Here in the states, I’ve become hooked on a mighty sauce. It’s available just about everywhere despite its Asian heritage. That would be Sriracha, AKA Rooster Sauce. It goes on everything short of ice cream and oatmeal, and I’ve even seen a yogurt shop offer it as a topping. Crazy, right?
But there’s one sauce I’ve encountered in my travels that needs to catch Americans’ tastebuds.
And that would Salsa Lizano, a Costa Rican staple. It’s an essential in gallo pinto, the national dish, and a splash or two improves just about everything else it touches.
This isn’t a spicy sauce, nor is it what Americans typically define as salsa (tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, etc.). This is more like a tangy Central American version of A-1 steak sauce, but way, way better.
Here in Arizona, I’ve only found one store that has it. That’s absolutely criminal. We must do better!
May, 2009:
Something Tasty I Found in Central America
S.P. Crater Easy to Overlook, Impossible to Forget
It’s easy to forget or to never even realize it – but much of northern Arizona’s landscape was shaped by fire. Or by lava, if you prefer a more precise word.
Volcanoes disgorged magma onto the surface, forming everything from towering giants like the San Francisco
Peaks to the loaf-like dome of Mount Elden to the mysterious hoodoos of Red Mountain. But trees have covered the landscape, often concealing the area’s volcanic origins.
S.P. Crater – An Unheralded Attraction
S.P. Crater, however, will resist any attempts to whitewash its furious history. This beautifully shaped cinder cone had the foresight to belch a four-mile long lava flow onto the flat prairie lands. Today, nearly 71,000 years after its birth, S.P. Crater stands out among a multitude of lesser cinder cones in the area, beckoning visitors to peer into the crater that once spewed ash and blobs of lava.
Few hear its call, though – that’s likely because of the nearby Sunset Crater National Monument. The park might be slightly more picturesque, with its pine forest and an equally haunting lava flow.
But for me, S.P. Crater has an effect that its just-slightly Disney-fied neighbor doesn’t: a sense of solitude that practically takes me back in time. I can picture the lava glowing red as it churns across the landscape like so much hell-flavored soft-serve ice cream. I can smell the sulfur in the air as another family of bombs rockets out of the crater, borne aloft by super-hot gases. I can imagine fumaroles venting steam into the [...]
Tucson’s Airplane Boneyard a Creepy Piece of History
There’s this really creepy, weird place down in Tucson, Ariz. Most people call it the Boneyard. The official name is the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, or AMARC. In short, it’s where airplanes go to die.
I just wrote a piece about it for Associated Content. That’s where you can get all the official-speak – how to get there, what to bring, what to see. But since this is my own blog, I want to give you a little something different, plus bigger photos!
I want you to picture thousands of acres. Then imagine rows of aircraft dating from post-WW II to practically present day. Dozens of B-52 Stratofortresses. Old Boeing 720s. Even the odd B-1B bomber! Helicopters, light transports, they’re all here baking in the sun.
This place just staggers my imagination. If this is where planes die, can you imagine how many are still flying? Can you imagine how many of these could find a second life better than being chopped up and turned into cans?
And the Boneyard is a starkly and oddly beautiful sight. If you’re riding the Fantasy Island mountain bikes trail network, the Boneyard is a backdrop for quite a bit of the ride. It makes me feel like Mad Max will soon coming roaring through the desert. No matter how many times I see it, I just wish I could spend a day walking among all these planes.
The Boneyard is a huge, impossible-to-miss piece of the military’s buying power and scope. I’m going to add a little [...]
Wandering Justin now on Facebook’s Networked Blogs
I know this isn’t as fun as monkey chariot racing, eating platypus tartare or exploring scorching deserts populated by cow-sized scorpions – but sometimes you just have to plug something. I’ll keep it short.
Like the headline says, I’m now on Facebook’s Networked Blogs application. If you’re inclined toward using Facebook, I’d certainly appreciate it if you followed me over there. And if you also use that application, let me know and I’ll follow you, too. It’ll be like a great big circle of following!
And stick around – I have a super-awesome post coming.
Can You Survive These 5 Foods?
When I travel, I make it a point to find something weird to eat. I’d prefer it not be something I can get just anywhere – I scoured Web sites for a way to get a fresh black sapote fruit here in Arizona, but no dice: I had to chase that all the way to Cape Tribulation in Queensland, Australia.
But I encounter the weirdest purely by accident. Here are a few wild foods that can delight or disgust, depending on your palette.
Dangerous Delectables from Down Under
As you might guess, they’ll eat just about anything in New Zealand – especially it’s #1 pest,
the imported possum. While exploring the South Island of New Zealand, be sure to stop in Pukekura at the Sandfly Cafe. There, you can sample a personal-sized possum pie. Yeah, it’s a big ol’ ratlike marsupial. But, as Naked Bus driver Renee says, “It’s easy to eat!” It really doesn’t taste that different from beef. But you know it’s possum, and that makes it fun.
Australia gets two entries on my list of must-try whacky foods. If you’ve just arrived in Sydney, check out the Australian Heritage Hotel and its excellent restaurant. If you’re up for a liberal and exotic interpretation of a pizza, pick from emu, kangaroo or salt-water crocodile toppings. I chose the croc, and got a chicken-like texture with a briny hint of billabong. I hope your plans take you to Darwin in the Top End – it’s the starting point for awesome adventures into the Kakadu. It’s [...]
