‘Food’
The mere fact that a place called Fatburger is able to survive in today’s world is a testament to it’s culinary goodness. In a city dominated by “organic,” “whole” and “vegetarian,” it is a beacon of hope. At the entrance there is a sign that reads “Man did not claw his way to the top of the food chain to eat tofu,” but it is more than just a sign. It is a message, a message that you have arrived at a safe haven in a world gone health-mad.
I was still recovering from Thanksgiving when a friend suggested Greek food. It sounded good to me, so we decided to order some carry-out from Yanni’s Greek Taverna in Northwest Washington, DC.
Yanni’s menu is loaded with souvlaki, gyros and other Greek foods. I decided on the chicken souvlaki, which comes as a pita or a platter. Despite the “Greek Salad” that would be included, I opted for the platter, making sure to order without the vile onions or tomatoes.
Stuck in the Charlotte Airport between flights at dinner time, I was hankering for some Chinese food. Enter: Manchu Wok, a Panda Express-style Chinese fast food place. I stared at the strange variety of stir-fried meats that mildly resembled what my own wok would look like if I tossed every single food in my kitchen into it. I decided to order the “Pick 3 + Noodles or Rice” and do my best to avoid dishes with vegetables. My chosen trifecta was Sweet and Sour Chicken, Pineapple Chicken and General Tso’s Chicken, with noodles.
The food was lazily all tossed together into a styrofoam container, which made it virtually impossible to tell the differences between the different chickens.
On my last day in Chicago, I was craving Chicago-style deep dish pizza, but I didn’t have enough time before my flight to wait for an entire pizza to cook. Luckily, I was told that Giordano’s can “half-bake” a pizza for you so you can finish it off later without losing the texture and flavor typically lost in a reheated pizza. With this knowledge, I called Giordano’s up to order a half-baked medium with pepperoni. Giordano’s has locations throughout the Chicago area, with my pizza coming from the Evanston branch.
I brought the 10-pound monster of a pizza on my flight back to Los Angeles and threw it in my fridge for the next day.
I was craving shwarma. It was late and it was freezing, so my options were limited to food within walking distance. Once again, I found myself in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and needed to find food fast. As luck would have it, I was directed to Cousin’s, a Turkish restaurant.
Cousin’s has the general ambiance of a typical Turkish or Middle-Eastern restaurant, with pictures of Turkey, arts, urns and hookahs on the wall. As a bonus, it also has some floor seating, which I can only assume is the traditional way to eat in Turkey.
Tonight I ate dinner at Gloria’s Cafe in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. Gloria’s specializes in Mexican and Salvadoran food and was recommended by a friend of mine. When I walked in, I saw someone had a bowl of soup with entire crab legs hanging out of it. I knew this was my kind of place. I was told that this was the Sopa de 7 Mares. Aside from that, they have quite an impressive menu with your typical Mexican fare of tacos quesadillas and such, enhanced with Salvadoran Pupusas. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed that a Latin American restaurant can never be just simply Peruvian or Salvadoran, etc…? There always has to be Mexican involved in some way. It’s similar with Asian restaurants. You can never seem to find a Cambodian or Vietnamese restaurant unless it also has Thai, Chinese or Japanese food.