Pan

Now that we've established that fusion has existed forever, would anyone like to focus more on this question? I realize it's hard to be a prophet, but no-one's holding you to your predictions. What cuisines do you think will be most influential in influencing dining in the next 100 years or so, through the lending of techniques and ingredients so as to produce merged cuisines of the type we've been talking about? Or are we barking up the wrong tree and will it really be new technologies as yet perhaps not imagined that will be most influential?

How many of you like poh piah? I do, when it's good. And it seems to be one of those international dishes that can be found in various Southeast Asian countries. Let's discuss different versions of it here. One question to you all: A few days ago, I went to a branch of Penang restaurant in New York's Chinatown (Elizabeth St. north of Canal), and was surprised to find what seemed like ground pork as one of the layers in the poh piah. I can't remember ever getting poh piah that had meat in it before; irrespective of the quality of the poh piah I had in that instance (poor, in large part because the ground meat had a soggy texture and didn't help the taste), have any of you had poh piah with meat in it?

I went back to this place tonight, and got pho #1. It was filling and stomach-warming, and I ate it all up, but I wasn't satisfied with the brisket, which was amazingly cartilageinous and in large (though thin) slices that were extremely difficult to divide into bite-sized pieces. I don't know which Vietnamese place is the best in Chinatown, but I can't believe that this is as good as it gets there nowadays.

At the risk of going on a tangent, it would seem that the reason Trotter isn't opening a restaurant in New York is that the cost spiralled out of control, not because he's "deeply limited." (Full disclosure: I've never experienced his cuisine, so I don't personally know what his strong points and limitations are.)

In other words, there is no New York style along similar lines to the Vancouver or California styles, which as Jamie pointed out aren't considered "fusion" anymore, but normal. That said, I'm sure Vancouverites, like Californians, enjoy "authentic" Thai food very much.

Didn't that already happen when the invention of canning was crucial to the initial success of Napoleon's army?

That is one big crostino! Maybe we should call it a crostone... [chuckle] The stuff from that meal ain't road food. Are you gradually turning into a fancy gourmet on us?

Wow, what food porn -- nay, porn erotica. A comparison to anything raunchy or sleazy would be totally inapt. Anyone but Percy think I set the bar too high?

No, I don't beleive I have, although I recall having something similar from Switzerland. You are referring to these? http://www.germandeli.com/4017100311000.html ← I think the ones I get are dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, but otherwise, they're the same. Same box, etc.

Do they still make these? They used to be one of my favorites but I have had trouble finding them in N. Jersey ← They sell them at some of my local convenience stores, so I think they're still being made. Nice dark chocolate.

Just a couple of thoughts: (1) If you're going to go the seafood route, how about crab cakes or burgers instead of lobster burgers? I think it's probably easier to buy good lumpen crab meat than good lobster meat. Lobsters that aren't completely fresh just aren't good, but my possibly erroneous impression is that crab seems to keep a bit better. (2) It's really hard to find good onion rings. You need to keep the batter thin and use good-sized rings of high-quality onion. There are fewer onion ring fanatics than french fry folks, but we can be really rabid, so if you get known for serving superior onion rings, word could travel fast.

Interesting. Yeah, the organic raisins I get are always dark ones. Why aren't organic farmers producing organic golden raisins?

Jason, have you tried Bahlsen's Afrika cookies?

The microwave? No. It's the discovery of cooking that was the big innovation. The microwave oven is simply a latter-day way of cooking.

Haven't legumes been cultivated in South Asia and the Middle East (not to mention the Americas) for a lot longer than a millenium?

I belive that organic golden raisins are also sulfurated. ← That would surprise me. Sulfur dioxide isn't considered an organic chemical in any sense, is it? Besides, the organic raisins I get don't have any sulfur dioxide as an ingredient; they're raisins, period, and nothing else. For the record, I hate sulfur dioxide; it hurts my throat.

Don't sell yourself short. I wouldn't have written what I did if I wasn't sure you merited my confidence. But if it makes you feel better, even if your photos in this blog suck, I'll still like it.

There's also the phenomenon of high-end Asian street food, in the form for example of Bhel Puris at Devi, whatever they're serving at Spice Market (never been), etc.

Yeah, I don't like them either. Overall, I like the Raspberry Milanos best. My standby used to be Orange Milanos, and the various chocolate ones are also good.

Percy, very happy to see you blogging! Folks, those of you who don't frequent the dinner and breakfast threads have to look through some of their pages to see Percy's amazing creations. For what it's worth, I'd like to see some Parsi food and a breakfast blowout. As for the rest, I trust you to post things that are fascinating and beautiful.

So sultanas aren't simply golden raisins which aren't simply dried green grapes? What about organic golden raisins?

I got a new variety today, "Soft Baked Oatmeal Cranberry." They have 0 grams trans fat, which is good, but they have virtually no taste, which is bad. Don't waste your money on this variety.

Has fusion cuisine been the wave of the past since time immemorial? Is it the wave of the future? What kind of fusions do you think will be most common or/and most influential in the future, and at what price points? In "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," Fat Guy wrote the following: Indeed, no-one should count out the French, but isn't it possible that the 21st century will instead end up being the century of giant Asian countries like China and India? And given the possibility and perhaps likelihood of East and South Asian countries gaining in visibility, influence, and power in the coming decades, is it not perhaps a likelihood that we will see even further penetration of things previously thought Asian into Western cuisine at all price points? Will we be seeing more soju in high-end restaurants? McTeriyaki Burgers? Truffle-scented masala dosas? Foie gras soup dumplings?

I think Bux said that about as well as anyone is likely to. I'll add only that if the sandwich one is picking up for lunch is a pastrami sandwich from Katz's, that's some fine dining there. (Sorry, Chris, I went to Katz's for dinner tonight, so it's on my brain.)

The very best bit of information I got on the forums was eatingwitheddie's recommendation of the Li Family Restaurant in Beijing. Probably a close second was the recommendation of Joe's in Venice, California by some of our Angelino members. I could definitely go on in a similar vein; all the great recommendations, the pleasure of meeting some great people, many hours of diversion...