You can still see all past stories on my portfolio where I store clips.
https://eatgordaeat.blogspot.com/
For my long time followers, I’m sure you have followed along with the weekly “rides” I take my mom on since shelter in place was ordered. I post them in my Instagram stories where they only live for 24 hours because I didn’t think much of them. A few photos of the agricultural backroads of Northern California, some shots of local produce that is in season, my mom chowing down on a bacon cheeseburger. Thee end.
Somewhere along the way, y’all started requesting the location of various places along our journey. And then y’all started requesting I put them on my actual feed. I never included it on the feed because it’s not Puerto Rican! I mean, we’re Puerto Rican. And I guess that makes it Puerto Rican. I don’t know. Either way, y’all got what you asked for. And as my mother always says, “Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.”
Last week on our drive, we set out for Stockton, Ca. It seems kind of silly to announce it with such fan fair, as it’s a town we’re in often. My Nina DeeDee was born and raised in Stockton. You’ve heard me talk about her in “An Ode to the Soulful Magic of Simple Beans.” If you haven’t, it’ll be in this next week’s free newsletter.
We make the drive even if we’re not gonna see Nina, because we gotta get our Genova Bakery fix. No relation to the one in Oakland. It wasn’t surprising to hear that Art’s Cafe closed. I relish in a classic relic of times gone by. Genova has been around for 100 years. They bake their own bread, including a focaccia where the oil seeps through the brown paper it’s wrapped in. They create sandwiches that were made for the ‘gram. You fill out a form from the counter and create your own sandwich: layers of thinly sliced deli meats, obviously you’re going to get two types of meat because why wouldn’t you you animale? The cheese is placed in between the two types of meats, you want lettuce? it’s shredded. You decide if you want heavy on the mustard and medium on the mayo. Pickles come on the side? You better write that on the form too.
Genova is microscopic inside. Everything is made out of wood. Old wooden counter, floors, shelving, doors. The old wooden floors groan under your feet as you attempt to shuffle through its “aisles,” I say aisles generously, to grab your bag of chips and a drink. Don’t forget to grab some focaccia which you can turn into a pizza later. And if it’s the holidays, an insane array of various Italian cookies, pastas and seasonal panettones. And what was started by Italian immigrants, now most of their bakers are Hmong immigrants.
You can still see all past stories on my portfolio where I store clips.
https://eatgordaeat.blogspot.com/
Also, it’s watermelon season. I was lucky enough to grab this amazing black watermelon from Ron Kelley Farms, one of the only black farmers in the area. One of the few in on the West Coast. If you’re in the area or can make the drive, don’t miss out on this rare opportunity. You can still reserve u-pick blocks of time, for an hour, to u-pick blackeye and cranberry beans, tomatoes, peppers, okra and way more. Things are different this year because of covid. Instead of just showing up on a whim - like we did last year for my mom’s birthday when we picked shishito peppers - you have to make a reservation online. You also have to pre-order your produce online instead of being able to peruse the barn.
Here’s Shawn modeling for me at the farm last year.
Tune in next week for Nina DeeDee’s bean recipe.
You can still see all past stories on my portfolio where I store clips.