One of the main attractions of Market Days is the food. But really, food is one of the main attractions of life in general, so it should go without saying that we made sure to get down to Main Street to try some of the options at our disposal.
After parking on South Main Street by The Draft and walking toward the shindig, we could smell the distinct scent of potatoes in the deep-fryer from quite a ways away, and they smelled fantastic. It was therefore decided that the first stop would be wherever that smell was coming from.
It turns out it was all coming from the Gelinas (based in Pembroke) food truck, which had a very simple menu: sausage (hot or sweet) sub with peppers and onions, steak and cheese sub, fries, drinks. We went with a spicy sausage sub and, of course, a small side of fries.
The sub was pretty straightforward. The sausage wasn’t as spicy as we were expecting, but it was still tasty and juicy. Surprisingly, considering the fact that it was a sausage sub with peppers and onions served out of a truck, it wasn’t very greasy – there was no need for a napkin.
The fries were as good as we had imagined. Nice, thick, natural-cut French fries straight out of the fryer – it doesn’t get much better. They came without salt, so we added some to taste. There was also a spray bottle full of white vinegar, so we applied some of that as well. The one knock on the fries is that they weren’t very crispy – but that’s a result of these not being frozen first. We saw on some cooking show one time that freezing the fries beforehand makes them crispier, but who has time for that? We liked this fresh variety as much as any other fries we’ve ever had.
Next time you’re at a carnival or fair in the area, keep an eye (and nose) out for the Gelinas truck.
Next was a stop at the Yankee Farmer’s Market (of Warner) booth, which looked like an old-fashioned horse-drawn wagon. This wagon was selling all buffalo items, including burgers, dogs and jerky treats. Since we didn’t have enough cash on hand for the burger, we opted for the hot dog instead – we’re passionate about hot dogs anyway.
This dog was lean and mean. It didn’t taste radically different from a hot dog made with any other meat (pork, beef, mystery), but it did seem to be less fatty. It had that nice snap provided by the natural casing, and it was packed with flavor.
To those who have never had buffalo meat before, it isn’t a very gamey meat like lamb or duck. It tastes pretty similar to beef, but again, it’s leaner.
We added some chopped white onions and a few shots of Frank’s Red Hot to spice it up, and everything blended together perfectly.
If you’re interested in a tasty, lean dog, check out Yankee Farmer’s Market on Route 103 in Warner.
