The Sea and Pad Thai Experience

The first time I came across a Thai Restaurant was when I  was living in New York. My co-workers and I had the tradition of trying new and different restaurants every month around the city. We called it 'Restaurant Month' where every month (obviously) we would make reservations for dinner. This time it was "Sea" in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We decided to try Thai cuisine for the first time. I have to say I was a little skeptical, but as soon as we arrived to the place, I was in awe. The decor caught my eye right away.  There was--what seemed to be a traditional art figure of a standing man in the middle of a huge fountain sorrounded by small dining tables. Although a little dark, the decor was out of this world, and the music and fun upbeat servers made the place a different eating experience. So, we sat at the bar, before we were seated at the main table, and as I looked at the drinks menu, something else caught my eye--the different types of fruity mojitos. I always thought mojitos being cuban or from some sort of Latin roots, but I guess if another culture adapts it and provides a different kick to it, it becomes theirs. Well, after a passion fruit mojitos we were seated and I was ready to order, since the menu did have a lot dishes, it took me a while to decide. I went for the Chicken Malay Masamman Curry, with a mild savory peanut sauce. Spicy curry is one of their main ingredients and although I am not big on eating spicy food, I devoured this dish in a second. The flavors were strong but they did not mixed with each other. I could taste the peanut sauce as well as the curry and other ingredients. The chicken was tender and juicy-- but the flavors again were the main attraction. From that day on, I knew Thai food was my thing. I searched for different places, I wanted to have a more simple and home made thai experience, without all the noise and crazy decor. Then, there was Pad Thai, a small restaurant in Highland Park, NJ. I could not believe I have found a traditional looking Thai restaurant so close to home. It was a must, I had to try it. I dragged my husband and there we were seating in a quiet and nice restaurant with friendly servers. This time what really impressed me was the great selection on the menu, it had more than 10 double-sided pages of on going dishes in their main language. Alhough I felt a little overwhelmed by the many many options I had, the servers were very kind to recommend their most popular dishes. The Pad Thai noodles seemed to be the winner. It is a combination of Thai rice sticks or noodles with chicken, shrimp or beef with a special Thai peanut sauce and veggies. I feel in love with this dish. Then, came dessert-- fried ice cream. For a few minutes my mind kept wondering how can ice cream be fried! Well, it was, and apparently it is made by taking a scoop of ice cream frozen well below the temperature at which ice cream is generally kept, then is coated in raw egg, rolling it in cornflakes or cookie crumbs, and briefly deep frying it. Magical! By the end of our meal we were full and very content with the flavors, ambiance and service. Pad Thai Restaurant is one of my favorites to this day. Although, Sea provides a festive meal with entertainment and culture, I can say I am more of a Pad Thai kind of girl who enjoys entertainment in food flavors.

Finally something I can eat from McDonald's....Oatmeal! NOT!

As soon as McDonald's started advertising its newest addition to their menu, Oatmeal, I thought, 'Great! quick oatmeal on the go!' It looked appetizing and healthy. The main ingredients (out of the eleven weird ingredients) include oats, some diced apples, dried cranberries and raisins--oh! and lots of brown sugar!. And so I ordered it many times in the mornings with a great feeling of accomplishment since I was skipping on the usual yummy pancakes. It turns out, as you might have guessed...extremely processed oatmeal with lots of sugar and no nutrional value. I really want to thank one of the best "opinionators" from the New York Times, Mark Bittman for letting me know.
It was really funny, after the third week of trying Mickey D's Oatmeal (once a week) I came accross to this article to find out that I was still eating garbage. It was yet again another marketing strategy to make another menu product popular.
I thought this part of the article was very interesting and heart breaking at the same time "The aspect one cannot argue is nutrition: Incredibly, the McDonald’s product contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. (Even without the brown sugar it has more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger.)"

I had mixed feelings about this so I researched McDonald's nutrional facts website and it was very clear...I was tricked--once again.

Fine Dining With an Edge

From Top Chef to Hell's Kitchen and from Tom Cholicchio and Anthony Bourdain to Gordon Ramsey, just to name a few, these chefs and fine food shows have intrigued me and inspire me to learn and try new ways to eat out and prepare food at home. My research paper will include all the history behind fine dining since the french revolution to pop culture evolution. Why did fine dining become very popular in the United States and how does it relate to pop culture? We are filled with t.v. shows looking for the next big chef who is able to prepare simple foods filled with flavor and with an edge. Fusion foods, mix and matching flavors, plate decor, all of these can only be part of an art, the art of cuisine.