eG Foodblog: Torakris in the Heartland - Fast Food to Fine Dining

[torakris]

Back to food, I was thinking about your kids.  I know they eat a diverse diet when in Japan, but with all the fatty, salty, greasy stuff in the US, do they have a day or two of stomach upsets? 

And not about food, when in the US, do they still speak Japanese with you, or do they switch to English? 

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My kids seem to be fine, I am the one that ends up with all of the stomach problems! Since I do most of the cooking we really don't eat too much greasy food. Like me, my parent's don't keep (junk food) snacks in the house, so the kids eat a lot of fruit

My kids speak entirely in Japanese to me, but then they turn and speak to everyone else in English...

[torakris]

And now for what may be an eGullet foodblog first! Dinner at Chuck E Cheese!

At least 1/2 price books is a just a couple stores down....

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What, the kids were missing their Playstation or Gamecube already? Had to satisfy the video game withdrawal?

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Actually my daughters both brought their DS's with them...

[torakris]

Ha, I was just at that 1/2 Price Books earlier today. I noticed the nearby Chuck E Cheese and wondered if that was the one that you'd be going to.

Find anything good there?

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Not today, since I was just there a couple days ago... but last week I picked up The Border Cookbook (Jamison's), the Best Quickbreads (Hensperger) and The Food and Cooking of Spain, Africa and the Middle East.

We were also at a 1/2 price books on the westside last week and I picked up a Nigella Lawson book.

[torakris]

After my book, my dad made us go in the backyard and pick some raspberries....

....they were gone in less than 2 minutes.

I needed to make a run to Office Max to pick up some stuff for my husband and decided to pass some time in Borders which was right next store. I picked up a Good Food magazine.

[tejon]

Do I spy a lone blueberry in that gorgeous bowl of raspberries?

[torakris]

Monday Dinner: Chuck E Cheese

I am not sure why the pictures were so dark, I used the flash... I am using my dad's digital camera and I still don't know how to work it very well. Some shots of inside, the back part (with the stage and show area) was closed off for a private party.

It is hard to tell but those cars near the ceiling are connected by tubes, ladders and slides, almost 1/4 of the room is taken up my this massive maze/jungle gym.

Dishing out the tokens, all of the games need one token to play. We bought 260 tokens for the 7 kids to split. Many of the games give you little tickets if you win, you collect these tickets and then exchange them for prizes.

Hide on one of the rides.

This Star Wars game was by far the most popular

My favorite, the skee ball area! My sister Erin is a skee ball queen, of the over 2000 tickets we all won today, about 1500 were hers from skee ball alone.

All the tickets are pooled and prizes are chosen, Hide was the lucky one today and he was allowed to get the Spiderman game he was wanting.

Edited July 25, 2006 by torakris (log)

[torakris]

Do I spy a lone blueberry in that gorgeous bowl of raspberries?

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Yes, you do!

My dad's blueberries and blackberries aren't doing very well this year...

[torakris]

For dinner I decide to go with the salad

The blue cheese was a perfect match for the beets and cucumbers, all served on a bed of spinach with a sprinkling bread toasts.

It was so good I ordered it again...

In between I cleansed my palate with a freshly baked bread seasoned with tomato and oregano, lightly dusted with cheesea nd alovely mushroom garnish.

For dessert, the seasonal fruit and fresh cheese platter sounded too good to pass up.

[MarketStEl]

I think this is also the first time I've run across parody (or was this full-on sarcasm?) in an eG foodblog.

I think you posted the wrong photo by accident upthread.

[suzilightning]

My kids seem to be fine, I am the one that ends up with all of the stomach problems! Since I do most of the cooking we really don't eat too much greasy food. Like me, my parent's don't keep (junk food) snacks in the house, so the kids eat a lot of fruit

My kids speak entirely in Japanese to me, but then they turn and speak to everyone else in English...

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not surprised about the tummy troubles, kris - kids have notoriously iron guts and as we have aged ours have gotten a wee bit more tempramental...

i grew up speaking french and english interchangibly though english at school always. the most fun was when we were in quebec and in a drugstore/ restaurant. we were speaking english and freaked the waitress out when she came over, addressed us in english for our order and we answered back in french - iincluding 6 & 7 year old estheranne and susan. course the time i dressed down a bunch of people who were commenting on the stupid americans at cape may was fun too.

i know your mom make stuffed cabbage but are there any other stuffed cabbage makers those of us not having access to your mom might partake in? (i love gwumpki) and have finally found a reliable source here in nwnj after being lucky enough to have grown up on the east end of long island where many, many polish families settled.

Edited July 25, 2006 by suzilightning (log)

[Hiroyuki]

Chuck E Cheese's...

What a fun place to be!

I found an entry in Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_E._Cheese

So, what's wrong with it anyway?

What other crops does your father grow in his garden, besides those berries?

[bethpageblack]

Back to food, I was thinking about your kids.  I know they eat a diverse diet when in Japan, but with all the fatty, salty, greasy stuff in the US, do they have a day or two of stomach upsets? 

And not about food, when in the US, do they still speak Japanese with you, or do they switch to English? 

←

My kids seem to be fine, I am the one that ends up with all of the stomach problems! Since I do most of the cooking we really don't eat too much greasy food. Like me, my parent's don't keep (junk food) snacks in the house, so the kids eat a lot of fruit

My kids speak entirely in Japanese to me, but then they turn and speak to everyone else in English...

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Interesting -- do your kids speak English with a Japanese accent? Also, if there is no accent in their English, do they speak Japanese with an American accent? The reason I ask is that I am interested in how kids handle speaking two different languages such as English and Japanese. I am in sort of the same setup you are, as an American born Chinese who moved to China (Guangzhou) for business. It looks like I will be staying here for a while, so I will have to get used to the fact that I will raise my children here.

It seems like your kids are more comfortable speaking Japanese. btw, cute kids. They must have lots of fun when they go back to the States. Less people, more space -- sounds wonderful!

[Daniel]

Torakris,

Looks like you are having a wonderful trip.. I have been enjoying your blog.. Thank you for sharing this with us all.

[chardgirl]

For dinner I decide to go with the salad

The blue cheese was a perfect match for the beets and cucumbers, all served on a bed of spinach with a sprinkling bread toasts.

It was so good I ordered it again...

In between I cleansed my palate with a freshly baked bread seasoned with tomato and oregano, lightly dusted with cheesea nd alovely mushroom garnish.

For dessert, the seasonal fruit and fresh cheese platter sounded too good to pass up.

I'm thrilled you're blogging, even if it means I won't get *quite* as much done as I should this week! I love your way with words. I've endured 2 Chuck ee Cheese-y meals so far in my 11 years of parenting... There's only one other pizza I've tried that was worse: Little Caeser's. YUK.

How did your children like it? I'd guess your son was thrilled, and the photos show that: but how about your daughters? My kids find it over stimulating, especially by 11 year old. This from the boy who can watch 4 hours straight of Cardcaptor Sakura if left unmolested by the pesky parents.

I will patiently wait more Cleveland food posts through the eyes of the expat returned....

cg

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

My kids love Chuck-E-Cheese... not for the food mind you. Although my milk allergic daughter does appreciate that we can order a pizza for her there without cheese and garlic butter. Their pizza is about on par with Dominos. I've had much, MUCH worse.

After a couple of hours at CEC with my older 3 kids, I tend to need major decompression time.

[Chufi]

I needed to make a run to Office Max to pick up some stuff for my husband and decided to pass some time in Borders which was right next store. I picked up a Good Food magazine.

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Oh, that's my favorite food magazine.. I have every issue from 1999 till now, and I still use every copy on a regular basis. Lots of seasonal recipes, and the most important thing is that every recipe really works!

[torakris]

Chuck E Cheese's...

What a fun place to be!

I found an entry in Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_E._Cheese

So, what's wrong with it anyway?

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The food is awful, it is unbelievably noisy and there is a huge stuffed mouse that runs around.

Yesterday since the back room was closed it was quite a pleasant experience, this is where the shows and really loud music is. It was the quietest I have ever seen it and there were less than 10 other families in there.

This is kids paradise, pizza and games and I usually go there about 2 times every trip. Even my 3 sisters and I were all lined up at the skee ball machines..

I did leave for about an hour and browse the cookbook section of 1/2 price books and then walked a little further down to World Market Place to buy my Toddy coffee filters, as it is the only place I know that sells them.

What other crops does your father grow in his garden, besides those berries?

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I will be back in about 30 minutes with pictures!

[torakris]

Interesting -- do your kids speak English with a Japanese accent?  Also, if there is no accent in their English, do they speak Japanese with an American accent? 

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No they don't really speak English with a Japanese accent, but when they speak you can tell it isn't their native language. My oldest speaks the best probably because it was the only language we spoke at home until she was 5. Once my second daughter started preschool at the age of 3 the conversation between them turned to Japanese. By the time my son was born he heard more Japanese than English. The level of bilungualism is going to be dependant on many things. My husband is Japanese and isn't really very good at speaking English so we decided that we should each use our native language around the kids so they wouldn't pick up on our mistakes. My friends who have the best success with true bilingualism are those that have only one child or siblings spaced quite far apart and with two parents who can converse fluently in the language used in the home.

If we were ever able to spend a year here, I really think my kids could get up to speed as I even notice a huge change in just one month.

Their Japanese is native sounding with no accent what so ever.

[torakris]

How did your children like it? I'd guess your son was thrilled, and the photos show that: but how about your daughters? My kids find it over stimulating, especially by 11 year old. This from the boy who can watch 4 hours straight of Cardcaptor Sakura if left unmolested by the pesky parents.

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My daughters loved it just as much as my son. I think it is mostly because it isn't a place they have the option of going to when we are in Japan. If they actually lived here they may not get so excited about it.

[torakris]

Oh, that's my favorite food magazine.. I have every issue from 1999 till now, and I still use every copy on a regular basis. Lots of seasonal recipes, and the most important thing is that every recipe really works!

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Good! I had never read this before, but I paged through every food magazine on the rack (and there were a lot of them) and that was the one that looked the best.

Tuesday breakfast:

1 Lenders blueberry bagel with fake butter spread and iced instant coffee.

[Pan]

[...]We did't buy much as we had just been there a couple days ago

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I don't think I've ever eaten aloe vera. Is it possible to describe the taste of the aloe vera dessert?

That photo of Hide with the game he won is priceless! It also reminds me of an experience I had when I was in Japan 31 years ago. Friends of my parents shepherded me into a pachinko parlor and told me to behave like I was an adult (I think the minimum legal age to be in a pachinko parlor was 18, and I was 10). I had beginner's luck and won credits for some prizes. The women at the prize claiming desk thought I was so cute (like a lot of Japanese adults did at the time). The prizes I chose were some snack foods I ate the next day. It was a real kick!

[Kouign Aman]

I do believe I saw that picture of your son with his new game in the dictionary, next to the word "glee".

The description of your fine dining experience at Mr Charles E Cheese's notorious establishment was a deft touch.

I'm also curious about Aloe Vera dessert.

[helenjp]

Thanks for the close-up of Chuck E. Cheese - we'll be on the next plane!

I always wondered how you could bring rice etc back to Japan, as we've always had 44lb luggage limits (not to mention winter clothes, plus violin and guitar in hard cases...).

Is the US very restrictive on what food products you bring into the country?

[Kim Shook]

The review of CEC was hilarious. I'll be sharing that with Mr. Kim tonight!

[torakris]

Is the US very restrictive on what food products you bring into the country?

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Not if you don't tell them...

I made a quick run up to Beachwood Place (local mall) to tell my sister what bras I wanted, she works at Victoria's Secret and buys stuff for me with her 40% discount.

On the way back I stopped at the Green road Heinens (supermarket) and picked up scallions, chorizo, white balsamic vinegar and green olives. One of the items is for dinner tomorrow and the other 3 are for tonight....