(I can't even begin to describe the size of this wok. I could have taken a bath in it.) Sunday was hot and sunny. Really hot. And really sunny. I got my first sunburn of the year. Husband and I had this brief thought that we might ride our bicycles to Franklin Park - it's about 4 miles, not too bad, but I suggested it might be too hot. Wise choice, as while we were walking around dripping, I told Husband I would still be crying on the side of the road like a cranky cooked lobster if we had decided to ride. At first, the crowds seemed a little sparse, but then you noticed that there was just no one in the sunny areas of the park, everyone was crammed into the shade.
But the food! We tried many tasty bits. I was a little sad we arrived too late for any of this unlucky pig, because everyone knows roasted whole pig is one of the most delicious things on earth:
We had pork BBQ and pork egg rolls from the Filipino Society:
We had Samosa (potato-filled fried pastry, it's the triangular one) and Vada (lentil dumpling), along with yummy sauces and chutneys from Ruchi Foods, and then Jamum for dessert (second picture); a dessert made from sweetened condensed milk and flour, which is fried and soaked in rosewater and cardamom syrup. It is intensely floral and completely unfamiliar:
We had Spicy Laotian sausage and a spring roll:
And for second dessert, we had fried bananas and a sesame ball filled with pistachio paste, from Indonesia Ohio:
The next great festival for eating in Columbus (please, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I know you will) is Festival Latino, which takes place June 16th and 17th. The food and dancing at Festival Latino is the stuff of legend, and it's where those cute boys from El Arepazo got their start. Alas, I will be in North Carolina, so someone will have to fill me in on the juicy, Cuban pork-covered details.
