The Democracy of Food.

Think about it. We will return to this topic later.

The Anonymity of Food

I’ve been thinking about this for the past couple of days.  How the simple idea of “the unknown” is so prevalent in the restaurant industry. I mean this on several different levels:

- “It sounds noisy in there.”  The separation between chef and restauranteer. The kitchen, in many cases is hidden. You don’t see what goes on there. You don’t see who is cooking, and when you’re in a fancy restaurant you just imagine there being a group of men back there with chef boyardee hats and high flames. Why make the cooking process so unknown? Is there some sociological aspect involved that goes deeper than you think?

- “Can you tell me what that means?” Academic language. The restaurant is sure to know that many people won’t know what “nicoise”, ”carpaccio”, or ”ganache” is, or even know the difference between braised, bronzed or slightly warmed. What is the effect of this? It reminds me of our trade history, how foreign things were highly sought after…think Ever After, when the Prince brings back a “wonderful little treat from Spain”: chocolate. Something foreign is intriguing. Restaurants surely capitalize on this.

- “That looks  so good.” When you get something at a restaurant and it’s presented in a beautiful, creative way. Without knowing the spices in it, what “quality” ingredients are in it, you find it tasting good as soon as you put it in your mouth. But does it taste good just because it looks good? Does your mind overcompensate because of how good it looked? What if that same dish was haphazardly scattered on a paper plate?

- The “it’s not chicken, it’s food” rule. The current battle for sustainable foods. Eating at a regular, everyday restaurant, you never know where your meat came from. It could be injected with all kinds of chemicals you’ve never heard of (or care to learn) and you’re consuming it under the pretense that it “tastes good.”

- “I LOVE these little bowls!” And other miscellaneous things. What if you had found out that they got the silverware from Target? What if you knew that Hispanics were cooking your Japanese food?

It’s just so interesting to me, this screen of unknowingness…and, what are the consequences? We know the good ones: you enjoy your meal, you just kinda turn a blind eye for the sake of dining and flavor. You usually leave satisfied and that’s it. No strings attached - food was good,  paid the bill, now it’s time to sleep.

But what about the bad ones? What gets lost in translation? What is missed in your dining experience? what stories are you oblivious to, what motives – that went into making your food - will you never ever know? The story at that restaurant goes on, and for the staff – that place is their world. For you? It was a short stay, a very detached, on-the-surface stay. You ate and left. They stay and get to know all the secrets.

So, what does it all mean? Some people may say so what, we live in a world of oblivion. And I agree. I just think it makes you think, that’s all.

Quote of the Day

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

- Martin Buber

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Tonight, there was a documentary on TV regarding the CONFIDENTIALITY of the KFC recipe. I thought it was interesting, so I decided to dig a little deeper to find out more information. This is what I found…

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Harlan Sander, better known as Colonel Sanders, began selling chicken in the small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. His cooking quickly gained a strong following, and in 1936 Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon made Harland Sanders an honorary Kentucky Colonel to recognize his contributions to the state’s cuisine. Over the next 9 years, Sanders stealthily worked on his method of cooking chicken. He eventually developed his signature, multi-million dollar recipe, a tasty blend of 11 herbs and spices. It was1940.

“In those days, I hand-mixed the spices like mixing cement on a specially cleaned concrete floor on my back porch in Corbin,” the Colonel recalled. “I used a scoop to make a tunnel in the flour and then carefully mixed in the herbs and spices.”

It was also during this time that the pressure flyer was introduced. Sanders utilized this to deliver fresh chicken to his customers faster when he discovered it was much quicker than pan frying.

In 1950, Colonel Sander’s notorious wardrobe also began to take shape: the trademark mustache, the goatee, and a white suit and string tie. Although he had been a colonel for 9 years now, he finally began to look the part.

It was at this time that the Colonel began actively franchising his chicken business by traveling from town to town and cooking up chicken for restaurant owners and employees. His work on the road paid off, as his success eventually landed 190 KFC franchisees and 400 franchise units in the U.S. and Canada.

The recipe:

“Today, the recipe is protected by some pretty elaborate security precautions. One company blends a formulation that represents part of the recipe while another spice company blends the remainder. As a final safeguard, a computer processing system is used to standardize the blending of the products to ensure neither company has the complete recipe.” (Information gleaned from www.kfc.com)

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I think one of the reasons why I find this so fascinating is because you never really question the origin of fast food restaurants. You just figure they’re these sinful entities whose mission all along was to “become a fast food restaurant.” You don’t realize that some of the more common household food brands were IDEAS that were capitalized on. Good ideas. Good recipes, that prospered….in the form of a restaurant….and then revolutionized into a fast food chain. For me, it really reinforces the essence of capitalism: social darwinism - if a business is meant to succeed, it will.

So even the most common things we take for granted: El Pollo Loco, Carl’s Jr., Mrs. Field’s Cookies, etc. etc., for the most part had modest beginnings. It was the popularity of taste and the prudence of its founders that set them apart and allowed them to prosper.

 It’s funny how the idea of being exceptional can lead to the field of normalcy and still be considered a success.

The Great Gatsby

On an unrelated-to-food note, my student is studying The Great Gatsby, and I felt compelled to share with you some of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s genius:

He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.

How F. Scott Fitzgerald can take a single moment and transform it both into an idea you have never heard of and an idea that is completely familiar and relatable is pure talent…

Superbowl Sunday

Pepperoni Pizza.

A perfect morning.

Saturday, 2/6/10

So random, but needed to insert a San Jose homage [here]:

I am thankful for…

MLK Library and its sheer massiveness. 

 

 

Sweet Retreat (South San Jose)

I can recall many a high school day, getting off school, driving over to the Sweet Retreat parking lot and indulging in over sized scoops and made-to-order frozen yogurt. Tonight, I found that nothing has changed.

Sweet Retreat outside.

[Gleaned from http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/FJQIs75WpOIIKBosEGGouQ?select=BDETT6715cXFTA8XCaF3Ew

The sights and smells are still the same. The mural on the back wall remains untouched: a tropical rendezvous, complete with ice cream scoop “people”. The prices are still cheap ($2.85 for a single scoop, which translates to 1 and a 1/2 massive scoops), and high school students are still the ones behind the counter.

Its mission is still the same, too. It’s not blighted by the changes that have occurred around it. It still stands as a kind of local watering hole, a place where adolescent memories fester. And when you’ve left San Jose for awhile, it’s one the few places that really confirms that you’re home.

A MINI banana split…key word: MINI.

And the ice cream? It’s pretty good. Strawberry cheesecake with real cheesecake bites, Tin Roof Sundae with salty, chocolate bits, and refreshing Coconut Pineapple, just to name a few. If you prefer the standard flavors, they’ve got those too. It also has a bona-fide frozen yogurt machine which really must be what the angels eat in heaven. Pick your fruit, and it’s blended with real frozen yogurt – resulting in a yogurt that is tangy, sweet and creamy all at the same time. A must try, I take friends to try just this all the time. Portions are large with EVERYTHING. Even the “Mini” scoops could probably satisfy an adult.

Sweet Retreat
6061 Cahalan Ave
San Jose, CA 95123
(408) 629-8139
11:00 – 10:00 Monday – Friday

Sundays aren’t complete without…

A “Bitchin Bloody Mary” ($5) from Trax Bar on Haight Street, San Francisco!

Little did I know, but this bar also has a history! Read on… (gleaned from http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-24122-Budget-Living-Examiner~y2009m10d13-Paranormal-San-Francisco–Haunted-Tales-of-San-Franciscos-Haight-Street)

Right on Haight in the midst of it’s haunting energy, between Ashbury and Masonic, you can find Trax Bar, probably the only local gay watering hole on the block, dating back to 1974. It boasts a cheap Happy Hour, a kick-ass yearly Halloween party, and is in it’s own right, a sometimes quiet little watering hole.  With it’s “easy to get to, hard to leave” slogan, you can tell it’s worth a visit. The drinks come cheap and the fun never ends. Yet there seems to be other spirits in this establishment, beyond those shelved behind the bar. This bar has much more than just a good time, its haunted and is known as one of the more active places in San Francisco for paranormal activity.  

History

The bar itself dates back to the 1940s, when it was known as The Question Mark Cocktail Lounge. It’s gone through many transformations since then and proudly boasts as being the oldest pub on Haight street by the owner and employees.

Trax Paranormal Activity and Haunted Tales 

There have been haunting rumors surrounding Trax for quite some time. Customers and employees have reported strange sightings. An ethereal man has been seen sitting at the end of the bar, watching the patrons. The same apparition has been spotted walking through the bar, into the office, and out the door.  The topping on the cake was an old photograph discovered by workers they discovered while cleaning the pub out a while back.  They found a picture of the bar’s patrons taken during the 1940′s, showing the original pub during the one-year anniversary.

 When the owner saw the picture, he noticed something familiar about it. He had seen the man who was pointing at the camera before… inside the bar!  Is this an old bar “Regular who loved the bar so much he cant leave?  Poissibly the old owner, making sure his business is properly attended to.  
Nevertheless, Trax has earned a spot on the Haunted Haight ghost tour and has more than it’s share of visitors. Amongst the drink specials, drag queens, and sometimes loud music, you just might find yourself face to face with the mysterious supernatural drinking buddy yourself.