She alone makes me want to ride Amtrak through El Paso!
4 Likes
I’ve never had a Scorpion Bowl. Where would you order one in the USA? The Chinese Canadian restaurants used to serve Mai Tai and Harvey Wallbangers. I’ve never seen a Scorpion Bowl on a menu in Canada before. ( But I haven’t looked)
2 Likes
Any decent tiki cocktail bar has a scorpion bowl
2 Likes
Potato skins. The quintessential American food. I know of no other culture that hollows out the potato and serves only the skin. A fairly common bar food once, now a kind of lost treasure. Last time I had this was at P&G’s in New Paltz, NY.
Though maybe they are still a fixture at some chains that I don’t patronize…
1 Like
They had been a staple on pub menus in Ontario in the 80s and 90s. I only see them occasionally on menus in small town restaurants now. I don’t know if I ever ordered them in the States.
My biggest issue with wraps, and things in tortilla is the lack of prep of the tortilla/wrap/lefse. I prep every tortilla intended for human consumption. Cold tortillas suck, IMHO.
In Mexico, they’re great at using anything and everything in tacos. Corn smut is pretty decent. USAmericans are often surprised how often Mexicans use radishes, squash, etc.
4 Likes
Still readily available in NYC.
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Potato+Skins&find_loc=New+York%2C+NY
Yet another example of the adage “Trends are born in LA, and NY is where they come to die.”
2 Likes
This guy from Massachusetts was seeking out recs for potato skins on Reddit last year, with 2 requests.
https://www.reddit.com/r/newyorkcity/s/LGStqvTwon
Molly’s near Gramercy Park sounds promising.
I’m more of a twice-baked potato person than a potato skin person.
1 Like
Molly’s is awesome. I was last there just before Christmas - still doing a booming business.
2 Likes
I will keep it on my wishlist for that future visit. I lived between 2nd and 3rd Ave, about 20 blocks north of Molly’s, a long time ago.
As a kid, my favorite part of baked potatoes was the skin. Mother washed them and sprinkled them heavily with salt while they were still wet. The crisp salty skins were wonderful. Cut the potato in half, scoop out the insides with your teaspoon, put a big pat of butter in the skin, and nosh. I need to resurrect that treat. It was one of the rare exceptions to the “no finger food” rule.
5 Likes
I was more enamored of twice baked potatoes.
No sense in wasting the potato, just mix in some sour cream and bacon. Almost heaven.
6 Likes
I think my Mom used the baked potato skins as a “keep hungry kids at bay” appetizer when she was scooping out the potato meat to use as a topping for stews, kind of like Shepard’s Pie but more Betty Crocker style.
We got whatever was in the refrigerator on our baked potato skins. Cheese and bacon mostly, but she also seemed to just want to use up leftovers, too. I remember she used the skin from leftover roast chicken to wrap some dark meat up and served that on a potato skin as she shoe’ed us out of the house. That was actually worth coming back into the house for seconds. Hunger is the best spice.
5 Likes
Last night my daughter made dinner, loaded baked potatoes and a salad. I got to hollow out the skins, put a pat of butter in each, and enjoy. The insides of the potato were buttered and topped with cheddar, sour cream, crumbled bacon, green onions, and (yes, really) barbecue sauce. The sauce was a surprisingly good fit, but that does not surprise me. A loaded baker with chopped barbecue is delicious.
7 Likes
