The south has great tasting food but also has a bit of xenophobia with regard to cuisine. If its not a Chinese buffet or deep fried (insert animal, vegetable, mineral here)....you're not gonna get the average Mississippian excited about it. You hear me Paula Dean?
I was born in New Orleans and while it is in the south it is not only the "south". Like Berlin in East Germany, Austin in Texas... New Orleans is an oasis of diversity in a sea of conformity. I grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC, I've lived in Philadelphia, Chicago, Phoenix and Germany. I've traveled this country and some of the world and never met a style of cooking that I couldn't enjoy.
I'm all about Thai, Ethiopian, Korean, Afghan, Russian, Moroccan, German, Indian...none of these cuisines are represented in a 75 mile radius of McComb.
So when I couldn't find kimchi in my local stores I asked around, just to see if anyone new of an Asian market. Even the produce Managers at the local Wal-mart and Kroger looked at me like a horse looking at wristwatch.
I first learned about kimchi in the service. Many soldiers married Korean women. The smell of Korean cooking often dominated the housing area on post. Kimchi is a staple like red beans and rice in New Orleans.
Kimchi is fermented spicy cabbage. And really all it is is cabbage, salt, water and chili paste (Korean super hot chilies). You mix it up put it in a jar and bury it in the ground until the first jar explodes.... and you know the rest are done. It's spicy, low in calories, no fat, no cholesterol, high in fiber and DELICIOUS! It's like sex and; When it is good...it is AMAZING. and when its bad it's still pretty good.
I wanted KIMCHI! And my ridiculous sense of entitlement, buoyed by my new found nutritional righteousness made me think i deserved it.
I mentioned the difficulty I had at the Whole foods in Baton Rouge in an earlier post. It's not easy being green. But I wasn't worried, I was going to see my boy soon and we'll be staying in Austin. I knew I'd find everything I need...and more.
Austin did not disappoint. I didn't just find kimchi, I found yelp pages comparing the kimchi at the 5 different Asian markets in town. We settled on Hana World Market about 3 miles from where we were staying.
It is a really interesting place. Beau and I stopped tin the lobby to look at the bulletin board which sported messages and offers in at least 3 different languages. Korean newspapers and posters for entertainment all in Korean. Very cool.
Then we went in. It's huge!
In the rice and noodle section (big section) we met up with Psy and snapped a quick photo:
Then we found the WALL OF KIMCHI.....
We got back to Dana and Katie's and tried it out. Amazing, perfect, better than I remembered.
We also hit the Whole Foods for some staples and stopped at a regular store so Beau could spend the $10 Nana G. sent him....on Pringles and Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Hey, he had meatless chic nuggets, spinach and sweet potato fries for dinner, fruit for breakfast and has drunk only water and he's a competitive swimmer. AND he tried the kimchi. That boy earned some junk food.
He told me what he wanted and I said "Well buddy, who am I to say no to your fondest wish funded by your loving Grandmother." He replied, "You're my dad, you're exactly the person to say 'no' if I shouldn't do it". As always Like a Boss!
And to parasphrase Daniel Tosh, "Eating junk food is like killing a hitchhiker, as long as you do it very rarely, it will never catch up with you."
I wanted KIMCHI! And my ridiculous sense of entitlement, buoyed by my new found nutritional righteousness made me think i deserved it.
I mentioned the difficulty I had at the Whole foods in Baton Rouge in an earlier post. It's not easy being green. But I wasn't worried, I was going to see my boy soon and we'll be staying in Austin. I knew I'd find everything I need...and more.
Austin did not disappoint. I didn't just find kimchi, I found yelp pages comparing the kimchi at the 5 different Asian markets in town. We settled on Hana World Market about 3 miles from where we were staying.
It is a really interesting place. Beau and I stopped tin the lobby to look at the bulletin board which sported messages and offers in at least 3 different languages. Korean newspapers and posters for entertainment all in Korean. Very cool.
Then we went in. It's huge!
In the rice and noodle section (big section) we met up with Psy and snapped a quick photo:
and made our selection.
We also hit the Whole Foods for some staples and stopped at a regular store so Beau could spend the $10 Nana G. sent him....on Pringles and Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Hey, he had meatless chic nuggets, spinach and sweet potato fries for dinner, fruit for breakfast and has drunk only water and he's a competitive swimmer. AND he tried the kimchi. That boy earned some junk food.
He told me what he wanted and I said "Well buddy, who am I to say no to your fondest wish funded by your loving Grandmother." He replied, "You're my dad, you're exactly the person to say 'no' if I shouldn't do it". As always Like a Boss!
And to parasphrase Daniel Tosh, "Eating junk food is like killing a hitchhiker, as long as you do it very rarely, it will never catch up with you."
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