I left the house early so i could get a good spot to park the car... Spendy to pay for parking there at nearby parking lot. $25 smackaroos, sorry sugar mama but I was not going to take the bus in my uniform. Not that i'm embarrassed, I'm proud to represent, but eh, bad knees have been sore the past few days and I wasn't up to standing and waiting and standing and riding and walking at the market and standing and waiting and... you get the point but that's beside the point.
I'm an hour and a half early so i take the time to stroll down the road going towards Starbucks for a morning brew. I get that then walk back up and stop at Le Panier. It smelled so warm and buttery it was hard to just walk by it the first time, but i had to go get my drink first then get my bread for breakfast. I purchased a sweet walnut roll. It was not sticky sweet like a cinnamon roll. It was light like a croissant, lightly sweetened with walnuts on top... Nom nom nom nom nom. I highly recommend this place.
Our assignment was to interact with the vendors about thier places, try something new, check out the kitchens at different restaurants etc. For our Sanitations class we were to observe the different food places and spot different Sanitation violations. Before i went to meet everyone I was snapping shots of Sanitation violations and the first place i see with a violation is Piroshky Piroshky... Oh, I'm sorry, do you like that place? WEEEEeeeell, So there are 2 huge things of dough on the counter Uncovered left there unattended to rise, and one is right next to the Dirty window... and it's rising and getting fatter and now it's touching the windeow with oh, I don't know, streaks of fat maybe, and splatters of flour that Lord know how long it's been on the window. Not to mention not knowing whether a fly has buzzed on by and decided to light it's feces landing body on the dough. Then I look down and there is an uncovered 5 gallon bucket of sugar under the counter, and on the handle of this container is what looks like oh, maybe 3 or 4 pieces of 1/4" long hair. I'm not saying that it was hair but that's what it looked like. And next to the sugar was a trash bin. So, I'm rolling the dough, I'm throwing something into the trash, oh, it went into the sugar... Um... Don't eat there. Well, I'm not going to eat there, you can if you really want to.
The first place we went to was downstairs and out to the alley to look at the Gum Wall. It was Cool and totally disgusting at the same time. You can smell the gum before you turn to walk out the door and into the alley. Then you look up and across the way and the brick wall is just Covered with "chewed" gum. It was all full of vibrant colors and germs. As I was taking pictures I was hoping i didn't trip and fall into the wall. It looked cool but it grossed me out. So after gawking and snapping photos, up the stairs I went and after using the hand rail I pulled out my Hand Sanitizer because one never knows what germs are lurking on the rails. Sanitation class is Not helping my germ phobia. I won't even read magazines in a Dr.'s office. Sick people touch those magazines, coughing into their hands then turning the pages... (shiver)
Into DeLaurentis we went. An Italian Deli full of Cheeses and cured meats. My new thing to try was Euphoria, cheese made with sheeps milk. It was quite good with a sweet undertone, mildly sharp and salty aftertaste. Then there was Speck, a type of Prosciutto that was to die for. I should have bought some, now that i think about it. Good stuff.
So, there is this place that Ofa, one of my friends from the boat, likes to buy gibblets at. It's called Chichen Valley. First thing i thought to myself before the field trip was, I want to check the chicken for Time temperature abuse. Food is supposed to be held at 41 degrees f and lower for cold or 135 degrees f and above for hot foods. So i buy a piece of chicken and stuck my thermometer in it... Good news, it was at 165 degrees... I'll not be hesitating to eat there anymore lol. Too bad i wasn't hungry because i gave the chicken away to a classmate. Damned skinny people are Always eating...
The fun part for me was being able to go into The Athenian restaurant, my favorite place to eat at the market, and walk up and have a conversation with the Executive Chef and get a look at the kitchen. The kitchen is TINY but they can sure crank out the food in that place. On a regular lunch time they crank out around 400 meals , and on a busy lunch day it's up around 600. If ever you're around the Market and looking for a place to eat... The Athenian is the place to go. If you're lucky you'll get a window seat with a gorgeous view of the Sound. And Yes, it's the restaurant that Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner filmed some of Sleepless in Seattle.
We walked, talked, tasted and observed many things. Thanks to Sanitation class I walk around noticing all the Nasties that I normally would not have noticed. I'm really bummed about the fact that the woman behind the counter at my favorite hole in the wall baby donut place had her hair just flying all over the place with not even a hat to attempt to restrain her hair from getting into the food. Boo Hiss...
What i did buy though is the most wonderful truffle cream/butter and truffle salt from the Truffle lady. Sorry sugar mama it was spendy, but I have to practice my cuts for a test tomorrow and all i could think of while tasting it was mashed potatoes and truffle cream. And from Micks Peppourri I bought a jar of Merlot jelly... YUM.
It was a great time looking at the Market with a fresh and new perspective. Scroll down for the pictures from todays activities. Micks Peppourri has a huge sign and a cool slogan written on it that says...
"Do your mouth a flavor". I hope that one day I could start a place of my own or cook you a meal and as Chef Sol I can "do your mouth a flavor"...
That's my blip for my BFFs today.
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