Well the meal was amazing, from beginning to end. The conversation, the service, and oh, the food, it was top notch. Well it became clear pretty early on I should do a review, so I took lots of pictures. Then we met the chef, Rocco Agostino, who is actually from the neighbouring village to rIAm’s dad, and in his own right is a very cool guy.

So I had the idea, why not do a profile of Rocco, which can serve to introduce the review of Silver Spoon? They could all launch together on blogTO.

And so they did. Check out the profile and review. And hop over to my author page to see recent articles that I didn’t mention in this space, including the Obama speech watching party in town.

So as you may be able to imagine (or tell from our photos), one of the things rIAm and I are focused on during our travels is food. And perhaps we’ve talked about food a bit on this site; we’ve definitely shown photos and made commentary on flickr. But when we had a question come in about food, it seemed to make perfect sense to write a bit more about food, and how we approach the culinary adventure that is Asia.

The question was posed by good friend Eric, and went about like this: “what’s been your experience with varying food quality? I’m sure Thailand, like any other country, has its greasy spoons as well as great little finds, and am curious whether you’ve had good instincts for selecting eateries so far or have run afoul of anyone.”

Well, one thing is for sure, we impress locals with our (ok, especially my) willingness to try most all the food. Admittedly, some things are simply not appealing — just about any form of protein is consumed here, and just about every part of the animal is considered edible. So while I’ve tried fried bug and had parts of animals I normally don’t eat included in some dishes, I perhaps haven’t stretched as far as I could. Even though I say we impress the locals, it’s more like bonded with locals. And we’ve definitely eaten at a full range of food serving establishments, from ramshackle to swanky.

The photo above is from a night market in Phitsanulok, Thailand, at a vendor that sells many different dishes, most of which are some kind of curry. As you can see, I blend right into the scene and have become so darn local you can’t even pick me out of the crowd. Or not. But you can, plainly, see that this vendor is frequented by many Thai people. This doesn’t make it more authentic than anybody else, but it is a good indication that it’s tasty food. So that’s one thing we do — go to a place that’s busy, because then it must be good. And if its locals eating there, then locals must think it’s good (and it’s probably not pricey).

But the other benefit of a busy place is that it’s also a safe place to eat. We could pick any old vendor, but if we pick a non-busy person, then we run two risks. One is that the food isn’t as tasty. The other is that the food may have been sitting for a while and now is full of not-so-tasty bacteria that cause not-so-pleasant reactions. The vendor pictured above refilled several dishes while I was waiting to order and then waiting for my food. So the result was extremely tasty, fresh, safe food.

I should add that it’s really easy to pick these vendors. Often, many (or all) vendors are busy. And it’s fun to check out the market before buying, although in Nong Khai we bought at the first four or five vendors we got to (but it was also a relatively small market). The other thing is that with many vendors, things are made up fresh (and quickly) for each patron. This is the case for somtam, fried rices and fried noodles. In other cases, foods are partially or mostly cooked, but then reheated or finished upon ordering. The other way to get fresh food is to eat at normal meal times; there’s more food turnover, and in turn, safer food.

Of course, we also don’t eat at vendor stalls all the time. Restaurants give us a great opportunity to sit down and relax and also try some dishes that maybe don’t lend themselves to being street food. Some of these restaurants look pretty shabby, but crank out great food. Others look great and serve ok food, and others still look great and serve great food. (We try to avoid the places that look bad and probably serve bad food!)

We have a guidebook, traveler recommendations, local person recommendations and our own instincts and sense of adventure to help us. For the most part, we’ve been very happy with our food choices. One thing we learned in Thailand was that even though many guesthouses serve food, and that those places are often in guidebooks, the “Thai” food tastes about like it does in North America. Which isn’t to say it’s bad, but, well, we came here to eat Thai food the way Thai people would eat it. So we figured out how to assess a restaurant or at the very least find much more satisfying meals. Meals that had the chance to “wow” us.

The big shift to consistently better meals happened in Nong Khai. In the south it was hard to avoid tourist food (even if it was Thai food) and on the farm we ate most of our meals on the farm, which was good food for sure. In Prakonchai we ate well, too, but then when we got back out on the road we were feeling underwhelmed. But we figured it out in Nong Khai, righted the ship, and ate really well (and usually really cheap) the rest of our stay in Thailand.

In Nong Khai it started with a place serving local specialties alongside the Mekong and quickly accelerated at the night market, especially with the grilled chicken and somtam. In Phitsanulok and Sukothai the night markets and restaurants we chose were more than satisfying, and then in Chiang Mai we pleased our palates regularly. The noodle soups were consistently fantastic, sometimes from a streetside cart and other times from a sit down place. And the very best Thai food either of us has ever had the great pleasure of consuming was at the most wonderful of restaurants just outside Chiang Mai.

The restaurant outside Chiang Mai had many private nooks outside where you could dine in privacy in the open air — even ring a bell to beckon your server (who would otherwise leave you alone). There was also aircon indoor seating, but really, who wants that? Each dish we had, which will have pictures up on flickr eventually, with detailed description, was one of the best things we have ever had. I can still taste the garlic fried spare ribs. And if only green curries tasted like that everywhere…

So in my rather roundabout way, I have tried to sum up that there are all manner of ways to eat here, and rarely do they disappoint. You cannot go by looks, although peeking at the kitchen isn’t a bad idea. We toss in the occasional western food place, and while we can taste a difference at different places, a good noodle or curry dish isn’t wildly different from place to place. The local people we interact with while ordering or dining love that we’re trying local foods, and they love that we try to speak their language, and we love seeing their smiles.

That was one hot wok! This is why stir fries and other dishes made in a wok just aren’t as good when made at home in North America – they just can’t get hot enough! The BTUs of the gas stoves are too low, unless you get one special. But here, no problem! We boiled a big pot of water on the farm in 5 minutes or less. It would take at least 10 or 15 minutes on our new stove in Chicago – even on the “power burner.”

Anyhow, the real high heat gives the food what I call “wok breath.” I think I got that term from Ming Tsai. Anyhow, there is a flavor… an essence, as Emeril would say, that the super high heat provides that turns a good stir fry into an amazing one.

It’s funny, I’ve been wanting to post on a couple topics for a while now, but these last two I hadn’t been planning at all. I’ve got one or two other posts started and saved, waiting for the right inspiration to finish them properly. In the mean time, I’ve gotten many more photos uploaded to flickr – we’re up to 514 on the trip so far, I believe – so have a look if you’re interested. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to hear there are a lot of food photos.

Also, we take pictures of and write about things that we think are interesting or cool, but we also take note of things we think other people would find interesting. So if you’re sitting on the other end of this post thinking “it would be great to hear about …” or “i wonder what … is like?” let us know. We’re always happy to have something else to be on the lookout for.

As for an itinerary update, we’re in Chiang Mai now. This is part cool city and part tourist dump… like the Wisconsin Dells and Niagara Falls, there is genuine beauty that has been completely surrounded by tourist trap. But they sure do it different here! More on that in another post. The main city is surrounded by a moat, and most of the ancient wall that was inside the moat, and there are about a bazillion wats (temples), most of which look really beautiful.

In the next few days we plan to visit some of those wats, go to the zoo, up a nearby mountain, ride elephants and eat really, really well. On that point, I have just two words for you, which will have to be explained more fully in a future post: khao soi. It might not yet, but it should make your mouth water hearing those words.

It’s making me want to run right out of this internet cafe and down the street to get some khao soi… and that’s just about exactly* what we’re going to do!

*in this lifestyle of ours, we basically don’t run anywhere. not only is it not all that fun, it’s way too hot to run anywhere.

Today we’re going for my birthday lunch, and I chose a Middle Eastern restaurant that’s supposed to be very good. I’ve eaten at similar places, but not specifically at Nile Restaurant. Having had Middle Eastern food, it’s definitely got it’s own style, but it never struck me as a cuisine that really stretches ones comfort zone with food. But for at least two people going today, it is stretching their boundaries. Which is good, I think, but it still got me thinking.

Especially after I thought about my main meals, Friday through today. We stopped for Swedish food on Friday. Saturday we had Thai food, and Sunday was Indian (and Indian market shopping). Plus, I made Mexican-style beans, for consumption during the week. And today is Middle Eastern. All delicious food, and I didn’t think anything unusual about it. But I realized that rIAm and I will have eaten food from 4 continents and many regions, all with distinctive flavors and styles, and this is probably more diversity than some people get in weeks, months or even years. But to us, it’s just another (fairly ordinary) weekend.

That’s so cool!

On the flip side, we have my new favorite organic farmer, Farmer John, founder of Angelic Organics. He is featured in the new documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John. And he is a Beloit College grad! And he was recently the cover story feature of the Beloit College Magazine. If you ever wonder what Beloit grads are like, now you know. John is pretty typical — just apply his style to whatever other occupation you like.

Naturaly, this one caught my eye: “Best Post – Meat Comes From Animals…, by Barbara at Tigers & Strawberries.” I just had to read it!

And I’m glad I did. It started out as an amusing entry about meat and peoples’ response to meat-on-the-bone and morphed into an excellent justification for why the American meat supply system is just plain broken and why we should seriously consider organic (etc) meat.

Bear with me here, I’m going to try to make this well-worth reading.

Barbara lays out an excellent case for why she makes this claim: “People have forgotten, that in order for us to eat a hamburger, a cow dies. Most Americans live sheltered lives where the fact that in order for us to celebrate Independance Day with fried chicken and barbequed ribs, chickens and hogs must die.” On that note, ever wonder what happens to the rest of the chickens when you order 30 wings? Do you even realize (at the time) that there were other parts of the chicken?

So she continues on, getting to the best part of the whole post, which I highly encourage you to go read for yourself. But I’m going to slightly spoil it by repeating part of the story here. So go read Barbara’s post first, if you don’t want to have it spoiled for you now. Or skip a few paragraphs, if you must.

The story is set at a Thanksgiving table, and as the bird is sitting on display, ready to be eaten, one woman states, “I cannot stand to see meat that looks obviously like it is from the animal. It upsets me so.” (This sentiment was the topic of the post initially, btw)

Well at a table of people who, shall we say, don’t agree with this lady’s sentiments, they let the elder — the woman of the house — handle the response. Which just makes me giddy, imagining the scene playing out. The response…

Selma, a lovely older woman, looked down her elegant nose at the other woman, and raised one eyebrow. The corner of her mouth quirked up and she took a sip of wine then said, “Oh, that is so strange to me, because you know, I grew up buying live chickens at the market and carrying them home by their feet. And then my mother or father would butcher them out in the backyard in the summer, or down in the basement in the winter, and I always helped pluck them. They were lively birds, you know–the livelier, the better, my mother always said, and she would wring its neck and then we would bleed it–you know, you have to bleed it all out to make it kosher.”

And as if that wasn’t enough, it goes on: “Selma continued to describe the process of going from live chicken to matzoh ball soup, and then shrugged and said, ‘And they were the best tasting chickens I have ever eaten. Really, until you eat such a fresh bird, you do not know what you are missing.’” (italics mine)

Isn’t that a Thanksgiving table you just wish you were at? It’s like a thing of the movies.

Anyway, I do have a point here. First of all, the post made me think of my ancestors (butchers/grocers on my dad’s side, farmers on my mom’s and in-law’s side). And the post made me really consider how dramatically the food supply has changed in the U.S. in the last 50 years.

But let’s go back to those simple italicized words above. It sounds like a foreign concept, something we could all probably brush off easily, not putting much stock in the theory. But what happens if we replace “bird” with tomato? Or raspberry? Or apple? Or just about anything that isn’t meat?

I dare say, the whole reaction does a 180. Suddenly we’d be saying, “well of course! There’s just no replacement for fresh!”

Now I’m not saying we should all start raising chickens or have a herd of cattle. But if you have a choice between the farmer’s market tomato and the flown-in-from-across-the-country-or-continent tomato, which do you pick? If you have a choice between local (and often organic) or far-away (and usually covered in pesticide), which do you pick? Why is it that we don’t think about our meat the same way?

Food — sustenance — is one thing the entire world shares in common. We all must eat, and very few (if any) people can grow or raise everything they need to sustain themselves. Where should we get the food we eat? From across the globe, or right next door? Do you want the food produced by a factory farm, or the food from the family farmer who you can talk to at the market?

The ingredients we put into our food matter. This is why rIAm and I think carefully about what we buy at the various markets and grocery stores. Life really is better when you eat high-quality ingredients. Which doesn’t mean we do all of our shopping at Whole Foods Market (aka Whole Paycheck Market), but it does mean that we go to the ethnic markets, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, farmer’s markets, and only for some things, do we go to Jewel or Dominick’s.

It’s not a perfect system; some food we eat is probably of questionable origin. And we’re certainly in better position to avoid the major chains by living in Chicago (or any big city). Anybody, however, can make smarter choices. Like avoiding the center of the grocery store — the processed foods area — and stick to the perimeter, where you find the fresh things (e.g. produce, dairy and meats). Or choosing Jay’s chips over Lay’s or others because they contain ony 3 ingredients: potato, oil, salt. Heck, you could make those at home, if you were ambitious.

For us, it is a regular decision about what’s worth buying organic (and likely pay more for it at Whole Foods) and what isn’t so bad as non-organic (and likely pay much less for it at an ethnic market).

But isn’t a little extra effort and attention worth it for something so basic — but so vital — as the food we eat?

Where is Rick Bayless and his gems Frontera Grill/Topolobampo? Well, okay, those are the only ones I’m passionate about wanting to see mentioned. But there really are a bunch more great places.

Kudos are deserved, though, for his mention of Hot Doug’s, a Roscoe Village now west-of-Roscoe Village encased meat (e.g. hot dog) joint that makes you dream about encased meats. Although that may just be the duck fat fries talking.

And more kudos are deserved for acknowledging that the Thai and Mexican food in Chicago beats out NYC. There are no less than 5 great Thai spots within delivery distance of our humble abode, and plenty more than that, I’m sure, if we needed to look around. And yesterday, we added El Tapatio to the growing list of amazing Mexican joints we love (like Burrito House, La Condesa and Pancho Pistolas, to name three).

Most people talk about Chicago’s architecture or lakefront or politics, but damn, the food is amazing.

~Carrots, peeled, cut into thin sticks (to your liking, thinner = less cook time)
~Basil to taste (rough chop the fresh variety)
~Butter (be generous)

Enclose it all in an aluminum foil pouch and put it on the grill or in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrot is done to your liking. Then eat and enjoy. Couldn’t be easier, and it’s gosh darn good!

I tried this out tonight with about a pound of farmer’s market carrots, ~20 leaves (varying sizes) of fresh basil, a pinch of Renee’s new favorite food (kosher salt) and the smallest dash of dried tarragon. Plus of course a generous helping of unsalted butter (probably 2 tbsp).

But it would work a lot of different ways. So try something and let me know how it goes.