This new Peruvian place in El Cerrito is pretty good. The lunch special comes with a very rich (and peppery) chicken and rice soup.
My entree was the Aji de Gallina. Shredded chicken in a cream sauce with walnuts and olives.
I'm up to 34 countries!
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Sweden
North America: El Savador, Mexico, USA
South America: Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela
3 comments:
Jim, you know I love your blog, especially the pieces about machines of every imaginable description, but when catching this WaPo article about cheap "ethnic" food, I couldn't help but think of this bizarrely fast foodish series of yours. To save you a click on what's otherwise an unnecessarily long-winded piece with waaay too much superimposed "hierarchy is bad mkay" ideology, the point as to the American desire for cheapness over quality or authenticity is very much valid. Here's a quote :
Despite complex ingredients and labor-intensive cooking methods that rival or even eclipse those associated with some of the most celebrated cuisines — think French, Spanish and Italian — we want our Indian food fast, and we want it cheap.
The double standard carries with it all sorts of consequences, which Ray chronicles in his book. The people who make the "ethnic food" we eat are not always what they seem. Nor is the food, which, because of our refusal to treat it with the same prestige we treat others, is not nearly as authentic as we imagine it to be.
Cheers.
@Pete: You and that article raise good points. There's no question all of these meals are marketed, cooked, served, and eaten through an American prism. I'm gonna add that book to my queue. *Burp*
Can I say "excuse you" after a burp ? I guess "thank you" works too depending on how much Germanness we choose to channel. (Martin "The Linguist" Luther is attributed with “Warum pfurzet und ruelpset ihr nicht, hat es euch nicht geschmecket?” (“Why don’t you farteth and burpeth? Didn’t you fancy the meal?”))
Looking forward to the book review, even if it's just a tweet.
Post a Comment