Food

As I’ve said many times over the years, some food items are highly personal, the “right” recipe generally being whatever formulation, variation or idiosyncratic details you grew up with. This especially seems to apply to pizza, marinara sauce, Chinese food, hot dogs and barbecue.

Oh, how we love those nostalgic tastes of our youth. I can remember Mrs. Grass’ Chicken Noodle Soup — in a box — from when I was a kid.

Gotta love that Kona coffee, which has a rich, full-bodied flavor stemming from its growing conditions on the Big Island of Hawaii. Unfortunately, Kona’s pretty pricey — among the most expensive coffees in the world — so I wasn’t surprised when Taste of the Town regular Jim Guynup emailed in search of a source for it “at a reasonable price.” I’m not sure what’s reasonable — that’s open to wide interpretation — but readers have a few local sources.

Ah, the vagaries of the corporate world and the still-struggling economy. It appears, as reader Rob Lindley pointed out, that the Home Pride bread that Dennis Hughes was seeking had temporarily disappeared from supermarket shelves because of the financial problems of parent company Hostess, but has since been bought by Flowers Foods.

When Edith F. Gurdzynski contacted me in search of a good pasticchio served locally, I had to resist the temptation to point out that the Greek Food Festival is always a good source, because the good people of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church prepare and serve a stellar version there. But since the festival is held only once a year, in the early fall, I figured Gurdzynski wouldn’t want to wait that long. Luckily, three of her fellow Taste of the Town readers came to the rescue.

Wow. Talk about a regional favorite. After I posted a query from Tony Thurber, looking for New Jersey-style pork roll, his fellow Taste of the Town readers responded en masse.

Sometimes, although it may seem difficult to believe, a food item may not be available in this melting pot of a city of ours.

When I received a query from James Mourglia, who’s looking for Watkins vanilla extract and ground cinnamon, I figured that, at best, we’d end up with an online source. Once again, hawk-eyed Taste of the Town readers surprised me.

Mama Mia! Steve Epstein is looking for Mama Mancini’s Meatballs. Fellow readers Ken Wolt and Stephen Salchenberger reported finding them in the frozen section of separate outlets of Whole Foods Market, which has four stores in the valley.