I don’t think I could ever eat a rat. Bourdain made beating cobra heart sound interesting and appealing. But rat?! I can’t imagine actually sitting down for dinner and having rat on your plate. I don’t care if it was from the city or the mountains. Rat is rat. And in my opinion, rat seems like it would be pretty gross. As for the rest of the readings, I found it interesting how in one way or another most of the pieces addressed a special food and why it was great. “The Secret Ingredient” very clearly talks of finding that one special ingredient that sets a dish off from its competitors. In the piece “Nor Censure Nor Disdain” the author gets at the idea of making a dish the right way. Fisher acknowledges the many ways a casserole can be prepared using all types of ingredients, but at one point she clearly states what type of ingredients “should” be used when making a casserole. The authors quest for a certain type of bagel in “The Magic Bagel” tells the story of a man who has his heart set on finding the exact bagel he ate with his daughters years ago. A duplicate will not do. It would be easy for him to find a pumpernickel bagel, the challenge comes in finding the exact pumpernickel bagel. “The Homesick Restaurant” presented a yearning for special food in a different way. The Cubans found a little piece of home at Centro Vasco. No, the food technically wasn’t Cuban, but the atmosphere and the memories were. The Cubans living in Miami could sit down for a meal at Centro Vasco and remember what Cuba used to be like. They can feel the sense of community they once felt and are reminded of Cuba through the tastes on their plates. It was interesting that although the dishes had changed at the restaurant in Cuba, they still retained a connection to the original owner through the design and appearance of the restaurant. “An Attempt to Compile a Short History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing” was an amusing look at the history of a truly popular item. I’d say on average that .8 times a day one of my roommates proclaims, “I’ll go to b-dubs.” Half the time they’re probably not serious, but the point is that Buffalo Wings are damn popular. I found it interesting that the history was not more clear cut. It was cool to hear a little history behind something I am confronted with daily. It seems to me that the Buffalo Wing is done right in Buffalo. Every place seemed to have their own little variations about cutting and what not, but the basic structure seemed the same. The delicate manner in which such a generic food is handled is interesting. Forget B-dubs, I’d go to Anchor Bar. Maybe I just have simple tastes but I’m pretty satisfied with Buffalo Wild Wings. I can’t help but wonder how much better the wings in Buffalo are though. Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to deny rat then. Rat at a restaurant in Kalamazoo or Detroit? Count me out. But if I was Luogang? Maybe...but probably not.
What about groundhogs? Groundhog meat is supposed to be excellent, if a bit unconventional. Remember that scene in Pulp Fiction about pigs being "filthy animals?" Is that your stance on rat? What about pork?? where do you draw the line? Bordain would do it!!
ReplyDeleteI really like your discussion on whether food tastes better (or as good as it can) in the place of its origin. I was also struck by the sad thought that BDubs wings are probably nowhere near as good as wings in Buffalo. It's also probably the reason why there are no Texas Roadhouse chain restaurants in Texas, or so I've heard.
ReplyDeleteI like your contemplation on whether or not you would actually eat the rat and the end of your response. This is an issue that came up for me in my response, as well. I would never think of eating rat in the United States, but if I was there in China in that moment, I probably would. It really shows how important location is to cuisine.
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