Thursday, September 27, 2018

Eighteen Inch Corn Dogs? at the Big E Fair!

My brother and I went to the Big E Fair at the Eastern States Exposition. It is located in West Springfield MA. We went both the 22nd and the 23rd of September. We stayed at a hotel in the next town. We did a lot of walking and did some eating. It was fun and tiring. Our legs hurt the next two or three days afterwards. 

The map is from 2016 but it does show how big it is. 

One of the food vendors (shown in the photo below in the background) sold 18 inch corn dogs. They were really big. It took awhile to eat it. We were really full. It was really good. 

Here is my brother - Jerry - holding his 18 inch corn dog. I believe the vendor that sold it to us is in the back ground but I am not entirely sure it was them that sold it (there was a lot of food vendors offering a variety of foods). 

Here I am holding my 18 inch corn dog. It was really big. We ate it watching one of the cow competitions. It wasn't the best corn dog I have ever had but it is definitely the largest one that I have ever had and it was really good. 

I like corn dogs from fairs. There are some fairs that are closer to me that have really good corn dogs. At one fair, they made it - dipped the hot dog in corn batter and cooked it - after one ordered it. It was warm and it was really good. Another fair had two ladies that made really good corn dogs. I went back for seconds on that one. I just wish I remembered which fair had which corn dogs. 


Big Goofy Guy
I am big, a guy and a fan of Disney's Goofy.


Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Buffet at Storrowton Tavern at the Big E Fair at the Eastern States Exposition

My brother and I went to the Big E Fair in West Springfield MA. It was huge. We went on the 22nd and the 23rd. We stayed at the Hampton Inns in Springfield MA on the night of the 22nd. We took a lot of photos. We explored most of the fair; too big to cover in just two days.

We had a late lunch at the Storrowton Tavern. It is on the grounds of the fair and is in a historic building or buildings. It is a historic building in a historic village in a really big fair.
This is the rug at the entrance that we came in. It is really nice. It was established in 1957 (per the rug).


This is the top of the menu - one used when there isn't a buffet. We went for the buffet. 
This is my plate. I only had one. It was quite filling. I had the fish, the sliced turkey, the mashed squash, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a creamy vegetable medley. I did not have the roast beef since they were out when I got there. There was about a half hour remaining for the buffet. 

It was really good. The mashed potatoes was nice and creamy, no lumps. The squash was also rich and creamy. The fish was cooked but not too little or too much. The sliced turkey was not dry but moist. I put the creamy vegetables on top of the stuffing. The stuffing was good with and without it.

We both had a diet cola. It was done correctly. It had the right blend. Some places they say it is a certain brand of diet cola but the mixture was wrong which makes them taste funny. 

This was part of the dining area we were in.

This was behind the table where we were seated.

This is the building - attached to the Storrowton Tavern - that held the area where we dined. It was a neat experience. 

It was nice to be able to sit down for a meal. We were tired from all that walking both at the fair and at the casino that was down the road from where we stayed at the hotel. 

There were a lot of food vendors at the fair. Most didn't have a place to sit down or one that was near. There was a wide variety of foods at these vendors. I doubt one could go hungry even if one was a picky eater. 


Big Goofy Guy
I am big, I like Goofy and I am a guy.




Pulled Pork Sandwich at Loretta's in Newburyport MA

I had a late lunch with my sister and friend at Loretta's. It is a great place to have lunch and supper / dinner. It is one of the places we like to eat at. The prices are very reasonable. It is close to the downtown area / it is in the downtown area where there are some nice shops. 
Here is their logo and address and phone number. 

They used to be in a tiny place down the street from their current place. It was tiny when compared to their newer place. It has a lot more space. They even have a space for meetings / parties.
This was their old place. It is currently the location of the Paddle Inn. Both this and the newer location is downtown Newburyport MA

This is their new / current location. It is a lot bigger than the old one. I like the interior decor of the newer place. It is nice to be able to have elbow room while eating. The previous place was cramped and you were really close - literally and not figuratively - to those who sat with. 

There is some street parking in front of this location but there is more not far from it. One pays a fee but I think it is reasonable. After a certain time, the parking is free. It was at 6 but I heard it might be later at a later date. 


Here is my pulled pork sandwich. It was part of the specials menu. It was really good. The bread was toasted very well; not too hard or too soft. The pulled pork was seasoned very well.

I like the chips. I am not sure what brand it was but I don't think they made it but I could be wrong.

I like the pickle that came with it. It was different but still good. My friend didn't care for his pickle. My sister doesn't eat pickles and told the waitress to hold the pickle. 

The service was really good. We did not have to wait long for our food. The server was friendly and attentive. 





Big Goofy Guy
still down. :(  I am working on (perhaps change the name of the site). 




I took photos of some of my art and uploaded it to Cafe Press where they put on different items that they sell. I get a small profit from the sale. I guess it is really small since I have not made any money from it yet. I hope to improve the photos by taking better photos of all my art. This way I can add it to more items that can be sold. I did not want to put it on items where it would not come out right. 



Thursday, September 20, 2018

Lemon Ginger Ice Cream at Harbor Creamery in Newburyport MA

I like getting ice cream at the Harbor Creamery in Newburyport MA. They have a nice variety of flavors. I like trying them. Since I am a diabetic, I stick with the mini cup. It is just the right amount I can have. Since I walk there (from home) and back, I earn my ice cream. 
It is located on 39 Pleasant Street in Newburyport MA. It is located in the downtown area. There is street parking plus a big parking area that is not far from it. The big parking area does not cost a lot to park there. It is free after a certain hour; currently after 6 but I read it could change to a later time with the hourly rate increasing. 

This is the lemon ginger ice cream. For 50 cents more, one can get whipped topping on it. It was a new addition to the menu of flavors. It was really good. One can see the pieces in the ice cream. I think it was the ginger. One can see the whipped topping and how much they add to it. 

Here is the lemon ginger ice cream before I started eating it. Even though it is the mini cup, there is a lot there. I think the mini is the perfect size for someone who wants ice cream but not so much that they feel guilty over having it. 

I took the photos myself using my cell phone. It is a really nice camera with a great phone feature. I use an open source phone app. It works great together. 

Big Goofy Guy
I am big, I like Goofy and I am a guy.
I like doing oil painting. I have my art on things for sale at Cafe Press.


Wednesday, September 19, 2018

More Than Just Ice Cream At Harbor Creamery in Newburyport MA

I usually (almost always) go the Harbor Creamery for ice cream. They also sell sweets. Perhaps not a lot of them but enough to appease any ones sweet tooth. It is located at 39 Pleasant Street in Newburyport MA

This is on the counter where one pays for ones ice cream and sweets and other stuff that they sell. It looks really good. 

Here one can see the sweets and a variety of chocolates. They have a nice variety of chocolates. 

Here is a whole cabinet of sweets. They also sell beverages too. Above the cabinet one can see that they also sell t-shirts. They look really nice. One of these days I will get one of those t-shirts; assuming they have my size ; or it could be an incentive to lose weight so I can fit into a smaller size. 

This was inside the ice cream and sweets place. There are holes so one can put ones face into them from the back. One have ones photo taken. It has three holes. I think it would make for a funny photo.




Big Goofy Guy
(my web site might be down but I like using this as an online ID). 
Why have art that is only on ones wall when you can have art that you can use?


Meatball Pizza at Superfine Foods in Newburyport MA

The photo shows the old Fowle's sign. It was Molton's. It shows the windows paper up but they are gone and it is replaced with a really nice restaurant. It is located on 17 State Street. I think they should take down the sign and replace it. There were many who wanted to keep the sign since it was historic; in a way. My brother thinks they should restore the sign. He said he won't go there till it is. I was going to go there no matter what they did with the sign. 

There is a restaurant in Newburyport MA that took the place of the Molton's restaurant. It had closed. It is now filled with a restaurant called Superfine Foods. It has only been opened for a short while. They really made it nice looking inside. They left parts of the wall exposed to show remnants of the previous restaurants. 

This is water but it is served in a nice bottle. The water was cool and refreshing. It was not too cold. On a hot day, it was appreciated. One can see the bar and the television behind the bar. They had sports on that day. I am not really into sports but it gave me something to watch while I waited for my pizza. It wasn't a long wait. 
This was the special. It was on the side in front of the restaurant. It was really good. The meat balls were a nice size. The sauce and cheese worked quite well together. It wasn't too big. I think it was slightly bigger than what one would think as a personal size pizza but not by much. 

There was a down size to this pizza. It was the bottom half of the crust. It was a little over done; perhaps slightly burnt. I ate half it but the other half I scraped off the upper half of the crust with the toppings. It was really good. I think the toppings and the upper half the crust more than made up for the bottom half of the crust being a little overdone. 

I guess they felt bad that the bottom half of the crust was a little over done. They let me have the apple crisp pie at no cost. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't too sweet and it was really good. I am glad I walked home and worked it off. I don't know what the white stuff on top was but it added to the flavor of the apple crisp. This made up for the slightly over done bottom of the crust. It was just the right size. It wasn't too big or too small. It was just the right size to have as desert but not so big one felt (really) guilty for having it. 

To me, it isn't that a restaurant has a problem. I think all restaurants experience problems. It is how they react when they do. I think they reacted in a very favorable way. They showed that if there was a problem, they put their pride aside and help the customer. 

This is the view of the inside of the restaurant. One can see the bar and the kitchen. One can see them cooking. One can how brightly lit it was. The seats at the bar was comfortable. 

This is the view of the other half of the inside. One can see part of the bar plus the seating area / booths. It looks really nice and inviting. The bar was in two parts. There was a part that had the beverages and this part which seems to be an extension of the other. On the other side of this was booths and tables. 

This is the inside near the front of the restaurant. One can see that they left some of the wall exposed so one can see remnants of the previous restaurants. One can see some of the tables. 

I think the inside was warm and inviting. I think the service was really nice. I was a bit confused when I first entered. I was not seated but they did show me a menu. I asked if I could eat in. They said I could sit anywhere. I sat at the bar. When I am by myself, I don't like to take up a whole table that could be used by a group. The seat was comfortable. It had a nice view of the television and was close to the front window which had sunlight coming in. 




Big Goofy Guy
my web site is down but it wasn't a secure site so this gives me an opportunity to get it secured.
Cafe Press is a site that one can upload images / designs and they put it on things for sale and give you a part of the profit. 

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Nut Spreads?

I like peanut butter. I like all kinds of peanut butter. I like creamy, chunky, reduced fat, honey roasted. I like to eat it with other things; tomatoes, celery, cheese, etc (there are times I just try it with things to see how it tastes.

There are different types of peanut butter.

This Wikipedia page on peanut butter is very informative. It shows the history of the peanut butter. It seems to have been around for a very long time.

I think the reduced fat peanut butter has a more nutty taste to it. It is thicker than - in my opinion - that the creamy version. It has reduced fat but increased in sugar.

I have found one that was reduced in sugar but increased in fat. It was still pretty good. The taste wasn't different than that of regular peanut butter. I don't believe that regular peanut butter has a lot of sugar.

There is also chunky. It is really good since it has peanut pieces mixed in with it. I like it gives it a crunch to it.

Non Peanut Peanut Butter? 

One does not have to have it with peanuts. I have noticed - at grocery stores and other stores - that there is spreads similar to peanut butter but made from other things; cashews, almonds, soy nut, sun flower seeds, etc. They don't taste like peanut butter and have a taste that is unique to the ingredient it is made from. I tried different ones but have not tried the soy nut one, yet. The price is usually higher than the

There are more than one variety of non-peanut spread.

I have tried the cashew butter. It is pretty good. It is more expensive than peanut butter.

I have tried the almond butter. It is pretty good. It is more expensive than peanut butter.

I have tried sun flower seed butter - also known as sun butter. It is pretty good. It isn't too much more than peanut butter.


Home Machines to Make Peanut Butter

At one time I had a Mr Peanut peanut butter machine (a link to an Amazon site but I linked it to show what it looks like and not try to get anyone to buy it there). It was really neat. The texture of the peanut butter was similar to what was inside a Reeces peanut butter cup.

I had an small electric one. It broke and wasn't easy to use but I was able to create my own peanut butter. It was fun.

Information on peanut butter.

There is a Wikipedia page on 'nut butter'. I knew of some but not others. It gives me a list of different ones to try and blog about. What is interesting is that each type has a link to a page that has more information on it. 

There is a Wikipedia page on the peanut. It is very informative. It is neat finding out where one foods come from.


This blog is far from complete. I will post more on it in future blogs.




Big Goofy Guy
(my web site is down which is why it is just words and not a link).
I am big guy who likes Goofy by Disney.
why just hang art on the wall when one can use it or wear it. 
It makes it more practical. 
working on improving the store. 

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Move Over Butter?

I have found something that I really like. I get it from my local grocery store. It does not cost a lot. It is Move Over Butter. I usually get at least two containers of it. It does not seem to come in a size bigger than the one shown below.

There is a description of it at the Walmart - Move Over butter. I listed this site since I could not find (as of yet) who makes it). I usually get it at Market Basket - a low cost grocery store in my area.

It seems ConAgra makes it. It was mentioned at the Amazon page for Move Over Butter. I have not found it at their site.


I found this and bought it because it was really affordable. Now I prefer it to other butter spreads. It is not too buttery. I think it is good on many things. I use it as part of cooking; put it on the skillet and put it in some foods I have cooked. 

I have put it on the frying pan when I make French toasts and when I fry eggs - fried or my attempt at an omelette. It melts quite easily on the pan. It makes the food - in my opinion - taste pretty good.

I like it on broad. I like it on toast. I like it when I put it on my peanut butter sandwich. Many might not like it on the peanut butter sandwich but I have always been a little different. I like it on my bologna and cheese sandwich; sometimes with spinach and / or lettuce. I sometimes have it on my favorite sandwich; lettuce, tomato, pickle, cheese, bologna and peanut butter. I think it is a great combination. 

I sometimes use it instead of butter when baking. I think it makes it sweeter and better tasting. I have made scones with it; both in putting the ingredients together and after it is done. 









Tuesday, September 11, 2018

What I ate at the 2018 Hampton Beach Seafood Festival at Hampton Beach New Hampshire

I posted a blog on the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival. Now I want to blog about what I ate at the festival as well as what my brother had eaten too. The other post did not have a lot of photos of the event. I enjoyed myself walking around and eating; therefore, I did not take a lot of pictures.

I like to think of the festival as the last big event at the end of summer. It is not many towns that seem to be open only or mostly for the summer. This town mostly closes for the rest of the season. Perhaps it is why it is such a big event with a 'see you next year' type ending?

We took my little car - a 2012 Smart Fortwo Passion - to the event. We parked at the nearby (near to the event) high school (the name is hard to spell). We bought our wrist bands / entry to the event at the parking area. We took the bus to the event. It was the B bus; important since that is the one to get back to our car. It was a short trip to and from the event. It has been awhile since I have been in a school bus and my legs were too big for those seats. My knees were pressing into the back of the seat ahead of me. I was glad it was a short trip. It was worth it.
I had bought scallops that was wrapped in bacon. It was really good. The scallops was not over done and the bacon was just right; in my opinion (each person could taste it and have a different opinion but mine is the one that counts since it is my blog). I thought it was a good price at $7.00. I should have gone back for more since it was really good.
This is the lobster seafood stew that is served n a bread bowl. It was really good. It was a delicious blend. The bowl was also good. It was not hard but soft. After consuming the stew, the bread had absorbed part of the stew which made it even tastier. I have no doubt the seagulls would have loved to have gotten some but I ate all of mine. It was filling. 
Here is some fried ice cream. It was not easy to eat since it was really cold. I had difficulty getting my plastic spoon into it. I just picked it up and bit into it. It was good. I enjoyed the whipped topping and the drizzle of chocolate. It went well together. My brother also had some fried ice cream. He ate his a lot faster than I did. 
Here is the peanut butter caramel cupcake. I did not eat it there but the next day since I was full but I still wanted the cupcake. I really like peanut butter. The cupcake was just the right size. It was really good. 

Here is the peanut butter chocolate cupcake. It was also really good. I ate it the next day. I had one for lunch and one for supper. It was not too sweet.  Eating them separately at different times did not raise my blood sugar as much as I thought it would be. I think it was that both weren't too big or too sweet. 
My brother ordered two servings of the steamers. He really enjoys them. It came with melted butter. I wanted to try one but it was gone before I had a chance to try it. He comes to the festival just to get some steamers. He had some leftover melted butter that I dipped some of my bread bowl into. It made it really good. 
My brother had a bowl of lobster bisque. He said he thoroughly enjoyed it. It smelled really good. It was gone before I realized it or even had a chance to try it. 

There was booths that sold soda's. We both bought diet Cokes. We both bought two. Perhaps we could be called the 'diet Coke brothers' (inside joke I think). 



Hampton Beach Seafood Festival 2018 in Hampton Beach New Hampshire

I try to get to the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival every year that I have been living in this area; first in Hampton NH then Newburyport MA. It is held in Hampton Beach NH.
Here is the beach area. They served beverages and there was a live band playing. 

Here is a display of cupcakes that they were selling. The 'package' to house the cupcake is an inverted clear plastic cup with lid. I think this is ingenious. 

This one shows the prices of what is being sold. 

This shows one of the offerings of this food vendor. 

Here is a sign of one of the food vendors. 

Outside a food vendor booth. One can see - on the right - the line for this booth. 

Here is some food vendor preparation areas. 

One can see that these food vendors came prepared to serve a lot of people. This is good since there was a lot of people buying food. 

Here are more food vendors. 

Here is some of the food vendors preparing food to be sold. All  - well most - of the food vendors kep busy. There was a lot of people buying food. 

It is not often one sees an open space in any of the food tents. This is a rare site. It is usually wall to wall people. 

This shows how big and crowded the food tent was. It was not easy getting through but it was worth the effort. The food was really good; at least the ones that I tried (different blog). 

Here is a board from one of the food vendors. 

He was selling scallops that had bacon wrapped around it. He asked me to post to social media. I had put his photo on Facebook and now on my blog. I hope he sees this. 

Here is one of the food vendors. 

This shows some of the crowds that attended the three day event. It was overcast that day but that did not keep people away. 

This shows the crowds and one of the three tents that had food vendors in them.

The photo is not great but this is one of the vendors selling 'fun stuff' at the festival. 


These are just a small portion of the festival. There were food vendor tents, a bear tent that also had seating, there was a couple of live bands playing (not close enough to each other so they overlapped - one can hear one without hearing the other), a craft tent, a row of commercial tents offering a variety of products and there were stores open too (ones that are permanently there plus arcades and restaurants). It seemed like the whole thing was about a mile long. One would definitely walked off anything that one might have eaten and/or drank.

It is quite an experience. I would recommend it for everyone and it is good for the whole family. One just has to make sure to have enough money and room since there was a huge amount of choices.

With the event being so big, they provided parking at different locations with free busing to the event. They get you there and back to ones vehicle. One can tip the bus driver; tip jar next to driver.

The fee to get in was only $10.00. One could pay at the location where one parked. I think this is very convenient. I think it reduced the crowds at the entrance and makes going in faster.