Lingbo Li
Flushing Mall’s Improbable Statue
There are some things in life that can only be elegantly described as “WTF?”
This statue (with me hamming it up on the left to convey scale) was found in Queens’ Flushing Mall en route to the Flushing Mall Food Court. Photographer Robyn Lee was equally perplexed.
Yes. WTF indeed.
Why Chinese Restaurateurs Get Stuck Selling Cheap
Egg drop soup, courtesy of Serious Eats’ Robyn Lee
I got an interesting comment on my post about why Chinese restaurants are so cheap about a month ago. (And my friend Sam sent in an excellent post about the culinary fundamentals that work against Chinese chefs.) The reader was Jack Neefus, a Baltimore resident who works in finance and dabbles in cooking and travel. He’s been to China few times, including my dad’s hometown of Heilong Jiang.
I asked if I could repost his comment, so he took an extra step beyond to rewrite it into a thoughtful essay. For space purposes, I’ll recap the beginning and excerpt my favorite parts. (I’m so high on my editorial power. You have no idea.)
Jack makes an economically-driven argument for Chinese restaurant owners’ motives. Chinese restaurants, he contends, are frequently owned by immigrants who view their businesses as a relatively stable form of income, compared to the restaurateur driven by love of cuisine and hospitality.
In his writeup, oversupply and price competition are major issues. One interesting point he raises is that American Chinese food tends to favor cheap, bulky vegetables that don’t require a lot of cleaning or cooking, and maintain volume. Ex. broccoli and onion. He also touches on the commodification of Chinese food, and how it’s now viewed as another fast food category with a factory-issued menu.
I found that his personal experiences (let’s call them abbreviated case studies) added the most value to his argument. He draws on his connections in China as well as Baltimore to make some pretty provocative statements.
Jack also breaks down the variety of niche, higher-priced Chinese foods, ranging from jacking up the decor to regional dish specialization.
If you’re nerdy about food (as I am), this is a fun read. I don’t necessarily agree with all of his logic or assertions, but that’s part of the fun.
Please chime in with your own experiences, thoughts, or rebuttals.
Cambridge Restaurant Search Directory
I stumbled across this useful page, which may interest the Cantabrigians and Cambridge-lovers amongst you. It’s a check-the-boxes style of restaurant search where you can sort by cuisine and neighborhood.
It is, however, two years out of date. Craigie on Main “will open in November 2008” on their Central Square directory. Yeah… But worth a glance if you’d like to browse a comprehensive list of eateries.
Review of Umami in Brookline, MA
The Chilean sea bass, the one thing I would sort of recommend here.
I visited Umami in Brookline because UrbanDaddy wrote it up.
The food is creative Asian (billed as Japanese, but it’s not that exclusively). From the menu, it reads, “Asian Inspired Global mix of culinary imagination with a creative twist.” I first had inklings of what was to come reading the Umami menu, which sounded more like a hopeful amalgam of seasonings than a clear vision. Also, they picked an ugly font, so the typographer in me balked.
Service was bumbling, but earnest. I liked our server, actually. He was kind of awkward, but very sweet.
My suspicions as to the food, however, were confirmed with their free “appetizer.” So there’s nothing wrong with free appetizers, but I mean… just look at this:
The matchstick cucumbers were actually the wet, seedy cucumber innards. When you picked on up, it flopped.
Deuxave opening in Boston’s Back Bay’s menu, hours
I have been observing Deuxave’s construction on Mass Ave and Commonwealth for months now. I’m frequently found traipsing around Back Bay these days, so an ambitious new neighborhood restaurant is much welcomed.
The food is seasonally inspired new American, with emphasis on sourcing local ingredients, and priced at around $26 an entree. The whole shebang is set to open “around” Labor Day (September 6th) and is the foodbaby of exec chef Chris Coombs (formerly of Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger; Aujourd’hui; Troquet; and the Food Network’s Chopped) and owner Brian Piccini (of Aquitaine and dbar).
I instinctively kind of like Coombs – he knows to spin his youthfulness to his advantage. How’s that for a PR lesson, college kids?
One thing that perplexes me is their pronunciation. It’s explained as “doo-ave” in their press release. But I remember that in French class, there’d normally be a “z” sound to transition between vowel sounds. So I’d been thinking of it as “duhz-ave.” Any French speaker input?
To see their sample menu, click for the jump.
Lana Lingbo Li
I'm a world traveler / enthusiastic eater who's now blogging and producing videos over at HelloLana.com. Visit me there!
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