out to watch the entertainment.
I got to listen to some talented bagpipers.

There is an area with highland animals. These two hairy coo’s must have been hot here in Florida.

Finally it is time for the manly man games. We spent some time watching feats of strength.

And my husband tried his hand at archery.

And more manly games.

We finished the night watching a Scottish modern rock band play. I can say it was a very entertaining day and worth the wait.

Here is a short video of some of the nighttime entertainment,

Tavern on the Green

My friend was getting married and to celebrate we had brunch at the infamous Tavern on the Green.

Eataly

After asking for NYC recommendations our friend suggested Eataly NYC. It is difficult to explain what it is. I guess a simple description of Eataly would be a collection of restuarants, food markets, and food related products.

When you sit down to eat at Eataly, you must choose a specialized restaurant to eat at. The menu will be limited to dishes of a certain food type. If you want to try variation, you must move on to another restaurant.

We choose Il Pesce NYC, a fish restaurant, to start with. We ordered a salad and fish to share.

My husband loves whole fish and this orata did not disappoint. It was cooked perfectly.

While we enjoyed our salad and fish, Eataly was quite busy.

When we were ready to move on to the next food stuffs the restaurant portion was getting ready to close. We were unable to try more of the restaurants.

I was able to spend some time looking at all the food for purchase at the market.

I love squid ink pasta.

There are so many desserts. Too bad I was not in the mood for dessert. They look so good.

Last but not least is the cheeses. I could tell if I lived in NY this would be where I would hang out. I will take a cheese plate over a dessert any day!

Todd English Food Hall

Caviar Bar at the Food Hall

Last fall I met my good friend in the city for her bachelorette party. Some of us arrived early and decided to start with champagne at The Plaza to celebrate early.

We worked up an appetite so one of the other girls suggested we visit the food hall that was “downstairs”. They led me to the Todd English Food Hall. I am surprised I have never heard of it before because I love food, and there is a ton of it there.
While we were deciding what to eat I got to see many interesting treats.