Lingbo Li
Happy 1st blogger birthday!
a cupcake from Sweet to celebrate
One year ago, I figured I might as well put a blog on my vanity domain. I had no idea what I’d be writing about – my first few entries recycle a treatise on how awesome Madonna is, how to register a domain, and the haul from a thrifty shopping trip.
It’s been most excellent year, and I honestly can’t imagine life without having this humble little blog which has brought some amazing people and opportunities my way. Don’t by shy about saying hello if you see me around – I always love hearing that people actually read this thing. I don’t get paid to write this blog (and restaurants don’t give me meals for free), so I’m only paid in comments, love, and web traffic statistics.
What does America taste like? [Burger King $1 Jr. Whopper]
I used to lust after the compartmentalization and brutal efficiency of a fast food meal. I’d calculate a kind of formula to maximize my pleasure in consuming a set meal: this had more sides than that, this had chicken (which I really liked), extra points for apple turnovers or coleslaw. There was a certain American-ness still foreign to my childhood that placed fast food in a special nook of my heart. Especially when my parents would always pick the closest Panda Express over a Wendy’s.
Now that I have complete control over where I dine out, I usually would opt for something cool and ethnic, or if I’m going to burgers, it’d be cult-hit family joint adored by the Yelping masses. But I saw the Burger King by Fenway on Bolyston Street was doing $1 Junior Whoppers, so I knew that I couldn’t resist a low risk, high return on feeling American.
It came wrapped in wax paper and placed in a printed brown paper bag. The roll was slightly sweet and soft, yielding to iceberg lettuce crunch, a tangy bite of pickle, and thin patty that played second fiddle to its toppings. The ketchup/mayo flavor was key in maximizing the pretty unremarkable ingredients, including a pale, anemic tomato slice.
Amazingly, they added up to more than the sum of its parts. One flavor never overpowered the other, and I happily finished the last bite in a Whopper-induced haze. Not bad for one dollar.
unhinged.
Adventures in Raw Food – Boston’s Grezzo, part 2 of 2
If you didn’t know any better, the pamphlet on the tables at Grezzo in the North End might scare you off. It lists 40 reasons to eat raw, ranging from something like “It makes your skin GLOW!” to somewhat dubious ones like, “Cooking kills off 50% of essential enzymes in food.”
Nothing is heated above 112 degrees, so if you order tea, the water is warmed, not boiled.
Health claims aside, the creativity required to make conventional dishes is mind-boggling. Pasta becomes ribbons of squash. Bread becomes dehydrated sheets of vegetable pulp. Brownies are made out of mashed dates. Dairy is redone (surprisingly successfully) as macadamia or cashew pulp.
After tasting some raw home cooking in Mary’s kitchen, I’d been itching to try a restaurant version. Grezzo, as far as I know, is the only all-raw, easily accessible place in the Boston area. Prices are reasonable – in the low 20’s for entrees, 10-12 for appetizers, but definitely a splurge for a college student. The nice thing is that their portion sizes are large, plus eating a lot of creamy nut paste is not a joke. You’ll definitely feel filled up.
I was introduced to Grezzo originally from my friend Mark, who insisted on renting a ZipCar to transport us there. We ended up getting really lost several times and arriving an hour late. The space is pretty small – about 20 seats altogether – and I got seated next the door which blew in gusts of arctic air.
I left my camera at work, and had a mini panic attack as I contemplated eating a meal without photographing it. The horror!!
California Maki Roll - quinoa "krab" salad, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayo
We decided to get two appetizers each rather than entrees. I sampled the California maki (“krab” salad, quinoa, avocado), which was stunning – creamy, intensely flavored, and far preferable to run-of-the-mill avocado roll. There’s no way that soy sauce was raw, however. The spaghetti carbonara was dense, rich, and creamy, with uncooked peas adding a pleasant crunch. One of the interesting things about raw food, I’ve found, is that raw food flavors are much more intense than their cooked counterparts. Particularly for things like onions, garlic, and greens, they’re actually naturally spicy.
Mark, during the course of dinner, convinced me not to run for a position on the Crimson.
Then they massively messed up.
Food porn: sfogliatelle and a cappucinno from Modern Pastry
Whenever I think of Italian, I actually think of Giada. I remember the first time I saw her – it was in paper version of the New York Times. I mean, who even reads the paper version of the Times anymore? Nobody. They’re bleeding cash. Anyway, it was the cover of her book. She was wearing a blue shirt that matched her eyes, and it was the kind of photo that takes your intestines and whips them around with an eggbeater. There’s a certain cheesiness to how attractive she is – an obviously exploitative quality that always makes me feel awkward about staring. When she’s cooking while I’m at the gym, I’ll watch her whip up a cheesecake, or some stuffed shells, or whatever it is she is making. She narrates her motions with a eager, wide-eyed zeal that ever-so-slightly feels scripted. Then she’ll replace the “real” parts of food with words: oh, it smells amazing! Mmm, this is delicious. It’s funny how on TV, chefs are forced to be self-congratulatory to compensate for you not being there.
Adventures in Raw Food: Part 1 out of 2
I like subversive shit.
The creativity required to make pepperoni pizza without any bread, pepperoni, or cheese seems like nothing short of magic. I love mental gymnastics.
Mary, with one of her creations, all photos courtesy of her Flickr
I was first introduced to raw food when I had dinner at Mary’s house. Mary was a vegan chef who cut an imposing figure by anyone’s standard: she was 6’3″ with blue eyes, a buzz cut, and a very open, matter of fact speech. We had a friend in common (who eventually ended up going to Romania to translate a novel). On Mary’s calendar: a trip to Burning Man.
One of Mary's salads
On the menu that night: raw tiramisu, raw ice cream (made from soaked and ground cashews), and vegan kim chi pizza. On the side, Mary tried to make a batch of vegan marshmallows, which failed, and had me sample some pickled daikon, a kind of Asian radish.
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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