if you are like me, and you grew up with a lot of spicy "foreign to the average white person in middle america" foods, then you know that you CRAVE certain things every now and then. today is one of those days for me where i want some kimchi and bi bim bap or some naeng myun (often known as pyungyang) chewy cold noodles with ice cubes and hot mustard. however, i have to have lunch today with someone who is going to fix my laptop for free (thank god) and his favorite place is this diner across the street from his office. it has good greasy spoon eats, but it is the opposite of what i'm CRAVING today.
therefore, i ask all OWFL-ers for help! how can i make the best of this situation? how can i spice up my diner food? i know there's always tabasco sauce on hand, but i want something a bit more creative than this.
my situation today leads me to think about 2 separate topics for discussion today:
1) tell us too about a time you were forced to eat lunch somewhere you didn't necessarily want to and how you made the best of it. (god do i hate compromise...)
2) those of you who grew up with "non-american" foods what is the favorite dish you grew up with? and if you only grew up on meat loaf, kraft mac and cheese or bad frozen birds-eye peas, tell us about the day you discovered a foreign dish that knocked your socks off and how it changed your palate (and life) forever.
and, of course, do not dare to forget to tell us WF(GD)L on this fine not-as-hot-as-balls friday.
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I can't believe you love spicy food so much and want to spice up lunch, and then say that it's hot today! It was only 83 this morning, and the high is only going to be 93. It felt glorious out this morning! (no, I'm not kidding - 93 doesn't even rank high enough to have the a/c on at home, though depending on my houseguest(s) this weekend, I suspect my rule will be broken)
Non-American stuff... I grew up eating a lot of innards. Tripe and various livers and that sort of thing. And "weird" Hungarian shit like sauerkraut soup that made my house smell funny. Oh, and eel. And not yummy unagi, no, this was just fishy, nasty eel in sauce. Blecch.
I was never allowed to not try something, and even making a face was enough to warrant, "Fine, then you'll have nothing," so, it's so ingrained in me to try everything, and at least get a few bites down.
That said, I had one of the most unpleasant eating experiences in years with Wookie, at the Korean market in Silver Spring. We were leaving, and she wanted to buy some Korean "cake" made with rice flour, and the only kind they had was some sort of multi color thing. I took one bite once in the car (and driving) and couldn't get it down. Not only was the complete and utter lack of sweetness a total affront to my expectations of what cake should taste like, but the texture was like a Cello sponge, sucking up all the moisture in my mouth as I tried to expel it as quickly as possible. Now, I take all the blame for the inaccurate expectation that it would be sweeter than it was, but the texture and sponge-like attributes made the experience 10 times worse. That's the only time in my adult life that I remember not being able to at least get a bite down.
I do know that any of my very few "food issues" stem almost entirely from texture. Texture can be a real deal breaker for me. The funny thing is, as a kid, it was never a problem. I ate calve's liver with glee. Now though, I can really only stomach liver in it's pate and, even better, foie gras forms.
HT is exaggerating about the korean cake incident. i told her that korean desserts are not sweet. (unless you are eating a choco-pie, and even though it has chocolate, it's not that sweet) but then again, HT also likes to eat cotton candy ice cream alongside some other smurf colored ice cream from maggie moos. that amount of sugar is just insane.
i ate all kinds of innards too. i also LOVE sul-ung-tang, which is beef head (not brain!) soup.
dude, HT, i said that it was a "NOT-as-hot-as balls" day today...geesh.
I can't read, sorry wookie. That cake thing was still bad.
Stick to diner basics...don't make the same bad decision we made before by getting "mexican food" at the irish bar...bad idea.
1) Frankly I can't ever remember being happy with lunch at a place I was dead set against going to. But if I'm dead set against something that means it must be truly awful.
2) I loved a variation on a west African stew my mom used to cook that I simply called Peanut Butter Chicken when I was a kid. I also discovered Lebanese food when i was pretty young and could vats and vats of tabboulli and would douse shit in tahini sauce.
Not sure about lunch today...is anybody in the mood for the Indian Experience buffet? I could go for a couple drinks with lunch too.
http://underscorebleach.net/jotsheet/2006/08/meat-cake
This looks so nasty to me. But, it made me think of Uni and that she could do so much better.
Awwww....thanks Jada!!
I'm in for Indian. (no, WW is not going well, but I will be seeking the consult of Missus Jo tonight... I think the key is in not eating out, and learning what stuff is low in points - in the meantime, I shall feast)
Oh my god. That meat-cake looks really good.
I want mashed taters & meatloaf for lunch now. Hm. Do I go get that at Boston Market or do I eat free burgers and/or hot dogs down in the parking lot courtesy of the building management? I'm leaning towards the free. B/c it's too fucking hot to walk to BM.
I would say I grew up eating exotic foods, but nothing that Americans would find scary. My mom don't go for that shit. So we always had a variety of stuff - she makes the best peking duck ever, she's always had a bunch of iranian stuff in her rotation - but nothing like cow's brain or tongue or sweetbreads.
The first time I had sea urchin I almost vomited - it was totally from the texture. I don't even remember the taste, I was just so grossed out by the jello-iness of it. And now it's one of my favorites. Go figure.
I threw up as a kid when my dad had me try smoked oysters. It was the slime and chewiness. So gross. I agree with HT that it's texture that will often cause me to reject a food.
I love oysters and that sort of thing, but only after my mom taught me just to catch the taste, then swallow, since I had been swishing them around my mouth.
(all of you shut up and get your minds out of the gutter)
Smoked oysters dipped in mustard is a delicious treat. I loved that as a kid.
Spunky!!!
Late but I had to say something.
For a straight guy, you're awfully obsessed with spunk.
You mean "spunk" spunk?
Not at all, Miss "catch the taste, swish around and swallow".
Not at all.
Oysters, dammit. I was talking about oysters.
I'm leaving now for Indian fiesta.
I have this really stupid page-a-day calendar (the Bad Girl's Calendar or some such stupid shit) that I hate. I only keep it to see what kind of moronic inanity comes tomorrow. But today's made me laugh:
Friday, August 4
Tonight's To-do: Enjoy a Blow Job! (The drink, that is.)
Pour one ounce of amaretto into a shot glass.
Top with a dollop or swirl of whipped cream.
Lock hands behind back.
Wrap mouth around glass, throw head back, and swallow!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Just got word that James Vernor and rico tubbs (remember them?) will be enjoying Chicago's Lollapalooza this afternoon.
Wow, LT. It's like your calendar is psychic.
For sure! B/c it didn't say anything 2 Friday ago about BJ shots - even though Jo had said he was buying them for all of us. It's like it knew he wouldn't! Weeeeiiiirrd.
I may make meatloaf this weekend. Mine is an adapted version of my mother's which is essentially seasoned like italian meatballs, but I jellyroll mine with spinach, roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella. Smother it in red sauce and bake it. Yum.
OH, and talk about a meatloaf sandwich...take a slab of that stuff and put it between two pieces of buttery garlic bread...OY!
Oh my god, Uni. I might have to make that sometime next week. I might make it specifically for the purpose of making that sammie. Droooool.
Lunch was free burger (w/ketchup, mayo, mustard - no LT or O! Boo) + watermelon (a little warm, but good, nonetheless) + small bag of Cheetos + 2 diet sodas. I did not want to come back inside. It's nice out. It's a perfect day to sit outside the office & get some color.
I brought a spinach salad from home, but I think I'll run downstairs to grab some chicken and random salad bar fixings to liven it up a bit.
I need dipso's and james vernor's e-mail addresses, could someone send them to me, chrissyfiore@hotmail.com...Thanks!
Be good Shorty! Eat the salad! Your liver will thank you tonight.
I am having the Tuscan chicken salad: baby greens and spinach, red bell pepper, artichoke hearts, goat cheese, grilled chicken breast and balsamic vinaigrette. Yum!
I grew up eating all kinds of Russian stuff that sounded weird, but probably wouldn't qualify as exotic. Though in the suburbs, people thought I was that weird "ethnic" kid, cuz I was half anglo, half slavic.
Things like halubchi (steamed cabbage stuffed with rice and hamburger-crazy!), pierogies (y'all know those), kasha (some sort of oat thing), of course piles of saurkraut.
The first ethnic thing that freaked me out was on my flight to the Philippines, we had a layover in Japan, and I purchases some seaweed cracker things. One bite and it was the gag reflex. It came up in a hurry, but fortunately I was by a trash can so it all went there, along with the rest of the bag.
Then I went to the bathroom, and was shocked to find a woman maid cleaning the urinals right next to me.
I left that country thinking them Nipponese are crazy!!
WD, those japanese ARE nuts...ask my grandparents.
i ended up with a turkey club. the fries were hot out of the fryer, which was an added bonus. i sat outside though and sweat through my wifebeater...that was so un-sexy.
and thanks to uni for being THE ONLY ONE ON THIS BLOG that had a suggestion on how to solve my lunch conundrum.
to me, it's not about texture b/c i grew up eating a lot of things with wierd texture. it's purely taste for me. every have sea cucumbers? man, i bet you most of yous guys would spit that shit out in a hurry. but man, they are so delish in black bean garlic sauce. mmm mmm good.
Uh, sorry, SK. I was trying to think of something & I went ahead & posted thinking I would think of something. Obviously I never did. The only advice I would have had would have been slather that shit with Tabasco, which was already out there.
I have failed you.
I'm done with my work! Huzzah! Now hopefully nobody will come around & try to get me to do more stuff! Yay!!!!!!
LT, you should head over the HH...jo is probably already there.
Ha ha! Jo, is it true? Are you there already?
No, he's not there - but he will be in about 20 minutes.
8 minutes till I leave.
I'm out of here. See youse guys!
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