You have a song that kind of takes you back to a time and place immediately? A song you really liked and can link to 5 or 6 fun memories from the past? You probably have 5 or 6 of those kinds of songs. When I hear the song “Brandy (You're a fine girl)” by Looking Glass. It takes me back to high school and college when I ate at a diner called Livingston's twice a week, sat in cars with my friends and drank in parking lots before we went to high school events and singing karaoke at Heroes on Friday nights (Brandy was and is my go to karaoke song). Go ahead and play the video while reading.
I only mention this because I went to Harold's Drive In on Admiral Boulevard for lunch today and I thought of the song “Brandy” while I was watching my burger (I got the single cheeseburger) being cooked on the griddle right behind the counter. You see, Harold's reminded me a whole lot of Livingston's, and not just because they have fried cauliflower on the menu.
Harold's is different in that it doesn't have any tables to eat at, hence the term drive-in, I suppose. You order from the counter, they only take cash, and your food is served to you in a paper bag. They may as well tell you to scram after you get your order.
But, Harold's is the type of place where they remember your name, when you were last there and what your likely order is going to be. It felt like a place I'd been to a hundred times over, like Livingston's. The customers were decidedly blue collar, paint specks could be seen on some items of clothing, one guy was wearing his orange road crew vest. I felt a bit overdressed and I wasn't even wearing socks.
My order of a single cheeseburger and fried cauliflower was around $5.40. The Harold's special (double cheeseburger, fries and medium soda) will set you back around the same amount after tax. For the big fellas in the audience, you can get a triple, fries and soda for $6.75.
The service was friendly, but not overly so. I think if I went back a couple more times over the next couple of weeks I would know all 4 ladies' names and they would all know mine. At about 10 visits I might be able to enter into a conversation about post menopause hot flashes with them (if I were so inclined).
My burger was pretty good, not something that would make a top 10 burgers in KC list, but for the $2.25 it costs, it could be in the conversation of top 10 burger bargains. The standard dress of the burgers is lettuce, tomato, onion and mustard. I got mine with only lettuce and onion and used some habanero ketchup I have in my office. The onions have a nice dice and add a lot of flavor, you definitely know they're there. The lettuce is shredded and doesn't offer much of anything of value.
The cauliflower was very good, but not the best I've had. I'm pretty sure it was frozen, but it wasn't like most of the frozen cauliflower you get at restaurants around town. It had a different type of breading, more a beer batter than fried cauliflower usually has. I don't know if they bread their own and freeze it or not. If you're a fan of fried cauliflower it is definitely worth the trip to Harold's to check it out. I'm glad my pals at the Mid-America Regional Council told me about it.
I almost forgot, as I walking out of Harold's Drive In with my grease stained carryout sack in hand, “Brandy” came on over the speakers. I didn't even notice music playing while I was waiting.
Showing posts with label cauliflower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cauliflower. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Desperately Seeking Cauliflower
Like most kids I grew up despising vegetables. Probably because my mother's idea of preparing vegetables was opening a can, pouring in a bowl and microwaving. I don't recall seeing a fresh vegetable (other than potatoes) in the house when I was growing up.
We didn't eat out much either which knocked out another opportunity to eat good vegetables. When we did eat out, we either went to Sirloin Stockade (I'm sure it's as nasty as it sounds), El Mexico (a little Wichita Mexican restaurant that thankfully closed this past year, about 5 years too late) or this little Wichita diner called Livington's (which is still around albeit in a bigger location). When we went to Livingston's my parents always ordered some mystery appetizer. It was fried and golden brown and served with a bowl of cocktail sauce. My parents and brothers wouldn't tell me what it was, I guess it was their way of making me try something new. They just told me I would like it. And like it I did. I craved it all the time even though I had no idea what it was (this could also describe my want of some vagine, but I knew how to sate that desire by myself). I couldn't wait to go back to Livingston's. It was my favorite place to eat in those days (they also had great fries, and still do). Finally after 7 or 8 trips to Livingston's I figured out, by the process of elimination (I studied that menu like XO studies porn), what this wonderful fried delicacy was; french fried cauliflower.
To this day, I can tell you every restaurant I've been to that has fried cauliflower (I always confuse waitresses and counterpeople because I order french fried cauliflower). When I moved to KC, the first place I found it was Zarda, leading me to eat at Zarda a lot more than one theoretically should (I used to eat Gates for lunch and Zarda for dinner). When my work moved downtown I found Antonio's in the City Center Square food court had fried cauliflower. When you order it, the person in the back opens up the freezer and dumps a bunch in the fryer. They then serve it to you with some crappy ranch dressing. I have taken to grabbing cocktail sauce packets when I'm out and about so I can enjoy the Antonio's version the way I want. I get weird looks at Zarda when I ask for cocktail sauce with my cauliflower, but they comply once they find some (it's in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf).
We've tried making fried cauliflower at home of course. It's really pretty easy, you just break the cauliflower up into small chunks, salt and pepper, dip in egg and then flour. The more even the size of the cauliflower the more even it cooks. It's very difficult to get the cauliflower cooked perfectly in every piece, some are cooked well and others have still raw cauliflower. I guess that is why it is such a rare food item to find on menus. It's never quite as satisfying as the Livingston's version was. Maybe fried cauliflower is like heroin, it's never as good as it is the first time.
Sadly, Livingston's in Wichita no longer carries the french fried cauliflower, but they make a wonderful hamburger. But, through their 15 years of serving french fried cauliflower, they've made me a fan of at least one vegetable. I will eat cauliflower in nearly every form now, raw, cooked, cauliflower au gratin (RJ's has this). I'd be interested in finding someplace that makes their own fried cauliflower and doesn't use frozen.
We didn't eat out much either which knocked out another opportunity to eat good vegetables. When we did eat out, we either went to Sirloin Stockade (I'm sure it's as nasty as it sounds), El Mexico (a little Wichita Mexican restaurant that thankfully closed this past year, about 5 years too late) or this little Wichita diner called Livington's (which is still around albeit in a bigger location). When we went to Livingston's my parents always ordered some mystery appetizer. It was fried and golden brown and served with a bowl of cocktail sauce. My parents and brothers wouldn't tell me what it was, I guess it was their way of making me try something new. They just told me I would like it. And like it I did. I craved it all the time even though I had no idea what it was (this could also describe my want of some vagine, but I knew how to sate that desire by myself). I couldn't wait to go back to Livingston's. It was my favorite place to eat in those days (they also had great fries, and still do). Finally after 7 or 8 trips to Livingston's I figured out, by the process of elimination (I studied that menu like XO studies porn), what this wonderful fried delicacy was; french fried cauliflower.
To this day, I can tell you every restaurant I've been to that has fried cauliflower (I always confuse waitresses and counterpeople because I order french fried cauliflower). When I moved to KC, the first place I found it was Zarda, leading me to eat at Zarda a lot more than one theoretically should (I used to eat Gates for lunch and Zarda for dinner). When my work moved downtown I found Antonio's in the City Center Square food court had fried cauliflower. When you order it, the person in the back opens up the freezer and dumps a bunch in the fryer. They then serve it to you with some crappy ranch dressing. I have taken to grabbing cocktail sauce packets when I'm out and about so I can enjoy the Antonio's version the way I want. I get weird looks at Zarda when I ask for cocktail sauce with my cauliflower, but they comply once they find some (it's in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf).
We've tried making fried cauliflower at home of course. It's really pretty easy, you just break the cauliflower up into small chunks, salt and pepper, dip in egg and then flour. The more even the size of the cauliflower the more even it cooks. It's very difficult to get the cauliflower cooked perfectly in every piece, some are cooked well and others have still raw cauliflower. I guess that is why it is such a rare food item to find on menus. It's never quite as satisfying as the Livingston's version was. Maybe fried cauliflower is like heroin, it's never as good as it is the first time.
Sadly, Livingston's in Wichita no longer carries the french fried cauliflower, but they make a wonderful hamburger. But, through their 15 years of serving french fried cauliflower, they've made me a fan of at least one vegetable. I will eat cauliflower in nearly every form now, raw, cooked, cauliflower au gratin (RJ's has this). I'd be interested in finding someplace that makes their own fried cauliflower and doesn't use frozen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
