The Toll, in Lives and Culture

The scale of the wreckage caused by Hurricane Katrina is immeasurable -- at least for now. While the official death toll stands at 59 according to the New York Times, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has warned that as many as 10,000 people may have died. Add to this tragedy the huge refugee crisis, and the enormity of the event becomes difficult to wrap one's head around. The least that can be done right now is to help support the relief effort, and I have added links to the right to make online contributions to the Red Cross and America's Second Harvest.

Amid this enormous human upheaval, what happens to the culture of New Orleans? It's too soon to make a realistic assessment, but one must assume that a great deal of it has been permanently lost, submerged under so much dirty water.

This being a food blog, I have asked oral historian, photographer, and painter Amy Evans to contribute to The Food Section as a guest editor and provide some insights into the gastronomy of New Orleans and also consider what is now at stake at this dire moment in the city's history.

As the resident oral historian for the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA), Evans has created a number of fascinating documentary projects exploring Southern food culture. She recently produced a project on the "Bartenders of New Orleans," which included her interviews and photographs. Based in Oxford, Mississippi, Evans has also created oral history projects on Memphis and Tennessee barbecue, among other regional food traditions and folkways, for the SFA Oral History Initiative. In recognition of her documentary work, she was recently nominated to SouthernArtistry.org by the Mississippi Arts Commission and named one of the "most fearsome talents" in the food world by Food & Wine magazine in 2004.

I'm very much looking forward to reading Amy Evans' posts to The Food Section in the coming days, and I want to express my deep appreciation to her for generously agreeing to guest-edit this site.

Photo: Carl Mydans, Marketplace in the French quarters of New Orleans, June 1936 (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection).

Mole, Links, and Blogs

I have had loads of fun this week. Thanks so much to Josh and The Food Section for giving me this opportunity. I especially appreciate all of the comments posted. I will be sure to continue my burger tour starting with the recommended Sunset Grill, Astro Burger, and Pie-n-Burger . . . and I'll be certain to try the fries "animal style" next time I get a hankering for a double-single at In-N-Out. I've also since heard that The Counter in Santa Monica is a fun, interactive burger place. Thank you!

Just as there is so much to eat in L.A., there is so much to read about eating in L.A. For me, the first magazine in my hands in Los Angeles has been a guide to gluttony. I leave you with a few sources which I've found helpful, entertaining and just plain fun to read.

Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn graced the cover of the September 2004 issue of Los Angeles Magazine, but what really caught my eye was the top bar line: "The 25 Best Mexican Restaurants." I was excited to get this issue in my hands after I relocated to Los Angeles, where taco stands rival burger joints, this past September. I use it as somewhat of a guide to the Mexican food around here; I try to keep it in my car. But at the same time, this article only highlights 25 out of the overwhelming thousands that are out there. I have found one favorite so far, thanks to Patric Kuh (who wrote the article): El Sazon Oaxaqueno. This family-run place in Mar Vista shares a small strip mall with a laundromat and an abandoned 98-cents store. I haven't tasted many moles in my life, but I know I'm getting the real thing when I inhale the delicious Enchiladas de Pollo with black or red mole from El Sazon. The sauce is complex and sensual, with deep chocolate and chili flavors. And, if you're lucky, sweet bread will be baking as you're waiting for your lunch order, almost ready to fill the bakery cases at the front of the small restaurant.

On the Mexican food note, I noticed online that Jonathan Gold (L.A. Weekly) recently published an article titled Nueva York, which highlights seven Mexican restaurants on one street, York Blvd. I'll have to try . . . 

Other links also provide direction, entertainment, and/or proven good reads. The Los Angeles Times Food Section is extensive, publishing loads of articles weekly on all things cooking and eating and drinking. Or if you'd like, you can goo-gah over L.A.'s hottest chefs at L.A.com's dining section, while finding out where to eat when you shop or whether you should bring Fido to dinner. Gayot.com's Los Angeles Restaurants section keeps tabs on restaurant openings, renovations, and closings. The page also features a reliable guide, although seemingly limited, to upcoming and ongoing food events in the city. The hip Los Angeles City Beat, an "underground"-looking online counterpart to its newsstand publication, provides a small but intriguing "Eat" section. 

A few blogs have come across my path during my research. LARitz, a personal, witty, everyday life blog based in Los Angeles, devotes many posts to explorations of food and restaurants around town, mapping noteworthy meals from Campanile to Pollo la Brasa. Franklin Avenue intertwines L.A. food adventures with life adventures, coming to you from Mike and Maria, who I'm guessing are the coolest couple to hang out with in Los Angeles. EatLa, although appearing to have stopped publishing articles a year ago, contains entertaining documentations of contributing writers' restaurant adventures. In EatingLA, a more updated blog not to be confused with the one previously mentioned, Los Angeles resident and food-enthusiast Pat Saperstein becomes tour guide to "eating out, cooking and shopping for delicious foodstuffs in the city of the angels." Her articles range from pastry shop openings to documenting eating out with Chowhound's editor. 

Speaking of, Chowhound's Los Angeles thread is so lively you're likely to get a response to a post in a matter of seconds (even at 2 a.m.).  So, in order to fully represent (to the best of my ability) devoted Los Angeles food blogs, I've summoned the Chowhounders.  A special thanks to Chowhounders "LesThePress", "igj," and "weebie" for pointing out these blogs:

• Low End Theory's Guide to L.A. Restaurants allows searches by neighborhood, "style," or cuisine. The site is relatively young (October 2004), but the rich content so far merits reason to return.
• Orange County-based blog Professor Salt explores Orange County spots while sharing stories of home barbeque. 
• Quite the specialized site, Hot Dog Spot with its wacky "crack team" is on a mission to find the best hot dog in Los Angeles, hence documenting their dog-licious journeys.

I look forward to making these sources daily reads for daily eats. I'm sure I've missed a few, so please feel free to tune me in. We've got the hot dog; any L.A. mole blogs out there?

Miscellaneous Gems

During my time thus far in this enormous city, I have experienced three "gems," places which I have returned to and will return to in the near future. This list being limited to the Westside, I realize I haven't fully tapped the heart of the city and its intricate regions, which is an entire treasure chest in itself. And I know the greater L.A. (the valley, etc.) houses gems from Encino to Arcadia and south. This is just my starting line.   

A Cook’s Candy Store

Appropriately dubbed “Chef’s Paradise,” the long-standing Surfas of Culver City not only caters to the equipment needs of local restaurant kitchens and professional chefs, but also throws the passionate home cook into a state of gastronomical giddiness. Although most home kitchens lack counter space and electrical support for $750 Robot Coupes, industrial Belgian waffle makers or 40 lb fat-capacity deep fryers, Surfas welcomes the public to enjoy wholesale prices on all kinds of (more practical) kitchen gear. Cookware, cutlery, tools and gadgets fit for restaurant use are available to the public without the Williams-Sonoma-esque prices attached. Recommended deals include 1/2 sheet pans (13” by 18”) for $4.50 and a variety of kitchen toys such as stainless-steel tongs, large spoons and heat-resistant spatulas for stocking up, as well as Japanese mandolines and all things fit for sushi to baking to pasta-making. The gourmet and specialty foods section, which offers imported goodies such as olive oils, canned plum tomatoes, vinegars, natural peanut butters, flours, and mustards among others, is sure to inspire and, in my case at least, make for extended perusal.

Surfas is located at 8825 National Blvd. in Culver City just south of Venice Blvd.

The Beef About L.A.

In Los Angeles, the beef is in the burger. Everywhere. And I’m sure every Angeleno has an opinion about which joint reigns supreme, answers ranging from original, landmark burger stands to popular chains to a trendy restaurant’s rendition of this classic American fare. For me, this represents the beginnings of a Los Angeles Burger Tour, a small slice out of the bigger burger picture. Here’s a sampling of the where and why:

Original Tommy’s: There’s nothing special about the bun. The patty is small, requiring complaining carnivores to order a double or triple. The fixings are simple and always the same: tomato slice, chopped onion, mustard, optional cheese. The fries are mediocre but serve one special purpose: to sop up excess chili. Without this generous slopping of gooey, original recipe chili on your burger, you don’t have a Tommy’s.

Since 1946, the original Tommy’s has remained put on the corner of Rampart and Beverly. It’s the only Tommy’s (out of 27 locations) that doesn’t provide fountain drinks; customers help themselves via the honor system to cans of soda out of several Pepsi coolers surrounding the stand.

Here’s what I’ve learned from the Tommy’s experience: don’t entirely remove the Tommy’s burger from the wrapper. If this mistake is made, all the chili will ooze out the bottom of the burger and meld into an even sloppier mess, creating chili-cheese paper which requires some serious fry-mopping.

The VA, Barbeque, and Jazz

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, the Veterans Affairs campus is the last place I would have thought of to enjoy delicious barbeque while listening to a local jazz band. But following a recommendation from a former co-worker, a few Fridays ago my boyfriend and I found ourselves with trays in hand, waiting in a small line at the Veteran’s Village Diner on the VA campus in Westwood. And here’s the kicker: they smoke their own chicken and ribs.

I knew the barbeque would be good even before I had my first messy bite. As we walked toward building 306, I spotted the two horizontal capsule-like smokers on the perimeter of the large outdoor patio. Manned by barbeque guru Earnest "Pork Chop" Phillips every Friday, the smokers slowly complete the cooking of the ribs and chicken as well as infuse them with a char-like, smoky flavor. The heat is controlled by manually opening and closing the lids, a skill which Pork Chop has delightfully mastered, considering his 35 years experience with everything barbeque. The fall-off-the-bone ribs and crisp-skinned chicken are then slathered with a tangy house-made (yes, house-made) barbeque sauce in the kitchen before brought to the cafeteria line for service. For $6.50 each, we enjoyed our choice of ribs or chicken, two sides, cornbread and a piece of cake. Oh, and the sides are all house-made as well, from rich, comforting macaroni-n-cheese to tender collard greens and tangy potato salad.

Keller Heads South . . .

. . . But, unfortunately, not to open a new restaurant. When asked by an audience member whether he will ever plan to return to L.A. and launch a Southern California sister to his Napa Valley French Laundry or Bouchon, chef Thomas Keller, who just opened Per Se in New York, responded with an emphatic “No.” And then he gave Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles and In-N-Out some props.

At noon sharp on Friday, November 12, L.A. Times food writer and author Russ Parsons began the interview, flanked by Keller and Jeffrey Cerciello, Keller’s chef at Bouchon. The setting, casual yet sophisticated, was in the courtyard outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Bookshelf, quite fitting for the promotion, Q&A, and book-signing for Keller’s second cookbook, Bouchon, named after his Yountville, California and now Las Vegas locations. The event was promoted as a supplement to an art exhibit at the museum, From Renoir to Matisse: The Eye of Duncan Phillips, but devoted home cooks and Keller fans, with cookbooks in hand, filled limited seats while others stood, clearly attending for the interview and book signing. I was lucky enough to attend on behalf of The Food Section. 

As a professional cook and one who has merely peered through the outside windows of the French Laundry, I have always regarded Thomas Keller as untouchable, transcending the title of just “chef.” Genius, perhaps. Master. Perfectionist. But here at the interview, Keller was ten feet away, talking about Bouchon. For me, it brought Keller back to earth.

Just Desserts

The fifth and final installment of this Saigon Moveable Feast finds us on the corner of two one-way streets, Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Pasteur in District 3. I spend a good fifteen minutes scoping the area for a suitable joint. As I promised at the beginning of our culinary tour - "Stick a pin in any Vietnam city map and I guarantee you’ll find something interesting to eat [nearby]" and today's no different. There's four Com binh dan, drink stalls, one of seven Saigon branches of the Korean Lotteria burger chain and mobile Pho floggers. I opt for a Com binh dan that promises Chao muc (Squid rice porridge), but I'm outta luck. They don't serve squid til 3pm and that's 4 hours away. I need a filler, not a feast to tide me over beforehand.

At the traffic lights on Nguyen Dinh Chieu I find this stall with a camera shy seller. Vietnamese motorbike drivers have issues with red lights i.e. they ignore them. However, enough do stop on this street to keep in her business. She sells Che - the sweet bean and coconut stuffed desserts so loved in the south of Vietnam. You'll find far more sweet-stuff down south than anywhere else in Vietnam and it's probably fair to say Che are top of the sticky snack charts for most Saigonese. Although her stall is mobile, she's been dishing out her 1,000VD (about 6 cents) desserts for the past four years from this same spot. She has premixed Che rammed in those metal pans above and regularly bags up takeaway portions which are displayed storefront and warmed by the sun.

Che, not only look like tart-tastically top deck tucker - they are. This stall has five varieties on offer. I buy three and taste test all of them. Although, I would advise you stick to just the one. They can be quite heavy after lunch numbers, although they are healthier than a Hershey's. Exactly what goes into each Che is something of a blogger's dilemma, but I'll do my best.

This is Che Chung. In the mix we have, sweetened coconut milk, yellow corn, a couple of haricot beans, thick translucent rice noodle, a scattering of Tapioca and some black rice jelly. It's sweet, it's soft, it's a super, sugary snack.

Che Dau Trang is thick with coconut milk and there's bags more, slightly bitter, beans along for the ride in here. Thicker and more viscous than the Che Chung, it's also a smidgen salty. It's tasty, but the Che Chung gets my vote thus far. The Dau Xanh Hot, pictured below, is by far the most liquid of the lot. It's mung bean packed with an earthier flavour and a subtler sweetness. I could swear I'm tasting seaweed in there and young coconut juice, but this dissection process is tough and I'm starting to hallucinate, so don't quote me on that. Dau Xanh Hot is the most intriguing of the three, but a return visit would find me collaring the first on the list again, Che Chung.

That brings this Moveable Feast to a close. Hope you enjoyed the show. I'm happy to say the Noodlepie theory of Saigon scoffing works. But don't take my word for it, try it out for yourself. Meanwhile, it's getting near Chao Muc opening time... check out Noodlepie next week to see if squid and porridge really do make sense when served as one.

Snail Street

Tu Xuong Street in District 3 is a narrow strip often used during rush hour to avoid the clogged junctions of Saigon's over-motorbiked streets. The fourth installment of 'Sticking pins in Saigon' finds us in among big houses, office space, the odd cafe, four or five street vendors and a scattering of basic restaurants. I skip the three, ever present, Com binh dan restaurants and pop inside what looks like the classiest lunch spot of the lot, Quan An Thien An, at 6A Tu Xuong. Thien An is a half-covered, open air joint. The al fresco section has a retractable blue canopy. The kitchen area is hidden behind a flimsy partition and lines the entire length of one side of the restaurant. Plastic chairs, rickety fans, pot plants and naff paintings add bags more boom to the aesthetic bomb, but bad looks don't always mean shoddy nosh. Not in Vietnam.

There's an extensive, budget friendly English/Vietnamese menu with shrimp, crab, eel, frog, beef, squid and fish dishes. There are four house specialties; Chim se se nuong moi (Special plain grilled sparrows), Chao luon dua xanh (Eel green bean porridge), Chao ca rau dang (Fish porridge with rau dang) and Oc len xao dua (Braised "Len Len" snails with coconut milk). I have no idea what a "Len Len" snail is, but I do like my snails and so this is the dish I plump for. A bell rings and the food appears from a small serving hatch. No less than six pairs of eyes bear down on me wondering whether the clueless white guy knows what to do next. He doesn't.

I try, but without the usual 'snail-picking device' I'm floundering. One of my watchers takes pity and shows me the way. It turns out the trick is to suck both ends. The pointed tip of each snail is already broken off for you. You suck this end first to dislodge the snail. Follow this up with a hard suck on the wide end and the small rubbery gem should pop straight into your mouth. Simple. Well, not quite. It's messy, it's noisy and it's embarrassing to fluff your lines in front of an audience. However, it's worth the labour intensive scoff-out because this is an excellent snail dish. The sweetened coconut milk is mixed with lemon grass, chopped Rau ram (a spicy Vietnamese mint-like herb) and a little chili. I'm a big snail fan, but let's face it - snails are bland. Fortunately, the sweet, hot coconut sauce at Thien An gives the grunt these snazzy mollusc wannabes need. It's a fabulous find and I'll definitely be back for more. 30,000VD or just under $2.

Ghetto Soup

There’re only two reasons you’ll see an expat come to this part of town. To buy knock-off DVDs/CDs and software or because he stuck a pin in a map as part of an experiment in dining. This is the corner of De Tham and Bui Vien Streets in the thick of what is known locally as ‘backpacker ghetto’. Bui Vien Street is crammed with four-storey mini-hotels, trinket shops, bad restaurants, dodgy tailors and dodgier taxis. The garish ‘Go’ bar hogs the street corner, with an inviting ‘Buy 5 Tiger beers and get 1 T-shirt free’ offer and a conversation killing sound system deafens punters. However, if you look hard enough, there are signs of local life even among these heavily touristed barracks.

My nostrils snatch the scent of these pork slabs sizzling a good thirty seconds before my eyes lock on. Grills like this tempt kerb crawlin' gourmets all over town from as early as 9am. The Com binh dan shed, pictured below, with its small alleyway eatery attached, is just next door to the grill at the eastern end of Bui Vien. Interestingly, this joint is packed with Vietnamese scoffers, not a ghetto dweller in sight. The food here looks better and is no doubt cheaper than the sanitized servings down the main De Tham drag. I'm tempted, but we've covered Com binh dan at the beginning of this Moveable Feast and for the sake of variety and all that... I move on.

The first and only Pho restaurant I come to is at number 96. The fact that it's empty is a worrier and the three woman running the show were of the agressive, hard-sell, drag you in by the arm whether you're hungry or not variety that tends to unsettle my stomach. But, Pho, more than any other Vietnamese dish, is known the world over and I'm eager to fit this Saigon stalwart in during this week somewhere - good or bad.

This restaurant is actually a stall in a restaurant. The stall can be wheeled around the streets and the broth served alfresco if needed. Not that the owners would need to do that these days. Just bring the stall in off the street - smart. I order Pho bo tai (Raw beef noodle soup). It arrives with a three herb plate, blanched beansprouts, slices of lemon and sliced yellow chilies. Certainly looks like bonkers good broth from where I'm sitting, but let's dive in and see what's under the bonnet.

Plenty of meaty vapour powering through, however as with many other Pho I've had in town, it lacks a distinctive character to separate it from the rest of the gruel gang. Having said that, it's far better than I was expecting. I did think the restauranteurs in this part of town would veer towards laziness what with their clientelle mainly consisting of clueless foreigners, like me. However, the noodles aren't fresh enough and taste as if they've been out in the sun too long. This is commendable Pho, if not great Pho. The main gripe being chewy beef. Buy a tenderiser, I've seen them on the market, cost less than a buck and does wonders for meat heading brothwards. 12,000VD a bowl, about 80 cents.

Street Snack

I was quite pleased when I saw I'd be sending my taste buds down Mac Dinh Chi Street in District 1 for The Food Section as I've blogged this way before. Last time I scored a beltin' good beefy Vietnamese Pho and I glugged back Asia's best beer in Vietnam's first genuine Czech micro-brewery. There's plenty more mastication to be had along this lengthy street. There's a decent Korean restaurant, Saigon's best Malaysian shack, a not so good Thai joint and a rack of Vietnamese lean-to restaurants serving noodle soups like Bun bo Hue and Hu tieu. On this visit I skirted the lot and took the alfresco option at the stall pictured above at 6 Mac Dinh Chi Street, just over the road from the US Consulate.

There's nothing much to Banh my opla (Fried egg filled baguette), other than a couple of slack-fried eggs, a dose of greens and a crispy baguette. This frying frauleine hammers out quality cholesterol fayre from 6am til 6pm, seven days a week and she's had her stall in the same spot for the last ten years. Vietnamese chicken eggs are far tastier than those I have had in Europe. I'm not sure why that is, but it was the same story the last time I had Banh my opla down Chinatown way. The price might have gone up sharply since bird flu sent a chill through the land, but the taste remains topnotch.

This stall also sells Banh my pate (Chicken liver pate baguette), Banh my phomai (Cream cheese baguette) and slabs of cold meat tucked away inside banana leaf wraps on the table. For a Banh my opla, there's a whole bundle of add-on choices; spring onion, sliced cucumber, pickled carrot and raddish, red chilli slivers and a splash of hot sauce. I ordered everything minus the cucumber and chili. It's a barnstormin' baguette. You'd be hard pressed to find finer, fresher street scoff than this. And at 5,000VD (30 cents) you won't find cheaper either.