bunnyjadwiga

Considering I cannot find documentation for baklava or rice krispie treats (even with cardamom and pistachios), such a moniker apllies to me.
FTM, the Mongolian Wok and everything else I set up with propane and/or butane equipment falls under that heading.

From:

thatpotteryguy.livejournal.com

Hey hey hey hey hey...I like the BBQ guy at Pennsic - and I don't give a fig if he's not period...he knows about roasting a pig, and grilling sausage, and about hot and sour BBQ sauces.

From:

jacylrin.livejournal.com

As with others, depends on how annoying. Some attempt at looking medieval, sure. Undisguised Good Humor truck? Um.... only if I'm really jonesing for ice cream ;-)

From:

spikywheel.livejournal.com

Now I want to come up with a period filk/song and play it while selling some kind of sweet treat from a cart.

Hee!

From:

danabren.livejournal.com

What they said. I'm really torn on how to answer. I'm guilty of eating burgers and peach cobblers at Pennsic. It really would depend on their set up - if they made an attempt to look less like Mr. Softee, I'd appreciate it.

From:

danabren.livejournal.com

Are you saying that baklava isn't period?

HERESY!!!!

From:

stefsoap.livejournal.com

I think I'd have to agree. Are we talking the food being non-period, but the vendor setting up as period? Or the vendor clearly being non-period? Because isn't it one of the "requirements" of the SCA to make a reasonable effort to dress/appear as authentically period as possible?

From:

15th-16th century, one or 2 references only. ;-D

From:

chargirlgenius.livejournal.com

I voted "not enthused". Unless it's coffee.

From:

cbpotts.livejournal.com

Worth leaving the 8th century for. *nods decidedly*

From:

madrun.livejournal.com

*laughing*

From:

susannaknits.livejournal.com

Y'know - my first thought was "ew!", then I thought "well, if it isn't too OBVIOUSLY modern" - then I read your comment and realized that I eat non-period food at events all the time, especially at Pennsic, and I've never given it a second thought. I do agree with their making a reasonable attempt to "blend in", though.

From:

kandy-elizabet.livejournal.com

Not voting. Like many others, for me it depends on the vendor, but it also depends on the event and the venue.

If there's no other food, anything that's available might be good. (Think Birka ... not period, but life saving the first year we went and didn't take any of our own stuff).

I think that's also why it doesn't bother me at Pennsic ... it's not like there's dayboard and feast, and going back to camp isn't always (or often) feasable. Besides, the concept works at Pennsic of having food sellers.

At a smaller event, or one with dayboard (or dayboard and feast), enthusiasim for it is much thinner -- even though I happily allowed a non-period vendor (not of food) at the event I was running in May, but that was the club we had the event at, so maybe that's why I gave that a pass.

So, I guess my answer is "it depends...." Helpful, huh? :)

From:

helwen.livejournal.com

Worth leaving any century for, for sure!

Also, there is modern and there is modern. Bright neon signs and colorful modern-looking advertising (lights or the type that looks like neon markers), not so good. Tents/picnic-table-style dining, much less jarring.

Also also, it helps if the food is real food, like bytchearse makes.

From:

Same here. I'd default to "not enthused", but as so many have said, I think I am fine with them given one or more of the following:
a. trying to put on Period window dressing.

b. located in a relatively out-of-the-way corner - you have to go there specifically to get the food; you're not likely to see them while passing by on the way somewhere else (kinda like the bar at the Homestead!)

c. it is a charity, not a for-profit vendor.

I think very little of this applies to Pennsic, which is just its own weirdness. If you are referring to the food guy at the event last weekend, I didn't find them offensive per se because they looked OK. In fact, they were more attractive than any number of flea market-type vendors I have seen.

From:

valid.

From:

bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com

Yeah, my issue was the trash left behind by the stuff the vendor was selling. I'm thinking if we put a trash can near the booth or something...

From:

If it was trash they should have thrown out - then they do not get to come back. If it was trash from customers (many kids), that's not so much their fault, though they could be asked to police their area - hey, it's good for business. Otherwise, yeah, strategic cans would be the only possibility, I guess.

From:

Mind sharing with the rest of us who were not there last weekend and not part of the local group? Informed advice is easier if the whole pciture can be seen, otherwise it's "The Elephant and the City of the Blind" kind of scenario

From:

Well, it was St. Joseph's in Eisental, and the merchant sold candy and popcorn balls and such as well as some toys (I think?). I didn't catch the name, sorry. (and it's an elephant and three blind Zen monks, BTW. ;) )

From:

Gotcha.

In that case, no worries if said merchant
1)Wears garb (makes an attempt) like the rest of us
2)Has no annoying modern jingles/music playing
3)Attempts to keep a peri-oid look to the booth (maybe baskets covered with cloth for the neon colored packaging?)
4)Either removes what trash is generated OR is certain it goes in proper receptacles. I gather this last item was at issue.

And I have heard several titles/versions of that story, not unlike how the story itself unfolds ;->

From:

I'd say they did a good job of looking nice. The shop tent was clean and had a pleasant period look. I assume they do renn fairs or something. I mainly blame kids for trash around candy merchants, but any good candy merchant ought to police a little throughout the day, knowing how their customers are. Anyway, I don't know of any other stories. if this is some hot topic on some board somewhere, I am blissfully unaware as usual.

From:

bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com

The merchant in question does ren faires; there was nothing obtrusive about their booth; they blended right in.

Unfortunately, our camp was just across the road from their booth and had a lot of pre-teens hanging out in it, including ours. Result: Miss B. will be learning about picking up our campsite even if it's her friends who messed it up.

I believe the vendors would like to come back for SRWC, and I was trying to get a feel for whether it would be appropriate.

From:

Not that I am all that period with my set up or wares, but if putting said merchant next to me (on the side OPPOSITE from Hogge!:D)works to centralize some of the clutter, then I could deal with that, and I have large trash bags ;-)

My sympathies on the pre-teens, and props for teaching Miss B a good lesson!

From:

dr-zrfq.livejournal.com

+1

From:

I'm horribly sorry, but after helping my MIL make fish pasties and venison sausage and 4000 other vile things for feast, I will never, never, never, never again eat "period" food.

Give me an outside, lisenced, looks-peroid-to-me vendor any day, or frankly, I'll leave campus and hit the Taco Bell.

I think the only exception to this is cheese.

From:

The concept of baklava comes from 13th century Azerbajian, where they made thin noodles and layered them with nuts and honey, etc. There are also references to thinly sliced breads layered with nuts and honey in nomadic Turkic desserts in the 15th century. However, filo/phyllo is late 17th century Ottoman Turkish, specifically linked to the Topkopi Palace Janissaries. So, baklava, as we have it today, isn't period.

From:

The concept of baklava comes from 13th century Azerbajian, where they made thin noodles and layered them with nuts and honey, etc. There are also references to thinly sliced breads layered with nuts and honey in nomadic Turkic desserts in the 15th century. However, filo/phyllo is late 17th century Ottoman Turkish, specifically linked to the Topkopi Palace Janissaries. So, baklava, as we have it today, isn't period.

From:

Vile things? Period food is just like modern food. It can be horrible only if the cook is bad and doesn't understand what he/she is doing. Fish pasties probably aren't that much different from fish tacos from Taco Bell, with the exception of tomatoes and hot sauce. What was is about the fish pasties that you didn't like? Would you eat beef pasties? Or is it that you just don't like fish? What was it about the venison sausage that you didn't like? Do you eat hot dogs? Do you eat bratwurst? Both of those are descended from period food, so if you eat hot dogs or bratwurst, you really are eating period food. Do you like macaroni and cheese? Well, mac and cheese is descended from a period recipe. Chicken nuggets also.

Frankly, from your rant, I doubt that you would know what period food was.

And, just to be mean but truthful, cheese is really rotten milk, sometimes made with a calf's stomach lining to make the curds, and sometimes allowed to go moldy, like bleu cheese, camembert and brie. I am not kidding. And if you like, there are a ton of horror stories about what goes into Taco Bell's food. I would rather eat a bad cook's period attempts than anything that ever came out of Taco Bell or MacDonald's.

From:

I wouldn't mind a food vendor who served modern food, if they do their homework and know what foods have descended from period foods. If they sold hot dogs using a French roll instead of a hot dog bun, and didn't serve ketchup, that would be okay with me. Hot dogs are from various sausages and wursts. But not hamburgers. That is based on sandwiches and way out of period. Ice cream has its roots in period, although many favorite flavors are not period, like chocolate or vanilla. I don't mind the Asian food vendors so much because a lot of Asian food hasn't changed in centuries. I would rather have baklava for dessert than chocolate cake or brownies. It may not be period, but it does have some period roots. I am waivering over Mexican and Latino foods. If they were to call their food, "Aztec food" or "Incan food", I probably wouldn't mind as much, but if they made no attempt at all, then it would be a "no" from me. There is a food vendor who has a middle eastern booth and sells coffee, which is period in the ME, although not in Western Europe. That set up is fine with me. But selling popcorn balls and modern candy in modern wrappers isn't okay with me, no matter how period their booth looks.

From:

bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com

Periodically we have to eat at Taco Bell because Juergen loves the Baja Blast Mountain Dew. My system can handle it about once a month. Otherwise, give me real food, or at least McDonald's.
Then again, Renaissance European food is really the only cuisine I'm really good at. I don't know if I'd eat your MIL's cooking either, but I was raised on food made from ingredients.

From:

johnomar915.livejournal.com

If I never hear an ice cream truck at an event it will be too soon. And they run year round here.

From:

That's khataif, which I have found references for!

From:

There are a few of us, some even commenting herein, who will argue that you are committing a grave disservice to "period" food by using such a broad brush to describe it, and some of those people will be amused to hear *me* defend period food too ;->

You're entitled to your opinions, but give it a second chance. Feel free to email me privately, jajiradai at yahoo and I'll do my best to convince you to try again! :-D

From:

"Food made from ingredients" :D

From:

math5.livejournal.com

and some of those people will be amused to hear *me* defend period food too ;->
That's where I mock you, right?

From:

I MIGHT try your food. If I didn't see it made. Or have to move a tub of frozen fish heads to get to my coffee maker. Or try to knead bread while my shoes are stuck to the floor with deer blood.

From:

!) Taco Bell does not make "Fish Tacos". This is a slang term for female genetalia.

2) I do not eat hot dogs, bratwurst or sausage in any form. Nor processed chicken nuggets. Or Geletain for that matter. I know how these things are made.

3) What I didn't like about the venison sausage was standing an inch deep in deer blood to make it.

4) I eat free range domestic meat that is processed under sanitary conditions. These days, preferably by someone else.

5) The microbes that go into making cheese/yogurt/etc. don't bother me. And no one uses calf stomach linings to manufacture modern cheese.

I'm not going to bother with the rest. Don't tell me what I do and don't know.

From:

P.S.

bunnyjadwiga is right, if it weren't for my longstanding forced participation in my MIL's dubious feast making practices and preperations, things might be different. But, they're not.

From: