Purple Rice and the Limits of Globalization

Chinese black rice (Photo credit)

Also known as Chinese black rice, or "forbidden rice", this grain is not only very healthy, but has a history of delineating social status.  In ancient China, the grain was only to be eaten by the Emperor.  In today's world, globalization is the norm, and anyone who can afford it can get Chinese black rice on the Internet.  But being available to more of a global audience is not the same as being available to more people.  Purple rice is a prime example of this.

It has been said that with the Internet and social media, we live in a "flattened" world.  This is not true.  Instead, we just built a whole bunch of drawbridges crisscrossing our world, with toll booths.  If you can't afford to pay the "toll", or the cost needed to access social media and to make use of it, then you still are isolated.


1. By Anna Frodesiak (Own work) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. 

The Origins of Falafel

Falafel is a food eaten in the Middle East (a blanket term that I despise, but in this case appropriate).  It is also eaten in the food stands of cities like New York, Chicago, Portland, and others, probably because it actually is a true "Middle Eastern" food, and most Westerners are used to hearing the term.  Therefore, it is marketable to Westerners, and vendors can be honest about which cuisine it belongs to.



It is often said that falafel originated in Egypt, then spread through the Levant.  To our tastes, this seems accurate.  But there is another form of falafel, one that originated on the Indian subcontinent.  It is known to many as "Indian falafel", but this is a misnomer because falafel is made with chickpeas, and Indian falafel (actually known as "ambode") is made with yellow lentils.  It has different flavors, mostly because they use different spices.

Falafel (Photo credit)

They are made in a similar fashion, though.  They both have similar textures, which lend themselves to be easily mashed.  After the cooks do this, they add certain spices.  They are then breaded and fried into a certain shape.  Falafels are usually made into round balls, whereas ambode is usually slightly flattened.

Ambode (Photo credit)

This may suggest that ambode was invented first.  Falafel in Egypt was probably invented 1,000 years ago.  Ambode was invented in the 6th century AD.  My guess is that falafel was adapted from the preparation of ambode.  It has been established that Arab seafarers regularly traded with the Indian subcontinent, so it could have happened through trade.

Also, lentils thrive in cooler climates.  They have been cultivated in semi-arid areas such as parts of Egypt, but have lower yields.  Lentils grown in Egypt would have been expensive, and more so if imported from India.  Chickpeas would have been a better substitute.  After all, the chickpea was known to Ancient Egypt.  And with that, the falafel was born.


Photo credit:


1. By Elias Bröms, http://www.meatinfo.org (http://www.meatinfo.org/alternativ/) [CC-BY-SA-2.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons.

2. By kuttibalu, original at [http://flickr.com/photos/balamurugan/515816151/sizes/l/], photo obtained from [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/c/c3/20080913061542!Masalvadai.jpg], via Wikimedia Commons.

Topic: Culinary Regions of California (Marin)

Sausalito in Marin County (Photo credit)

The Marin culinary region is the same area covered by Marin County.

The area shown in red is the Marin culinary region.

The region is characterized by a more upscale variation of the cuisine of the Hills, Lakes, and Wines region, with less emphasis on wine and a lot more emphasis on fresh seafood.


Photo credits:

1. By en:User:Squirrel 22 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sausalito.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Food Cart Review: The Egg Carton

Review:  There are two great carts I've been to that serve breakfast food in Southeast Portland.  One is for a quick-yet-delicious meal, and the other is for something to be savored for brunch.  The first is, of course, Fried Egg I'm In Love (second review here).  The other one, the topic of this post, is The Egg Carton.

Eggs Benedict from The Egg Carton.

I've only had the Eggs Benedict here (it is, after all, my favorite breakfast food).  They have three versions, but I always have the traditional English muffin, Canadian bacon, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.  There is a vegetarian option available.  Expect it to take 8-12 minutes, but also expect it to be good, because it is.


Geography:  The history of Eggs Benedict is complicated.  Each story for the invention of the dish conflicts with another.  I would argue that it was invented, not evolved like most other dishes.  For one thing, every early cookbook that first included the dish had somewhat different variations, but the versions seemed to occur radially from New York outward.  Most evolutions occur across a linear spatial direction.  For example, Hollandaise sauce probably started out as a fish sauce made with butter and vinegar.  As it traveled to France, it added egg yolk.  Then, people used lemon juice instead of vinegar once it got to Paris, and that's what we have today.  It spread in a southwesterly line, changing as it went.  But with Eggs Benedict, versions popped up all over the place.  For the most part, different versions occurred at a further-away place than the last few.  Also, like with most true inventions of food, there are conflicting stories on its origins, all claiming authenticity as its evidence.  But, one has to remember that authenticity is a construct.  What one person may see as "authentic" may not be so to another.  Without bias, the truth would be that both are authentic -- it just depends on the person which version is better.

Topic: Portland's Food Cart Community

So, I lost my wallet in Portland.  I was in Starbucks when I lost it (charging my phone, otherwise I would have just stuck to Ole Latte Coffee... more on that later).  I have had to deal with calling credit card agencies, the bank, and health insurance about the stuff that was in in my wallet, which may account for me being slow to update the blog.

One of the food carts I revisited deserves another review.  I have already reviewed Fried Egg I'm In Love for their delicious food, but I think I should focus on the service on this one.  How do I relate this to culinary geography?  We'll see.

Fried Egg I'm In Love on SE Hawthorne.

Review: It was my third time getting a meal at Fried Egg I'm In Love.  I walked by, and the owner greeted me.  I told him about the missing wallet, and he immediately offered me a free fried egg sandwich.  Having only six dollars with me, I accepted.  I did leave a two-dollar tip (I needed money for the bus to the train station).  This was probably the nicest food cart owner I've ever met, and I've eaten at quite a bit of carts for a non-local.

Geography: Come to think of it, most food cart owners I've met have been welcoming, happy to chat with their customers, and seem to like their job (even with the job being stressful).  Why is this?

I would say that it is because of the often-negative stigma attached to food carts spread by word-of-mouth from people in other cities.  In many other cities, people often look down on food carts due to an idea that they are unsanitary.  This could not be further from the truth, at least in Portland.  But this limits it to more of a local crowd, along with people like me who have already visited Portland a couple of times, and also major foodies who are kept up-to-date on local food trends.  In this way, food cart owners know their customers more, and thus creates a sense of community between food cart owners and customers.  It's always easier to like your job when you have that.

Food Cart Review: Halal Egyptian Food

Ful (Photo credit).

Review: Halal Egyptian Food is a cart serving (you guessed it) delicious Egyptian cuisine.  I ordered the lamb with rice.  It came with hot sauce which was extremely spicy, as it should be for truly Egyptian cuisine.  The lamb itself was also very good.  The rice was a bright yellow, probably due to being cooked with saffron.  It also came with a yogurt-cucumber sauce.

Geography: Egyptian food is often thought of and presented in the United States as a typical Middle Eastern cuisine.  Many people use the over-generalized term "Mediterranean cuisine" to describe all cuisines coming from countries with a Mediterranean coastline.  This leads people to think that all of those cuisines are more or less the same.  However, you'd be hard-pressed to find many similarities between, say, Spanish and Greek food.  Implying that all of these unique cuisines are the same is kind of an insult to those cultures, because they have had at least centuries to form, refine, and perfect their food.

Egyptian food is especially unique because of two reasons.  For one thing, they had thousands of years to form a cuisine.  Also, Egypt is bordering what most people consider to be the Levant region of the Islamic world, but is located in the Maghreb (Northern Africa).  They share quite a bit with both Maghreb cuisine and Levant cuisine.  Then they have their own unique historical cuisine dating from ancient Egypt, which also is a powerful influence.

Then there is Cairo.  It is like Egypt's New York, with a lot of influence from international cuisine.  It may be more of an influence in the future because of a rapidly growing population.

Photo credit:

1. By Abdullah Geelah (English Wiki [1]) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 

Food Cart Review: Thai Mango

Pad Thai, one of the more common Thai dishes (Photo credit)

Review: I've only had one thing here: the sticky rice with mango.  It was delicious, the rice was sweet without being overpowering, and the mango was great with it.  They could have put a bit more coconut sauce over it, but I didn't mind that too much.  The second time I was there, I brought two friends along, who ordered entrees (I ordered my main meal from Maine Street Lobster Company).  They really liked the food as well, and one of them orders Thai food quite a bit.  If she likes a certain Thai place, it's probably good.  I might go back sometime and order an entree myself.

Geography: Thai food is one of the more popular cuisines for food carts in Portland.  Why is that?

First of all, Portland is extremely vegetarian-friendly.  I've been to a lot of eateries in Portland, and only a select few do not accomodate vegetarians.  Even vegetarian nachos are a thing in Portland (Taqueria Lindo Michoacan has one on the menu).  With Thai food being a naturally vegetarian-friendly cuisine, it is not surprising that Portland has many Thai restaurants and food carts.  In fact, a visit to Portland is not complete without eating at one.


Photo credit:

1. By Takeaway (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Food Cart Review: Maine Street Lobster Company

Lobster roll (Photo credit)

Review: If you're in Portland, and you go to Red Lobster, you're wasting your money.  Actually, that's not a good analogy, because it really applies to any Red Lobster.  In Portland, it's especially true because of the amazing cart that is Maine Street Lobster Company.  I got a good-sized lobster slider and a cup of Boston-style (cream-based) clam chowder for ten dollars.  It was delicious.  The lobster here is shipped in from New England regularly so it is fresh.  They cook it well, too, with plenty of butter.  If you're looking for cheap lobster, go no further.


Geography: The story of lobster as food is a somewhat surprising one.  In ancient times and in Great Britain, lobster was as much of a delicacy as it is now.  In the United States, it started out differently.  At first, it was considered nothing more than cheap junk food, or bait.  It was reserved for people in poverty who could only afford lobster, and also for prison inmates.  Today, this sounds ridiculous, but back then, it was the equivalent of a Happy Meal that no one liked.

This changed with two events: the Civil War and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.  It became a food for soldiers in the Civil War, and became more widely accepted afterwards.  But what made it into a delicacy was the Transcontinental Railroad.  Many people in the western United States had not heard of lobster.  People going to the West Coast thought that if they served lobster to people on the West Coast, they could act as if it was a delicacy, and drive the prices sky-high.  They were right.  By the 1950s, it was considered a rich person's food instead of bait.


Photo credit:

1.   By Lee Coursey [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Food Cart Review: Fried Egg I'm In Love

Review: When one thinks of an egg breakfast sandwich, the thing that often comes to mind is some half-baked attempt at a meal with a powdered egg patty and some limp bacon and/or a greasy sausage patty, with maybe some Kraft cheese on a day-old ciabatta.  Not here.  What you get here is pure deliciousness.  I had the Huevo Mutilation (a pun based on the song "Wave of Mutilation" by the Pixies).  It is a sandwich made with two fried eggs, ham, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, and something called "aardvark aioli", all on toasted sliced sourdough.  The owners are very friendly, and seem to really enjoy their work (they were watching a football game while they made the sandwich).


Geography: The name "breakfast sandwich" may have been coined in 1940 in The American Woman's Cookbook by Ruth Berolzheimer.  But Mrs. A. B. Marshall's Larger Cookery Book of Extra Recipes by Agnes B. Marshall, dating from 1902, has a breakfast sandwich called "Sandwiches with Watercress and Eggs".  This seems to be more of a sandwich that Fried Egg I'm In Love would serve.  Perhaps they could serve it as a special sometime.

In 1972, McDonald's bastardized breakfast sandwiches, and made it into the unimaginative sandwich we think of today.  Whether they know it or not, the folks at Fried Egg I'm In Love are doing a huge service to breakfast fans by reviving the golden days of the breakfast sandwich.

It is uncertain how the breakfast sandwich got its ultimate origin, because it comes in so many forms when done right.  I wish I had more on that, because that would contribute to the geography theme of this blog.  It is safe to say it probably originated in Europe at least, because the 1902 cookbook was made in Great Britain.  Other than that, I really can't figure it out.