Before this class, I was kind of nervous about the class. Aside from some grilling, my knowledge of cooking food and knowing where it comes from was very limited. I assumed that many people in the class would know a lot about this kind of thing which also scared me a bit. After the first week, I was relieved to find that some people knew very little like myself, and that the class would be a learning experience for everyone.
When it came to writing for this class, I found it most effective to find the few different sections that I found most interesting to me from a reading and then picked the one topic that was most important. From there, I found that most of my posts would either be related to experiences in my life. It took me a few weeks to get it figured out, but once I did, it made the process much easier. Looking back, I think that putting things in context helped me to gain a better understanding of everything.
For the longer essays, I found it to be pretty easy to jump right into the writing process and get a nice flow going. I would attribute that to my preference of writing personal narratives. Trying to capture personal experiences can be difficult, but I discovered them to be a fun and powerful writing style, one that I was unfamiliar with before this class.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the writing for this class. I learned how much I enjoy personal narratives, as well as learning an immense amount of knowledge on the food system that I had not previously been aware of. This information will definitely affect the personal choices that I make for the rest of my life, and I hope they can make a positive change in our food system.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Process Writing
Food With My Father (Revised)
Since I was young, I have always looked up to my father. From his wide knowledge of trivia to his tastes in music to his love of golf, I have always latched onto his interests and taken to them myself. But one trait my dad possesses that I have never been able to grasp is his cooking. No matter the season or occasion, it seemed as if cooking meals was a breeze to him. Many of my fondest childhood memories revolve around my dad’s cooking with my family. Among these, summer dinners on the back porch of the family cottage in Bay View, Michigan stick out most in my mind. While I knew my dad could cook much more complex dishes, the warm feelings evoked by thoughts of those simple dinners of hamburgers, corn, watermelon, cherries, and lemonade seemed like a perfect the perfect meal to cure the funk caused by a long, cold Michigan winter.
As I began to draw up the menu for the meal, I realized that many of the summer delicacies that I craved for would be extremely expensive or impossible to obtain during a cold Michigan winter. On the forefront of these cravings were sweet cherries. These dark red cherries are a huge crop in northern Michigan and are a staple of almost all of my summer meals. I remember 30 minute drives along the Lake Michigan shore with my grandmother to pick up pounds and pounds of the sweet treats. For my meal, I envisioned making cherry barbecue sauce, cherry pie, and cherries to eat on the side as well.
I soon realized that my cherry-based meal was more fantasy than reality. If I was able to find sweet cherries, they would be extremely expensive. My idea of the perfect meal was strongly based on cherries, so how could I make it without them? After a lot of thinking, I thought back to my dad’s cooking. The idea of cooking a beloved meal with my dad quickly erased the thoughts of cherries in my head. With the simple summer meal in my mind, I headed out to Meijer to find the ingredients.
From the very beginning, shopping at Meijer was a confusing and hectic experience. Having not shopped at a supermarket since this past summer, the busy crowd of a Saturday afternoon was quite overwhelming, especially when I was unsure of what to purchase. After putting my head down and trudging through the store, I left with asparagus, watermelon, leaf lettuce, onions, and Kaiser buns (I didn’t need to buy beef at the store, as a freezer full of it was waiting at home). I knew that my dad disliked asparagus, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to reintroduce a dish to the person who has had such a strong influence on my culinary tastes. Heading to my parents house, I was eager to begin cooking the meal I had been thinking about so much for the past day.
Enlisting the help of my dad, I began with the first order of business: making the barbecue sauce. I chose my parents’ house because they have a kitchen filled with all the pots, pans, spices and other random ingredients I would need for the meal. What I neglected to remember was that my parents just moved from the house where I grew up, so locating all of the materials I needed was difficult. Following the directions of Food Network recipe, I was adding ingredient after ingredient: ketchup, sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and more. Luckily enough, most of these ingredients had been put away in a cabinet where I could easily find them. When I couldn’t find onion powder, my dad was there to the rescue by suggesting that I use onion salt instead. Situations like these occurred several more times during the cooking process, so it was nice to have my own Virgil to give me guidance when I needed it.
Once all the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, I was surprised to find that the tomato-based sauce resulted in a sweet taste with thick consistency; just what I was aiming for. After letting the sauce simmer in the microwave on low power for a few minutes, I went to work on the asparagus. I decided to roast the asparagus in the oven, then covering it with tuscan herb olive oil, fresh ground pepper and parmesan cheese. Feeling confident in the two concoctions I had just made, I moved onto the now defrosted burgers.
Burgers were the only dish that I felt very comfortable making, as they were the only dish on the menu I had a decent amount of past experience with. About two summers ago, a few friends and I decided to begin grilling in a small grassy circle surrounded by streets near my cottage. We call it “island grilling”, and it has become the only real place where I have been able to experiment with cooking. One creation that I decided to bring from island grilling to my perfect meal was worcestershire infused burgers. I saw this as another opportunity to introduce a culinary element to my dad, as he asked me a few questions about the preparation as he poured worcestershire into the bowl where I was mixing the beef. It sure was a funny experience having my dad ask me questions about how a dish was prepared; an 180 degree turn from the usual.
Still, I had to ask many questions, like: “How long should these cook?” or “how much goes into this dish?” Aside from these general cooking questions, my dad would occasionally interject with a tip on how to prepare a certain element. He always remained respectful of the learning experience that I was going through, though, and I really appreciated his willingness to do so.
Slicing the watermelon, peeling the lettuce and cutting the onions all at the same time distracted me from the burgers, but my trusty sous-chef (dad) was there to save the day and take them off the grill when they were just at medium temperature. I found myself bouncing around making sure every dish was getting prepared in time, which made me realize how much work it is just to pull off a simple meal. Right then, I gained a lot of perspective from my dad’s job as the family cook and a lot of respect for all the years that he spent toiling in the kitchen with ease.
Once the final touches were made, it was finally time eat! I had totally forgotten that we were going to be eating the food as I was so intent on finishing each item that needed to be prepared. When I was able to sit down, I was surprised to see all of the food that I had just prepared. As my dad, brother, and host brother began to eat, I was reminded of warm summer evenings on the back porch of the cottage. “I wish we could eat this on the porch,” said my dad. I was absolutely content, responding: “I’m fine just where we are.” I had just cooked my first full meal, and I was able to share it with my family. I learned that no matter how simple the meal, the hard work and being able to share it with the people I care with most is the perfect version to me.
From the original dreams of cherries to replacing ingredients to hunting for misplaced pots, things never went as smoothly as I would’ve liked. But being with my dad throughout the process made it all worthwhile. As we were clearing the table, my dad smiled and complimented me on the meal. After 19 years, I was finally able to share my first real cooking bond with my dad. After all these years, I was finally able to cook a meal for my dad, and that was the best feeling of all.
As I began to draw up the menu for the meal, I realized that many of the summer delicacies that I craved for would be extremely expensive or impossible to obtain during a cold Michigan winter. On the forefront of these cravings were sweet cherries. These dark red cherries are a huge crop in northern Michigan and are a staple of almost all of my summer meals. I remember 30 minute drives along the Lake Michigan shore with my grandmother to pick up pounds and pounds of the sweet treats. For my meal, I envisioned making cherry barbecue sauce, cherry pie, and cherries to eat on the side as well.
I soon realized that my cherry-based meal was more fantasy than reality. If I was able to find sweet cherries, they would be extremely expensive. My idea of the perfect meal was strongly based on cherries, so how could I make it without them? After a lot of thinking, I thought back to my dad’s cooking. The idea of cooking a beloved meal with my dad quickly erased the thoughts of cherries in my head. With the simple summer meal in my mind, I headed out to Meijer to find the ingredients.
From the very beginning, shopping at Meijer was a confusing and hectic experience. Having not shopped at a supermarket since this past summer, the busy crowd of a Saturday afternoon was quite overwhelming, especially when I was unsure of what to purchase. After putting my head down and trudging through the store, I left with asparagus, watermelon, leaf lettuce, onions, and Kaiser buns (I didn’t need to buy beef at the store, as a freezer full of it was waiting at home). I knew that my dad disliked asparagus, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to reintroduce a dish to the person who has had such a strong influence on my culinary tastes. Heading to my parents house, I was eager to begin cooking the meal I had been thinking about so much for the past day.
Enlisting the help of my dad, I began with the first order of business: making the barbecue sauce. I chose my parents’ house because they have a kitchen filled with all the pots, pans, spices and other random ingredients I would need for the meal. What I neglected to remember was that my parents just moved from the house where I grew up, so locating all of the materials I needed was difficult. Following the directions of Food Network recipe, I was adding ingredient after ingredient: ketchup, sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and more. Luckily enough, most of these ingredients had been put away in a cabinet where I could easily find them. When I couldn’t find onion powder, my dad was there to the rescue by suggesting that I use onion salt instead. Situations like these occurred several more times during the cooking process, so it was nice to have my own Virgil to give me guidance when I needed it.
Once all the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, I was surprised to find that the tomato-based sauce resulted in a sweet taste with thick consistency; just what I was aiming for. After letting the sauce simmer in the microwave on low power for a few minutes, I went to work on the asparagus. I decided to roast the asparagus in the oven, then covering it with tuscan herb olive oil, fresh ground pepper and parmesan cheese. Feeling confident in the two concoctions I had just made, I moved onto the now defrosted burgers.
Burgers were the only dish that I felt very comfortable making, as they were the only dish on the menu I had a decent amount of past experience with. About two summers ago, a few friends and I decided to begin grilling in a small grassy circle surrounded by streets near my cottage. We call it “island grilling”, and it has become the only real place where I have been able to experiment with cooking. One creation that I decided to bring from island grilling to my perfect meal was worcestershire infused burgers. I saw this as another opportunity to introduce a culinary element to my dad, as he asked me a few questions about the preparation as he poured worcestershire into the bowl where I was mixing the beef. It sure was a funny experience having my dad ask me questions about how a dish was prepared; an 180 degree turn from the usual.
Still, I had to ask many questions, like: “How long should these cook?” or “how much goes into this dish?” Aside from these general cooking questions, my dad would occasionally interject with a tip on how to prepare a certain element. He always remained respectful of the learning experience that I was going through, though, and I really appreciated his willingness to do so.
Slicing the watermelon, peeling the lettuce and cutting the onions all at the same time distracted me from the burgers, but my trusty sous-chef (dad) was there to save the day and take them off the grill when they were just at medium temperature. I found myself bouncing around making sure every dish was getting prepared in time, which made me realize how much work it is just to pull off a simple meal. Right then, I gained a lot of perspective from my dad’s job as the family cook and a lot of respect for all the years that he spent toiling in the kitchen with ease.
Once the final touches were made, it was finally time eat! I had totally forgotten that we were going to be eating the food as I was so intent on finishing each item that needed to be prepared. When I was able to sit down, I was surprised to see all of the food that I had just prepared. As my dad, brother, and host brother began to eat, I was reminded of warm summer evenings on the back porch of the cottage. “I wish we could eat this on the porch,” said my dad. I was absolutely content, responding: “I’m fine just where we are.” I had just cooked my first full meal, and I was able to share it with my family. I learned that no matter how simple the meal, the hard work and being able to share it with the people I care with most is the perfect version to me.
From the original dreams of cherries to replacing ingredients to hunting for misplaced pots, things never went as smoothly as I would’ve liked. But being with my dad throughout the process made it all worthwhile. As we were clearing the table, my dad smiled and complimented me on the meal. After 19 years, I was finally able to share my first real cooking bond with my dad. After all these years, I was finally able to cook a meal for my dad, and that was the best feeling of all.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Quirky Cuisine at Sakura 2 (Final Revision)
As the hostess led the way to the sushi bar, two sushi chefs stood behind a glass case that displayed the colorful ingredients that would comprise the ingredients for that evening. Octopus tentacles, tuna, salmon, shrimp, crab and other raw foods are at eye-level with the customers as they sit down. Behind them, the sushi chefs were hard at work preparing the sushi with style and flair. The artistry of making each dish is quite remarkable, as the shape of the plates, and the color and order of the food all play equally important parts.
Set on a plate in the shape of a fan came the first dish of four spicy tuna poppers; an odd but intriguing mix of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. Spicy tuna and cream cheese are stuffed in a small jalapeño, which is lightly fried and sprinkled with spicy mayo and eel sauce. Aptly named, these poppers are easily eaten in two bites and the cool cream cheese and tuna nicely complement the jalapeño to deliver a spicy kick. If the poppers weren’t fried, the dish would be slimy and hard to eat, but the fried texture of the poppers settle the dish and provided a tasty crunch.
This is Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar, located on Westnedge Avenue in Portage. Stuck in a typical suburban plaza next to a Target, video game store, and crafts store, one would probably expect the decor of the restaurant to be cheap and funky. This is not the case, as the chic combination of a black, brown and beige interior decor of the restaurant make it feel like one you might find in downtown Kalamazoo instead of nestled in the Target plaza. The restaurant is divided into two large sections: the hibachi section and sushi section. The hibachi section contains many open grills with seats around the grills for the performance-style cooking of hibachi. On the opposite side of the wall sits the sushi section of the restaurant. A black granite counter-top ruins along the wall and square tables run the length of the room. In the back of the restaurant is the kitchen and next to it sits the sushi bar.
A long, rectangular plate sits on the sushi bar with two single-file lines of Sakura rolls and Vegas rolls. The Sakura rolls are comprised of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab stick, avocado, cucumber and tobiko (flying fish roe) wrapped in soy bean paper with eel sauce and spicy mayo. The mayo is not spicy as advertised, but provides a pleasant, sweet quality. The light pink soy bean paper wrapped around each piece of sushi makes for a pretty presentation, but doesn’t add much to the taste of the sushi. The soft consistency of the sushi pairs nicely with a crunchy bite of fried shrimp inside each roll, but it is bland overall. The sauce packs a nice punch, but the rest of the dish fails to deliver.
Like many of the names of the sushi options on the menu, the name of the Vegas roll doesn’t make much sense. Covered in the same tasty sauce as the sakura roll, the salmon, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and avocado fried in tempura made the vegas roll an excellent choice. While these ingredients may seem rather unconventional for a sushi recipe, these zany choices like mozzarella cheese and avocado resulted in a great sushi roll. However, akin to the sakura roll, the sauce combination covering the rolls lacked the spicy kick that it advertised.
The sushi chefs personally present the completed dishes over the counter to the customers at the bar. Their precision and artistic flair is accompanied by intermittent speech to each other in Japanese. On one particular night, a middle-aged couple sat at the bar, trying to drum up some conversation with the chefs, asking what the names for certain ingredients were in Japanese. The chefs gladly obliged and answered what they could. The waitress was always there to fill up depleted water glasses and oohs and aahs could be heard from the audience sitting in the hibachi section quite frequently. These sounds were much more welcome than the cheesy piano music playing through the speakers that seemed to belong on an episode of Days of Our Lives.
Upon first glance, a sushi newcomer may be intimidated by the jam-packed menu. No need to worry though; each of the 30 sushi selections on the menu are accompanied by a picture of the dish and a full description, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Sakura 2 also caters to the adventurous, as courses of tuna, eel, sea urchin and salmon roe appear on the menu. Traditional ingredients combined with the infusion of ingredients like mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and avocado added flair to this seemingly Midwestern-style sushi. From the Yummy Yummy Roll to the Playboy Roll to the Rock’N Roll, the names are the only thing more quirky than some of the ingredients in the selections.
A meal for two consisting of a shared appetizer, two entrees and drinks costs about $30 before tip, so Sakura 2 can be a restaurant that is in the price range and style of college students looking for a night of easily shareable food within their budget. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and entrees vary from $9 to $15. The hours are very flexible as well; they’re open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
If one is looking for prime sushi, Sakura 2 is probably not the place where you will find it. You will find decent sushi often presented in new and interesting ways, like with the Vegas rolls and the spicy tuna poppers. You pay for what you receive at Sakura 2, and the quality of the often zany sushi selections will leave customers willing to come back for more.
Set on a plate in the shape of a fan came the first dish of four spicy tuna poppers; an odd but intriguing mix of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. Spicy tuna and cream cheese are stuffed in a small jalapeño, which is lightly fried and sprinkled with spicy mayo and eel sauce. Aptly named, these poppers are easily eaten in two bites and the cool cream cheese and tuna nicely complement the jalapeño to deliver a spicy kick. If the poppers weren’t fried, the dish would be slimy and hard to eat, but the fried texture of the poppers settle the dish and provided a tasty crunch.
This is Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar, located on Westnedge Avenue in Portage. Stuck in a typical suburban plaza next to a Target, video game store, and crafts store, one would probably expect the decor of the restaurant to be cheap and funky. This is not the case, as the chic combination of a black, brown and beige interior decor of the restaurant make it feel like one you might find in downtown Kalamazoo instead of nestled in the Target plaza. The restaurant is divided into two large sections: the hibachi section and sushi section. The hibachi section contains many open grills with seats around the grills for the performance-style cooking of hibachi. On the opposite side of the wall sits the sushi section of the restaurant. A black granite counter-top ruins along the wall and square tables run the length of the room. In the back of the restaurant is the kitchen and next to it sits the sushi bar.
A long, rectangular plate sits on the sushi bar with two single-file lines of Sakura rolls and Vegas rolls. The Sakura rolls are comprised of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab stick, avocado, cucumber and tobiko (flying fish roe) wrapped in soy bean paper with eel sauce and spicy mayo. The mayo is not spicy as advertised, but provides a pleasant, sweet quality. The light pink soy bean paper wrapped around each piece of sushi makes for a pretty presentation, but doesn’t add much to the taste of the sushi. The soft consistency of the sushi pairs nicely with a crunchy bite of fried shrimp inside each roll, but it is bland overall. The sauce packs a nice punch, but the rest of the dish fails to deliver.
Like many of the names of the sushi options on the menu, the name of the Vegas roll doesn’t make much sense. Covered in the same tasty sauce as the sakura roll, the salmon, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and avocado fried in tempura made the vegas roll an excellent choice. While these ingredients may seem rather unconventional for a sushi recipe, these zany choices like mozzarella cheese and avocado resulted in a great sushi roll. However, akin to the sakura roll, the sauce combination covering the rolls lacked the spicy kick that it advertised.
The sushi chefs personally present the completed dishes over the counter to the customers at the bar. Their precision and artistic flair is accompanied by intermittent speech to each other in Japanese. On one particular night, a middle-aged couple sat at the bar, trying to drum up some conversation with the chefs, asking what the names for certain ingredients were in Japanese. The chefs gladly obliged and answered what they could. The waitress was always there to fill up depleted water glasses and oohs and aahs could be heard from the audience sitting in the hibachi section quite frequently. These sounds were much more welcome than the cheesy piano music playing through the speakers that seemed to belong on an episode of Days of Our Lives.
Upon first glance, a sushi newcomer may be intimidated by the jam-packed menu. No need to worry though; each of the 30 sushi selections on the menu are accompanied by a picture of the dish and a full description, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Sakura 2 also caters to the adventurous, as courses of tuna, eel, sea urchin and salmon roe appear on the menu. Traditional ingredients combined with the infusion of ingredients like mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and avocado added flair to this seemingly Midwestern-style sushi. From the Yummy Yummy Roll to the Playboy Roll to the Rock’N Roll, the names are the only thing more quirky than some of the ingredients in the selections.
A meal for two consisting of a shared appetizer, two entrees and drinks costs about $30 before tip, so Sakura 2 can be a restaurant that is in the price range and style of college students looking for a night of easily shareable food within their budget. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and entrees vary from $9 to $15. The hours are very flexible as well; they’re open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
If one is looking for prime sushi, Sakura 2 is probably not the place where you will find it. You will find decent sushi often presented in new and interesting ways, like with the Vegas rolls and the spicy tuna poppers. You pay for what you receive at Sakura 2, and the quality of the often zany sushi selections will leave customers willing to come back for more.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Food Journal Results!
Hey y'all, so almost two weeks ago I promised that I would describe a week of what I eat. Amidst my busy tenth week, I forgot to record the seventh day of what I ate and I have a terrible memory so you'll get to see six days instead of seven. Oh well. Observations at the bottom.
Tuesday, February 28
I realized a few other things, one being that I eat a lot of sandwiches, mainly because of the convenience of Stacks.
I'm not sure if it's the nature of being a college student, but I eat meals at very random times aside from dinners.
I also eat a lot of bananas.
Feel free to chime in if you'd like!
Tuesday, February 28
- Lunch at Stacks (2:30)
- Toasted roast beef sandwich on multigrain bread with cheddar cheese, spinach, green peppers, onions, and chipotle mayo sauce. Banana and a glass of water as well
- Dinner at Harmon Lounge and the Caf (5:00- 6:30)
- Two slices of sausage pizza and one slice of pepperoni pizza from JET’S (food forum in Harmon)
- Caf: Mashed potatoes, broccoli, two bananas, glass of water
- Snack (around midnight)
- Country Club (#11) from Jimmy John’s. Turkey, ham, provolone cheese, lettuce, and mayo, bag of pretzels and a glass of water
- Lunch at Stacks (2:00)
- Toasted chicken caesar wrap with cheddar cheese, spinach, green peppers, onions and chipotle mayo, banana, glass of water
- Dinner in the Caf (6:00)
- Long Grain & Wild Rice, green beans, broccoli, a few pieces of pepperoni, cheese fondue-like substance, chocolate brownie, cookie dough bar and a glass of water
- Snack (Midnight)
- A few handfuls of peanuts and a glass of water
- Breakfast in caf (9:45):
- two waffles, scrambled eggs, tater tots and a glass of water
- Lunch at chicken coop (Noon)
- Three pieces of boneless fried chicken, fries and a glass of water
- Semi-dinner at the caf (5:15)
- Broccoli and carrots with ranch, two bananas, cheeseburger with mustard and a cup of green tea
- Semi-dinner at a cappella rehearsal (7:45)
- One ham sandwich and one turkey sandwich from Jimmy John’s (party platter size, not regular sandwiches) and two cups of lemon tea
- Home (10:45)
- Hot chicken salad with lettuce and a cup of lemon tea
- Stacks (1:00)
- Toasted roast beef sandwich on multi-grain bread, spinach, green peppers, onions and basil mayo.
- Dinner at caf (6:00)
- Cooked broccoli, mashed potatoes, banana, cheeseburger with mustard, glass of water
- Chapel (7:30)
- Two cups of peach tea
- Dinner at University Roadhouse with my parents (10:30)
- Grilled chicken wrap with lettuce, cheddar cheese, onion straws, barbecue sauce, fries and a glass of water
- Breakfast (9:00)
- Kashi granola bar, glass of water
- Lunch at Panera (12:00)
- Smokehouse turkey sandwich (grilled panini with turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomato ale mustard on three cheese bread)
- Dinner at home (5:00)
- Cheeseburgers with leaf lettuce, grilled onions and homemade barbecue sauce, watermelon, roasted asparagus with olive oil, pepper and parmesan cheese and a glass of water
- A couple handfuls of salted peanuts around 10:30
- Breakfast at the caf (11:30)
- Pancakes, scrambled eggs, tater tots, sausage, glass of water
- Dinner at University Roadhouse with my parents (5:00)
- (Hot SAM burger) topped with grilled ham, white cheddar and dijon mustard on a toasted pretzel bun. Additionally, fries and a glass of water
I realized a few other things, one being that I eat a lot of sandwiches, mainly because of the convenience of Stacks.
I'm not sure if it's the nature of being a college student, but I eat meals at very random times aside from dinners.
I also eat a lot of bananas.
Feel free to chime in if you'd like!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
My Perfect Meal
Since I was young, I have always looked up to my father. From his wide knowledge of trivia to his tastes in music to his love of golf, I have always latched onto his interests and taken to them myself. But one trait my father possesses that I have never been able to grasp is his cooking. No matter the season or occasion, it seemed as if cooking meals was a breeze to him. Many of my fondest childhood memories revolve around my father’s cooking with my family. Among these, summer dinners on the back porch of the family cottage in Bay View, Michigan stick out most in my mind. While I knew my father could cook much more complex dishes, the warm feelings evoked by thoughts of those simple dinners of hamburgers, corn, watermelon, cherries, and lemonade helped me to realize exactly what my version of the “perfect meal” would be.
As I began to draw up the menu for the meal, I realized that many of the summer delicacies that I craved for would be extremely expensive or impossible to obtain during a cold Michigan winter. On the forefront of these cravings was sweet cherries. These dark red cherries are a huge crop in northern Michigan and are a staple of almost all of my summer meals. I remember 30 minute drives along the Lake Michigan shore with my grandmother to pick up pounds and pounds of the sweet treats. For my meal, I envisioned making cherry barbecue sauce, cherry pie, and cherries to eat on the side as well. I soon realized that even if I did find sweet cherries, they would be extremely expensive, so the idea was scrapped. I decided that my best option was to go to Meijer and look until I found something that was right.
From the very beginning, shopping at Meijer was a confusing and hectic experience Having not shopped at a supermarket since this past summer, the busy crowd of a Saturday afternoon was quite overwhelming, especially when I was unsure of what to purchase. After putting my head down and trudging through the store, I left with my idea of what a good summer meal would include: asparagus, watermelon, leaf lettuce, onions, and Kaiser buns. Heading to my parents house, I was eager to begin cooking the meal I had been thinking about so much for the past day.
Enlisting the help of my father, I began with the first order of business: making the barbecue sauce. Following the directions of Food Network recipe, I was adding ingredient after ingredient: ketchup, sugar, brown sugar, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, and more. Once all the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, I was surprised to find that the tomato-based sauce resulted in a sweet taste with thick consistency; just what I was aiming for. After letting the sauce simmer in the microwave on low power for a few minutes, I went to work on the asparagus.
I have never a big fan of all the work that is involved in eating an ear of corn (and I have conflicted opinions on corn after watching Food Inc.), so I thought that asparagus could be a new addition to the meal. I decided to roast the asparagus in the oven, then covering it with tuscan herb olive oil, fresh ground pepper and parmesan cheese. Feeling confident in the two concoctions I had just made, I moved onto the now defrosted burgers.
Burgers were the only dish that I felt very comfortable making, as they were the only dish on the menu I had a decent amount of past experience with. About two summers ago, a few friends and I decided to begin grilling in a small grassy circle surrounded by streets near my cottage. We call it “island grilling”, and it has become the only real place where I have been able to experiment with cooking. One creation that I decided to bring from island grilling to my perfect meal was worcestershire infused burgers, mixing the sauce into the beef as the patties are being made. After I learned that the outdoor grill was not working, I grudgingly got out the George Foreman and grilled the burgers two at a time. I was disappointed that I would miss out on one of the best parts of making burgers, but I went on with the rest of preparation.
Slicing the watermelon, peeling the lettuce and cutting the onions all at the same time distracted me from the burgers, but my trusty sous-chef (my father) was there to save the day and take them off the grill when they were just at medium temperature. I found myself bouncing around making sure every dish was getting prepared in time, which made me realize how much work it is just to pull off a simple meal. Right then, I gained a lot of perspective from my father’s job as the family cook and a lot of respect for all the years that he spent toiling in the kitchen.
Once the final touches were made, it was finally time eat! I had totally forgotten that we were going to be eating the food as I was so intent on finishing each item that needed to be prepared. When I was able to sit down, I was surprised to see all of the food that I had just prepared. As my father, brother, and host brother began to eat, I was reminded of warm summer evenings on the back porch of the cottage. “I wish we could eat this on the porch,” said my father. I was absolutely content, responding: “I’m fine just where we are.”
As we ate, I missed the back porch, but I felt completely gratified. I had just cooked my first full meal, and I was able to share it with my family. I learned that no matter how simple the meal, the hard work and being able to share it with the people I care with most is the perfect version to me. As we were clearing the table, my father smiled and complimented me on the meal. After all these years, I was finally able to cook a meal for my father, and that was the best feeling of all.
As I began to draw up the menu for the meal, I realized that many of the summer delicacies that I craved for would be extremely expensive or impossible to obtain during a cold Michigan winter. On the forefront of these cravings was sweet cherries. These dark red cherries are a huge crop in northern Michigan and are a staple of almost all of my summer meals. I remember 30 minute drives along the Lake Michigan shore with my grandmother to pick up pounds and pounds of the sweet treats. For my meal, I envisioned making cherry barbecue sauce, cherry pie, and cherries to eat on the side as well. I soon realized that even if I did find sweet cherries, they would be extremely expensive, so the idea was scrapped. I decided that my best option was to go to Meijer and look until I found something that was right.
From the very beginning, shopping at Meijer was a confusing and hectic experience Having not shopped at a supermarket since this past summer, the busy crowd of a Saturday afternoon was quite overwhelming, especially when I was unsure of what to purchase. After putting my head down and trudging through the store, I left with my idea of what a good summer meal would include: asparagus, watermelon, leaf lettuce, onions, and Kaiser buns. Heading to my parents house, I was eager to begin cooking the meal I had been thinking about so much for the past day.
Enlisting the help of my father, I began with the first order of business: making the barbecue sauce. Following the directions of Food Network recipe, I was adding ingredient after ingredient: ketchup, sugar, brown sugar, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, and more. Once all the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, I was surprised to find that the tomato-based sauce resulted in a sweet taste with thick consistency; just what I was aiming for. After letting the sauce simmer in the microwave on low power for a few minutes, I went to work on the asparagus.
I have never a big fan of all the work that is involved in eating an ear of corn (and I have conflicted opinions on corn after watching Food Inc.), so I thought that asparagus could be a new addition to the meal. I decided to roast the asparagus in the oven, then covering it with tuscan herb olive oil, fresh ground pepper and parmesan cheese. Feeling confident in the two concoctions I had just made, I moved onto the now defrosted burgers.
Burgers were the only dish that I felt very comfortable making, as they were the only dish on the menu I had a decent amount of past experience with. About two summers ago, a few friends and I decided to begin grilling in a small grassy circle surrounded by streets near my cottage. We call it “island grilling”, and it has become the only real place where I have been able to experiment with cooking. One creation that I decided to bring from island grilling to my perfect meal was worcestershire infused burgers, mixing the sauce into the beef as the patties are being made. After I learned that the outdoor grill was not working, I grudgingly got out the George Foreman and grilled the burgers two at a time. I was disappointed that I would miss out on one of the best parts of making burgers, but I went on with the rest of preparation.
Slicing the watermelon, peeling the lettuce and cutting the onions all at the same time distracted me from the burgers, but my trusty sous-chef (my father) was there to save the day and take them off the grill when they were just at medium temperature. I found myself bouncing around making sure every dish was getting prepared in time, which made me realize how much work it is just to pull off a simple meal. Right then, I gained a lot of perspective from my father’s job as the family cook and a lot of respect for all the years that he spent toiling in the kitchen.
Once the final touches were made, it was finally time eat! I had totally forgotten that we were going to be eating the food as I was so intent on finishing each item that needed to be prepared. When I was able to sit down, I was surprised to see all of the food that I had just prepared. As my father, brother, and host brother began to eat, I was reminded of warm summer evenings on the back porch of the cottage. “I wish we could eat this on the porch,” said my father. I was absolutely content, responding: “I’m fine just where we are.”
As we ate, I missed the back porch, but I felt completely gratified. I had just cooked my first full meal, and I was able to share it with my family. I learned that no matter how simple the meal, the hard work and being able to share it with the people I care with most is the perfect version to me. As we were clearing the table, my father smiled and complimented me on the meal. After all these years, I was finally able to cook a meal for my father, and that was the best feeling of all.
Food, Inc. Reaction: Brian vents his rage
I'd seen Food, Inc. once before. I watched it for a class last spring that dealt with suburbanization and how that has negatively affected many aspects of our country since then. I thought that I appreciated the movie, but after watching it last Thursday, it had a much more profound effect on my life. After reading about food for the past 9 weeks, Food Inc. was a graphic and riveting portrait of today's American food system. From many of the topics the movie covered, the role of agricultural companies in the system has really been troubling me.
The first of these is the role that large agricultural firms have over our food and farms, with the meat market being a great example. The concentration of the top four firms in the beef, chicken, and pork industries was all over 80%, which was very troubling to me. With a select number of firms holding such a large share of the market, I see nothing but trouble. The reduction of competition in our marketplace has resulted in an America where we have very few choices as consumers. For example, we may see many different brands for beef when at the supermarket, but there are only a few different producers that control these brands. And since such a select number of agro-giants control the meat market, they are able to cut corners in the way the raise and process their product (note: 'product' instead of 'animal'). The way they cut corners was clearly evident in the film, like in the way that chickens live in the dark, grow to become full adults about 40 days, and can't even walk because they're so fat. The even scarier part: we wouldn't even know about this if one chicken farmer out of dozens hadn't stepped out to voice her opinion. When big corporations are controlling your food rather than a local farmer, the transparency of the process is lost and the integrity of the process is lost.
Aside from the meat market, the dominance that one company has exerted in our country has absolutely disgusted me. This company is Monsanto. The way in which they've used their soybean seed patent, gangs of private investigators, and money in order to force farmers to bow down to them has made me absolutely incredulous. To see that people like Moe Parr, who make an honest living through an incredibly simple and sensible practice like seed cleaning have been crushed by a chemical company makes me wonder who our government is representing. Oh that's right, they're siding the agricultural interests that ensure that they're elected and stay there. Many in the government who work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the FDA have been past executives for agricultural giants; making perfect sense as to why our food system seems to have a blind eye toward the consumer.
I'm now just to the point where writing this has made me pissed off beyond belief. I like to think of myself as a pretty positive person, but at this moment I have nothing positive to say.
The first of these is the role that large agricultural firms have over our food and farms, with the meat market being a great example. The concentration of the top four firms in the beef, chicken, and pork industries was all over 80%, which was very troubling to me. With a select number of firms holding such a large share of the market, I see nothing but trouble. The reduction of competition in our marketplace has resulted in an America where we have very few choices as consumers. For example, we may see many different brands for beef when at the supermarket, but there are only a few different producers that control these brands. And since such a select number of agro-giants control the meat market, they are able to cut corners in the way the raise and process their product (note: 'product' instead of 'animal'). The way they cut corners was clearly evident in the film, like in the way that chickens live in the dark, grow to become full adults about 40 days, and can't even walk because they're so fat. The even scarier part: we wouldn't even know about this if one chicken farmer out of dozens hadn't stepped out to voice her opinion. When big corporations are controlling your food rather than a local farmer, the transparency of the process is lost and the integrity of the process is lost.
Aside from the meat market, the dominance that one company has exerted in our country has absolutely disgusted me. This company is Monsanto. The way in which they've used their soybean seed patent, gangs of private investigators, and money in order to force farmers to bow down to them has made me absolutely incredulous. To see that people like Moe Parr, who make an honest living through an incredibly simple and sensible practice like seed cleaning have been crushed by a chemical company makes me wonder who our government is representing. Oh that's right, they're siding the agricultural interests that ensure that they're elected and stay there. Many in the government who work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the FDA have been past executives for agricultural giants; making perfect sense as to why our food system seems to have a blind eye toward the consumer.
I'm now just to the point where writing this has made me pissed off beyond belief. I like to think of myself as a pretty positive person, but at this moment I have nothing positive to say.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Food Journal
Hey everyone,
After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, I became aware of many problems that we face with the food we eat in today's society. This brought up a question in my mind: what am I eating? To try to shed some light on this situation, I've decided to create a week long food journal. I'll try to make sure that I record everything I eat as accurately as possible, and I'm very excited to see what a week's worth of food in my life is like!
I probably won't post the results til next Tuesday (I started yesterday) in order to make it easier to see overall.
BJC
After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, I became aware of many problems that we face with the food we eat in today's society. This brought up a question in my mind: what am I eating? To try to shed some light on this situation, I've decided to create a week long food journal. I'll try to make sure that I record everything I eat as accurately as possible, and I'm very excited to see what a week's worth of food in my life is like!
I probably won't post the results til next Tuesday (I started yesterday) in order to make it easier to see overall.
BJC
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Omnivore's Dilemma: Part Three
"Isn't it natural to give special consideration to one's kind?" asks Pollan. I would reply with yes, making me a speciesist. This is not to say that I disregard animals altogether, as I believe that our coexistence with them on this planet is a necessary balance to maintain. When it comes to getting a meal on my plate, I have no problem with the killing of animals for food. But when it comes to the rights of these animals before they are killed, many problems were presented in The Omnivore's Dilemma.
While many questions went unsolved, one that became answered in my mind was the act of hunting. Prior to reading this book, I viewed hunting as a sort of barbaric and backwoods kind of way to obtain your meat. Most of this comes from my own lack of experience, as no one in my family hunts and that I've never shot a gun before. However, the way that Pollan described his feral pig hunting trip was fascinating to me. A statement that stood out was when his hunting companion, Angelo, described a hunted pig as "some very nice prosciutti!" This statement was remarkable, as the hunter valued the final dish that it would turn into, rather than just killing an animal for the fun of it. While I'm sure that there are some hunters who do just that, this viewpoint gave me insight as to why many still hunt: it is a way that we can become connected to our ancestry, nature, and the animals that we are going to eat. I now have a much greater respect for hunting because of this.
The biggest dilemma (pun intended?) that presented itself was the role of the rights of animals that we eat. While I believe that us humans have the right to give special consideration to our own interests of food, this is not to say that the way we do this is just. Most of the meat we consume today is a byproduct of a capitalist system that separates us from what ends up on our dinner table. Many of us remain happily unaware of how the animals we eat are treated. If you feel that way, then so be it. But I believe that the loss of connection between us and the meat we eat is an insult to both the animals and to ourselves. We fail to acknowledge that the way we are treating animals on farms is not the way that they are supposed to exist. Cows are not supposed to eat corn and stand up to their knees in shit, and hens are not supposed to be caged with no room to spread their wings or graze.
So maybe that's the reason why I appreciate hunting much more than I did before. In a society where factory farms gauge their output on numbers of animals as opposed to quality of meat, the act of seeing an animal and killing it in its natural habitat is very refreshing to me. I realize that hunting is not a viable option for a majority of people to get their meat, so farms like Joel Salatin's are a way in which we can develop this connection without having to do the dirty work of hunting a wild animal. If more Americans were aware of factory farm practices and our separation from the whole process, would small farms like Salatin's catch on with the majority of Americans? I hope to think so.
While many questions went unsolved, one that became answered in my mind was the act of hunting. Prior to reading this book, I viewed hunting as a sort of barbaric and backwoods kind of way to obtain your meat. Most of this comes from my own lack of experience, as no one in my family hunts and that I've never shot a gun before. However, the way that Pollan described his feral pig hunting trip was fascinating to me. A statement that stood out was when his hunting companion, Angelo, described a hunted pig as "some very nice prosciutti!" This statement was remarkable, as the hunter valued the final dish that it would turn into, rather than just killing an animal for the fun of it. While I'm sure that there are some hunters who do just that, this viewpoint gave me insight as to why many still hunt: it is a way that we can become connected to our ancestry, nature, and the animals that we are going to eat. I now have a much greater respect for hunting because of this.
The biggest dilemma (pun intended?) that presented itself was the role of the rights of animals that we eat. While I believe that us humans have the right to give special consideration to our own interests of food, this is not to say that the way we do this is just. Most of the meat we consume today is a byproduct of a capitalist system that separates us from what ends up on our dinner table. Many of us remain happily unaware of how the animals we eat are treated. If you feel that way, then so be it. But I believe that the loss of connection between us and the meat we eat is an insult to both the animals and to ourselves. We fail to acknowledge that the way we are treating animals on farms is not the way that they are supposed to exist. Cows are not supposed to eat corn and stand up to their knees in shit, and hens are not supposed to be caged with no room to spread their wings or graze.
So maybe that's the reason why I appreciate hunting much more than I did before. In a society where factory farms gauge their output on numbers of animals as opposed to quality of meat, the act of seeing an animal and killing it in its natural habitat is very refreshing to me. I realize that hunting is not a viable option for a majority of people to get their meat, so farms like Joel Salatin's are a way in which we can develop this connection without having to do the dirty work of hunting a wild animal. If more Americans were aware of factory farm practices and our separation from the whole process, would small farms like Salatin's catch on with the majority of Americans? I hope to think so.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Corn: America's Addiction
Before reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, my opinion on the role that corn played in society was relatively positive. I saw corn as a staple of American culture, up there with baseball and apple pie. I remembered warm summer evenings sitting on the front porch of my cottage shucking the yellow ears of corn that would be on our plates later that evening. As I’ve grown older, the negative things I heard about corn through the internet and television seemed far removed from me as thoughts of corn on summer dinner plates popped up into my mind. When I heard about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, I simply groaned and submitted to the industrial complex that produced my food. After reading the first part of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I become cognizant of two very important things: how the Americas have survived and thrived through corn, and how prevalent corn is in everything that is around us.
Something that never really occurred to me was the huge importance that corn has played not only in the growth of our country, but in the Americas in general. First domesticated by the native peoples living in Mexico, corn was treated as something that was larger than life. Aside from water, it was the most important food to these people and it spread to South America, North America and the Caribbean. Pollan’s discussion that corn was single reason why the Pilgrims were able to survive was something that I never had thought of previously. Its ability to be picked quickly or to be stored, and the way that every part of the plant can be used, and its tremendous ability to adapt to surrounding conditions are all qualities that helped the Pilgrims tremendously. This was eye-opening to me, as I realized that in this sense, the transcendent Zea mays hasn’t really changed since the white man arrived in the Americas.
But in another sense, corn has completely changed since then. We don’t just eat ears of corn, as virtually every meal we eat contains some sort of corn byproduct. I was shocked to hear Pollan’s description of a chicken nugget, as corn is involved in the entire process. Corn feeds the chicken, corn starch holds the whole thing together, corn flour is used to make the batter, it’s fried in corn oil, and chemical additives derived from corn are used. And aside from being heavily prevalent in our foods, corn is also used in our packaging and even in the construction of our houses! How could one plant dominate our lives so easily and effectively?
When this question popped into my head, I thought of Pollan’s description of corn farming today. In a nutshell, corn yields are measured by how much can be produced in a certain amount of room. In order to produce higher yields, genetic engineers have created hybrid corn varieties that have adapted to “city life,” where they’ve developed thicker, stronger stalks in order to live in a more dense population. Our use of modern science to aid the incredibly adaptive plant in order to produce these higher yields is a sign that corn’s dominance will continue to play a huge role in our lives. As the price of corn continues to fall because of an over-abundant supply, farmers have no choice but to continue to bow down to the plant that controls their lives.
This may sound a scary, because it really is. It is remarkable how corn has played such a strong role in the Americas for thousands of years. For me, it is scary to think that we have emphasized the role of just one plant over all others. As corn prices drop and special interests control the market for agriculture, I have a bad feeling that America’s lust for corn has taken us down a slippery slope that will be difficult to recover from.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Quirky Cuisine at Sakura 2
As the hostess led the way to the sushi bar, two sushi chefs stood behind a glass case that displayed the colorful ingredients that would comprise the ingredients for that evening. Octopus tentacles, tuna, salmon, shrimp, crab and other raw foods sit right at eye-level with the customers as they sit down. Behind them, the sushi chefs are hard at work preparing the sushi with style and flair. The artistry of making each dish was quite remarkable, as the shape of the plates, and the color and order of the food all played equally important parts.
Brought out on a dish in the shape of a fan was the appetizer of four spicy tuna poppers; an odd but intriguing mix of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. Spicy tuna and cream cheese lightly fried with spicy mayo and eel sauce, all stuffed in a small jalapeño. Aptly named, these poppers were easily eaten in two bites and the cool cream cheese and tuna were a nice compliment to the jalapeño with a spicy kick. If the poppers had not been fried, the dish would have been slimy and hard to eat, but the fried texture of the poppers settled the dish and provided a tasty crunch.
This is Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar, located on Westnedge Avenue in Portage. Stuck in a typical suburban plaza next to a Target, video game store, and crafts store, one would probably expect the decor of the restaurant to be cheap and funky. This was not the case, as the chic combination of black, brown and beige colors of the restaurant make one feel like they are in a restaurant you might find in downtown Kalamazoo instead of the Target plaza. The restaurant is divided into two large sections: the hibachi section and sushi section. The hibachi section contained many open grills with seats around the grills for the performance-style cooking of hibachi. On the opposite side of the wall sits the sushi section of the restaurant. A black granite counter-top ruins along the wall and square tables run the length of the room. In the back of the restaurant is the kitchen and next to it sits the sushi bar.
Sakura rolls made a single-file line on a long, rectangular plate. They were accompanied on the plate with the order of vegas rolls. The sakura rolls were comprised of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab stick, avocado, cucumber and tobiko wrapped in soy bean paper with eel sauce and spicy mayo. A sweet rather than spicy taste of the eel sauce and “spicy” mayo covered the sushi. The light pink soy bean paper wrapped around each piece of sushi in a pretty presentation, but did not add much to the taste of the sushi. The soft consistency of the sushi was paired nicely with a crunchy bite of fried shrimp inside each roll. The most powerful tastes of the dish were the sauce that covered it and the shrimp. The rest of the ingredients in the sakura roll complimented each other nicely, but left me longing for a bit more of a pop to the dish.
Like many of the names of the sushi options on the menu, the name of the vegas roll did not make much sense. Covered in the same tasty sauce as the sakura roll, the salmon, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and avocado fried in tempura made the vegas roll an excellent choice. While these ingredients may seem rather unconventional for a sushi recipe, these zany choices like mozzarella cheese and avocado resulted in a great sushi roll. However, akin to the sakura roll, the sauce combination covering the rolls lacked the spicy kick that it advertised.
The sushi chefs personally presented the completed dishes over the counter to the customers at the bar. Their precision and artistic flair was accompanied by intermittent speech to each other in Japanese. A middle-aged couple sat at the bar, trying to drum up some conversation with the chefs, asking what the names for certain ingredients were in Japanese. The chefs gladly obliged and answered what they could. The waitress was always there to fill up waning water glasses and oohs and aahs could be heard from the audience sitting in the hibachi section quite frequently. These sounds were much more welcome than the cheesy piano music playing through the speakers that seemed to belong on an episode of Days of Our Lives.
Boasting an extensive menu of more than 30 choices of just sushi rolls, a sushi newcomer may be scared of the prospect of deciding what to order. No need to worry though, as each sushi selection was accompanied by a picture of the dish and a full description, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Sakura 2 also caters to the adventurous, as courses of tuna, eel, sea urchin and salmon roe appear on the menu. Traditional ingredients combined with the infusion of ingredients like mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and avocado added flair to this seemingly Midwestern-style sushi. From the Yummy Yummy Roll to the Playboy Roll to the Rock’N Roll, these names were the only thing more quirky than some of the ingredients in the selections.
The entire meal cost about $30 before tip, so Sakura 2 is definitely a restaurant that is in the price range and style of college students looking for a night of food that is easily shareable and within their budget. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and entrees vary from $9 to $15. The hours are very flexible as well, open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
The stylish decor, the friendly and attentive staff, and great deal of sushi options make Sakura 2 a nice option for college students. While the sushi is not top-notch, you pay for what you receive at Sakura 2, and the quality, variety and taste of the sushi will leave customers willing to come back for more.
Brought out on a dish in the shape of a fan was the appetizer of four spicy tuna poppers; an odd but intriguing mix of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. Spicy tuna and cream cheese lightly fried with spicy mayo and eel sauce, all stuffed in a small jalapeño. Aptly named, these poppers were easily eaten in two bites and the cool cream cheese and tuna were a nice compliment to the jalapeño with a spicy kick. If the poppers had not been fried, the dish would have been slimy and hard to eat, but the fried texture of the poppers settled the dish and provided a tasty crunch.
 |
| Spicy Tuna Poppers |
This is Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar, located on Westnedge Avenue in Portage. Stuck in a typical suburban plaza next to a Target, video game store, and crafts store, one would probably expect the decor of the restaurant to be cheap and funky. This was not the case, as the chic combination of black, brown and beige colors of the restaurant make one feel like they are in a restaurant you might find in downtown Kalamazoo instead of the Target plaza. The restaurant is divided into two large sections: the hibachi section and sushi section. The hibachi section contained many open grills with seats around the grills for the performance-style cooking of hibachi. On the opposite side of the wall sits the sushi section of the restaurant. A black granite counter-top ruins along the wall and square tables run the length of the room. In the back of the restaurant is the kitchen and next to it sits the sushi bar.
 |
| Sakura Roll |
Sakura rolls made a single-file line on a long, rectangular plate. They were accompanied on the plate with the order of vegas rolls. The sakura rolls were comprised of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab stick, avocado, cucumber and tobiko wrapped in soy bean paper with eel sauce and spicy mayo. A sweet rather than spicy taste of the eel sauce and “spicy” mayo covered the sushi. The light pink soy bean paper wrapped around each piece of sushi in a pretty presentation, but did not add much to the taste of the sushi. The soft consistency of the sushi was paired nicely with a crunchy bite of fried shrimp inside each roll. The most powerful tastes of the dish were the sauce that covered it and the shrimp. The rest of the ingredients in the sakura roll complimented each other nicely, but left me longing for a bit more of a pop to the dish.
Like many of the names of the sushi options on the menu, the name of the vegas roll did not make much sense. Covered in the same tasty sauce as the sakura roll, the salmon, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and avocado fried in tempura made the vegas roll an excellent choice. While these ingredients may seem rather unconventional for a sushi recipe, these zany choices like mozzarella cheese and avocado resulted in a great sushi roll. However, akin to the sakura roll, the sauce combination covering the rolls lacked the spicy kick that it advertised.
 |
| Vegas Roll |
The sushi chefs personally presented the completed dishes over the counter to the customers at the bar. Their precision and artistic flair was accompanied by intermittent speech to each other in Japanese. A middle-aged couple sat at the bar, trying to drum up some conversation with the chefs, asking what the names for certain ingredients were in Japanese. The chefs gladly obliged and answered what they could. The waitress was always there to fill up waning water glasses and oohs and aahs could be heard from the audience sitting in the hibachi section quite frequently. These sounds were much more welcome than the cheesy piano music playing through the speakers that seemed to belong on an episode of Days of Our Lives.
Boasting an extensive menu of more than 30 choices of just sushi rolls, a sushi newcomer may be scared of the prospect of deciding what to order. No need to worry though, as each sushi selection was accompanied by a picture of the dish and a full description, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Sakura 2 also caters to the adventurous, as courses of tuna, eel, sea urchin and salmon roe appear on the menu. Traditional ingredients combined with the infusion of ingredients like mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and avocado added flair to this seemingly Midwestern-style sushi. From the Yummy Yummy Roll to the Playboy Roll to the Rock’N Roll, these names were the only thing more quirky than some of the ingredients in the selections.
The entire meal cost about $30 before tip, so Sakura 2 is definitely a restaurant that is in the price range and style of college students looking for a night of food that is easily shareable and within their budget. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and entrees vary from $9 to $15. The hours are very flexible as well, open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
The stylish decor, the friendly and attentive staff, and great deal of sushi options make Sakura 2 a nice option for college students. While the sushi is not top-notch, you pay for what you receive at Sakura 2, and the quality, variety and taste of the sushi will leave customers willing to come back for more.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar
“Sushi or hibachi?” asked the hostess, smiling politely. Leading the way to the sushi bar, two sushi chefs stood behind a glass case that displayed the colorful ingredients that would comprise the ingredients for that evening. Octopus tentacles, tuna, salmon, shrimp, crab and other raw foods sit right at eye-level with the customers as they sit down. Behind them, the sushi chefs are hard at work preparing the sushi with style and flair. The artistry of making each dish was quite remarkable, as the shape of the plates, and the color and order of the food all played equally important parts.
Brought out on a dish in the shape of a fan was the appetizer of four spicy tuna poppers; which seemed like an odd but intriguing mix of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. Spicy tuna and cream cheese lightly fried with spicy mayo and eel sauce, all stuffed in a small jalapeño. Aptly named, these poppers were easily eaten in two bites and the cool cream cheese and tuna were a nice compliment to the jalapeño with a spicy kick. If the poppers had not been fried, the dish would have been slimy and hard to eat, but the fried texture of the poppers settled the dish and provided a tasty crunch.
This is Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar, located on Westnedge Avenue in Portage. Stuck in a typical suburban plaza next to a Target, video game store, and crafts store, one would probably expect the decor of the restaurant to be cheap and funky. This was not the case, however, as the chic combination of black, brown and beige colors of the restaurant make one feel like they are in a restaurant you might find in downtown Kalamazoo instead of the Target plaza. The restaurant is divided into two large sections: the hibachi section and sushi section. The hibachi section contained many open grills with seats around the grills for the performance-style cooking of hibachi. On the opposite side of the wall sits the sushi section of the restaurant. A black granite counter-top ruins along the wall and square tables run the length of the room. In the back of the restaurant is the kitchen and next to it sits the sushi bar.
Sakura rolls made a single-file line on a long, rectangular plate. They were accompanied on the plate with the order of vegas rolls. Comprised of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab stick, avocado, cucumber, and tobiko wrapped in soy bean paper with eel sauce and spicy mayo. A sweet rather than spicy taste of the eel sauce and “spicy” mayo covered the sushi. The light pink soy bean paper wrapped around each piece of sushi in a pretty presentation, but did not add much to the taste of the sushi. The soft consistency of the sushi was paired nicely with a piece of the crunch of a piece fried shrimp inside each roll. The most powerful tastes of the dish were the sauce on the top and the shrimp. The rest of the ingredients in the sakura roll complimented nicely, but left me longing for a bit more of a pop to the dish.
Like many of the names of the sushi options on the menu, the name of the vegas roll did not make much sense. Covered in the same tasty sauce as the sakura roll, the salmon, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, and avocado fried in tempura made the vegas roll an excellent choice. While these ingredients may seem rather unconventional for a sushi recipe, these zany choices ingredients like mozzarella cheese and avocado resulted in a great sushi roll. However, akin to the sakura roll, the sauce combination covering the rolls lacked the spicy kick that it advertised.
The sushi chefs personally presented the completed dishes over the counter to the customers at the bar. Their precision and artistic flair was accompanied by intermittent speech to each other in Japanese. A middle-aged couple sat down a few seats at the bar, trying to drum up some conversation with the chefs, asking what the names for certain ingredients were in Japanese. The chefs gladly obliged and answered what they could. The waitress was always there to fill up waning water glasses and oohs and aahs could be heard from the audience sitting in the hibachi section quite frequently. These sounds were much more welcome than the cheesy piano music playing through the speakers that seemed to belong on an episode of Days of Our Lives.
The only difficulty in ordering the food was making the final decision. The menu was easily navigable, as each sushi selection was accompanied by a picture of the dish and a full description, leaving no room for misinterpretation. The entire meal cost about $30 before tip, so Sakura 2 is definitely a restaurant that is in the price range and style of college students looking for a night of food that is easily shareable and within their budget. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and entrees vary from $9 to $15. The hours are very flexible as well, open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
If one is looking for sushi in this price range, Sakura 2 is well worth it. The stylish decor, the friendly and attentive staff, and great deal of sushi options (as well as hibachi options) make Sakura 2 a nice option for college students. While the sushi is not top-notch, you pay for what you receive at Sakura 2, and the quality, variety and taste of the sushi will leave restaurant goers willing to come back for more.
Brought out on a dish in the shape of a fan was the appetizer of four spicy tuna poppers; which seemed like an odd but intriguing mix of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. Spicy tuna and cream cheese lightly fried with spicy mayo and eel sauce, all stuffed in a small jalapeño. Aptly named, these poppers were easily eaten in two bites and the cool cream cheese and tuna were a nice compliment to the jalapeño with a spicy kick. If the poppers had not been fried, the dish would have been slimy and hard to eat, but the fried texture of the poppers settled the dish and provided a tasty crunch.
This is Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar, located on Westnedge Avenue in Portage. Stuck in a typical suburban plaza next to a Target, video game store, and crafts store, one would probably expect the decor of the restaurant to be cheap and funky. This was not the case, however, as the chic combination of black, brown and beige colors of the restaurant make one feel like they are in a restaurant you might find in downtown Kalamazoo instead of the Target plaza. The restaurant is divided into two large sections: the hibachi section and sushi section. The hibachi section contained many open grills with seats around the grills for the performance-style cooking of hibachi. On the opposite side of the wall sits the sushi section of the restaurant. A black granite counter-top ruins along the wall and square tables run the length of the room. In the back of the restaurant is the kitchen and next to it sits the sushi bar.
Sakura rolls made a single-file line on a long, rectangular plate. They were accompanied on the plate with the order of vegas rolls. Comprised of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab stick, avocado, cucumber, and tobiko wrapped in soy bean paper with eel sauce and spicy mayo. A sweet rather than spicy taste of the eel sauce and “spicy” mayo covered the sushi. The light pink soy bean paper wrapped around each piece of sushi in a pretty presentation, but did not add much to the taste of the sushi. The soft consistency of the sushi was paired nicely with a piece of the crunch of a piece fried shrimp inside each roll. The most powerful tastes of the dish were the sauce on the top and the shrimp. The rest of the ingredients in the sakura roll complimented nicely, but left me longing for a bit more of a pop to the dish.
Like many of the names of the sushi options on the menu, the name of the vegas roll did not make much sense. Covered in the same tasty sauce as the sakura roll, the salmon, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, and avocado fried in tempura made the vegas roll an excellent choice. While these ingredients may seem rather unconventional for a sushi recipe, these zany choices ingredients like mozzarella cheese and avocado resulted in a great sushi roll. However, akin to the sakura roll, the sauce combination covering the rolls lacked the spicy kick that it advertised.
The sushi chefs personally presented the completed dishes over the counter to the customers at the bar. Their precision and artistic flair was accompanied by intermittent speech to each other in Japanese. A middle-aged couple sat down a few seats at the bar, trying to drum up some conversation with the chefs, asking what the names for certain ingredients were in Japanese. The chefs gladly obliged and answered what they could. The waitress was always there to fill up waning water glasses and oohs and aahs could be heard from the audience sitting in the hibachi section quite frequently. These sounds were much more welcome than the cheesy piano music playing through the speakers that seemed to belong on an episode of Days of Our Lives.
The only difficulty in ordering the food was making the final decision. The menu was easily navigable, as each sushi selection was accompanied by a picture of the dish and a full description, leaving no room for misinterpretation. The entire meal cost about $30 before tip, so Sakura 2 is definitely a restaurant that is in the price range and style of college students looking for a night of food that is easily shareable and within their budget. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and entrees vary from $9 to $15. The hours are very flexible as well, open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
If one is looking for sushi in this price range, Sakura 2 is well worth it. The stylish decor, the friendly and attentive staff, and great deal of sushi options (as well as hibachi options) make Sakura 2 a nice option for college students. While the sushi is not top-notch, you pay for what you receive at Sakura 2, and the quality, variety and taste of the sushi will leave restaurant goers willing to come back for more.
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| Spicy Tuna Poppers |
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| Sakura Roll |
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| Vegas Roll |
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| Just a glimpse of the sushi bar counter |
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| Sakura and Vegas Roll |
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sushi Expectations
After reading about Anthony Bourdain’s travels throughout Japan in A Cook’s Tour, the thought of sushi could not get out of my head. The meticulous preparation that is involved in the sushi-making process is something that I’ve only heard of, but never seen. You see, I’ve never had sushi before.
My lack of sushi experience has never been intentional; I’ve just never had the opportunity. I love seafood and have grown more receptive in past years to trying new types of food, so I’m just as befuddled as everyone else who gasps in amazement when I tell them that I’ve never had sushi before. Looking back, it would be safe to assume that the real reason why I’ve never eaten sushi is that the only other person in my family who would eat it is my dad. Throughout my childhood, my Dad was the one who has slowly exposed me to different types of seafood, from mild fish like perch and whitefish, then to shrimp, and then to lobster, crab, tuna and salmon. The rest of family tends to stay away from these foods, so it’s understandable why we never visited a sushi restaurant.
Now, I understand that the different types of seafood I just listed aren’t very extreme, but many of them are ingredients in sushi. So if I like these foods, what’s so adventurous about going to a sushi restaurant? For me, sushi represents a culture that is unknown to me, and my only real way to access it is to go to a sushi restaurant. Looking ahead to my experience, I’m not scared of the food, but I am nervous about knowing what to choose. Many people have told me try this and that when I go to the restaurant. Honestly, I’ve just let their opinion go through one ear and out the other. In order to ensure that I can enter another culture, I need to enter it with as little possible knowledge as possible. That way, my fresh perspective can take in all of the sights, sounds and smells of the restaurant.
But I still have a little knowledge of sushi. I’ve seen cooking shows and read books that talk about the foods that can be used in sushi that are very foreign to me, like octopus, eel and wasabi. So that’s the biggest thing I’m worried about; being adventurous enough to try new foods that are unfamiliar to my usually dining experience. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something that I’ll need to remind myself of when I’m at the sushi restaurant.
I hope that my fresh perspective on sushi can help me to pay more attention to bigger and smaller details that I don’t usually pay attention to when I attend restaurants. I also hope that the unfamiliar taste of sushi will help me to better analyze and judge the food I’m eating. On the other hand, I’m also afraid that my taste buds might be overwhelmed with such new cuisine. It’s a fine line that I’ll have to learn to tread during the experience.
Whenever I experienced an unfamiliar food when I was growing up, my dad would always say: “just try it.” That adage has always stuck with me, and will be one that will be in the front of my mind when I walk through the doors of Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar.
My lack of sushi experience has never been intentional; I’ve just never had the opportunity. I love seafood and have grown more receptive in past years to trying new types of food, so I’m just as befuddled as everyone else who gasps in amazement when I tell them that I’ve never had sushi before. Looking back, it would be safe to assume that the real reason why I’ve never eaten sushi is that the only other person in my family who would eat it is my dad. Throughout my childhood, my Dad was the one who has slowly exposed me to different types of seafood, from mild fish like perch and whitefish, then to shrimp, and then to lobster, crab, tuna and salmon. The rest of family tends to stay away from these foods, so it’s understandable why we never visited a sushi restaurant.
Now, I understand that the different types of seafood I just listed aren’t very extreme, but many of them are ingredients in sushi. So if I like these foods, what’s so adventurous about going to a sushi restaurant? For me, sushi represents a culture that is unknown to me, and my only real way to access it is to go to a sushi restaurant. Looking ahead to my experience, I’m not scared of the food, but I am nervous about knowing what to choose. Many people have told me try this and that when I go to the restaurant. Honestly, I’ve just let their opinion go through one ear and out the other. In order to ensure that I can enter another culture, I need to enter it with as little possible knowledge as possible. That way, my fresh perspective can take in all of the sights, sounds and smells of the restaurant.
But I still have a little knowledge of sushi. I’ve seen cooking shows and read books that talk about the foods that can be used in sushi that are very foreign to me, like octopus, eel and wasabi. So that’s the biggest thing I’m worried about; being adventurous enough to try new foods that are unfamiliar to my usually dining experience. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something that I’ll need to remind myself of when I’m at the sushi restaurant.
I hope that my fresh perspective on sushi can help me to pay more attention to bigger and smaller details that I don’t usually pay attention to when I attend restaurants. I also hope that the unfamiliar taste of sushi will help me to better analyze and judge the food I’m eating. On the other hand, I’m also afraid that my taste buds might be overwhelmed with such new cuisine. It’s a fine line that I’ll have to learn to tread during the experience.
Whenever I experienced an unfamiliar food when I was growing up, my dad would always say: “just try it.” That adage has always stuck with me, and will be one that will be in the front of my mind when I walk through the doors of Sakura 2, Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Culinary Tourism is Everywhere!
When reading Culinary Tourism by Lucy Long, many ideas about culinary tourism were presented that I had never thought of before. The most significant of these examples was Long’s idea that “not only can one stay home and still experience the ‘exotic,’ but one may also stay home and view the familiar and mundane as exotic” (6). She’s presenting two principles: that we don’t need to travel outside of our homes to participate in culinary tourism and that things we are already very familiar with can become exotic. I had always thought of culinary tourism as an adventure someone takes to another region or country that is unlike their own, and tries food that they have never experienced before. The thought that traveling to a Fogo de Chao restaurant (Brazilian steakhouse) to experience something new and exotic really broke my preconceived notions of tourism in general. In the same vein, the thought that culinary tourism exists just from watching cooking shows of another culture or television program focusing on food around the world blew my mind. So I don’t even need to leave my couch?! While I agree that being simple experiences like watching television programs can offer us a great deal of knowledge, I don’t believe that culinary tourism truly exists until you get out there and adventure.
Long explained that these adventures could occur in our backyard or halfway around the world, so I tried to think of times when I was truly a culinary tourist. The fresh fish I ate during a trip I took with my parents to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Eating pâté de foie gras when I was only 12 years old in Paris (I wasn’t a huge fan, but I don’t think that my twelve year-old taste buds were ready for that type of sophistication yet). Domestically, my biggest tourist experience with food was this past winter break, when I traveled to an Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago.
My family’s annual winter-break trip to Chicago included a trip to an Ecuadorian restaurant, as we have been hosting an 18 year-old foreign exchange student from Ecuador. The experience was something very new to me, as I had never eaten Ecuadorian food or even heard about it. What resulted was wonderful. Right as we walked into the restaurant, the face of my host brother, Roberto, brightened. I knew we were in for a treat. Playing Ecuadorian tunes, I couldn’t really understand much from the three-member band in the restaurant, but the music was rich and wonderful. I decided to order seco de pollo a chicken dish cooked in beer with peppers, onions, tomatoes and passion fruit. In the past few years, I’ve grown more receptive to trying new dishes, and I was well rewarded by ordering seco de pollo.
I didn’t realize until reading Long’s article that this was a form of culinary tourism. I previously thought of this as something that must require distant travel and extreme bravery. But my trips to Mexico and Paris don’t compare to my trip to La Peña in Chicago. As I continue to travel through the States, I now know that all it takes for me to be a culinary tourist is to be adventurous.
Long explained that these adventures could occur in our backyard or halfway around the world, so I tried to think of times when I was truly a culinary tourist. The fresh fish I ate during a trip I took with my parents to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Eating pâté de foie gras when I was only 12 years old in Paris (I wasn’t a huge fan, but I don’t think that my twelve year-old taste buds were ready for that type of sophistication yet). Domestically, my biggest tourist experience with food was this past winter break, when I traveled to an Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago.
My family’s annual winter-break trip to Chicago included a trip to an Ecuadorian restaurant, as we have been hosting an 18 year-old foreign exchange student from Ecuador. The experience was something very new to me, as I had never eaten Ecuadorian food or even heard about it. What resulted was wonderful. Right as we walked into the restaurant, the face of my host brother, Roberto, brightened. I knew we were in for a treat. Playing Ecuadorian tunes, I couldn’t really understand much from the three-member band in the restaurant, but the music was rich and wonderful. I decided to order seco de pollo a chicken dish cooked in beer with peppers, onions, tomatoes and passion fruit. In the past few years, I’ve grown more receptive to trying new dishes, and I was well rewarded by ordering seco de pollo.
I didn’t realize until reading Long’s article that this was a form of culinary tourism. I previously thought of this as something that must require distant travel and extreme bravery. But my trips to Mexico and Paris don’t compare to my trip to La Peña in Chicago. As I continue to travel through the States, I now know that all it takes for me to be a culinary tourist is to be adventurous.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Gingerbread Houses
As inspired by my comments on gingerbread houses today, I present the Philosoraptor's take on this:
Something to philosophize about, dudes.
Something to philosophize about, dudes.
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