August 22, 2024 • 36 mins
It’s a food travel show for your ears! Dean ventures to his favorite worldwide hole-in-the-wall restaurants, street stands, and more in this episode, experiencing the best meals of his life from Sri Lanka to Shanghai and everywhere in between. Meanwhile, Tom risks losing his head in his search for the most spectacular chocolate mousse in and around Paris. We hope that you’ll take the calculated risk to both venture out to that bus station shawarma stand with the long line, and into the artichoke heart of this episode - you (likely) won’t regret it!
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Hosts: Dean Foster & Tom Peterson
Audio Production: Tom Peterson & Torin Peterson
Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Cheryl and I went to Italy on our
honeymoon, and
we were
in Rome.
And at the time, you know, we're young,
and we don't
have
we're we're on Arthur Frommer's Europe on $5
a day, or maybe at this point, it
was
$15 a day or something like that. Right.
We land.
(00:20):
We wanna get something. It's kind of lunchtime
by the time we get into the,
and we walk around the corner. Where are
we going? I don't know. Let's just see
what we have here.
And walk down the street, and there's a
little trattoria.
And we walk in,
and there's a case of artichokes,
the most magnificent looking artichokes you've ever seen,
(00:41):
stuffed
and served on on this beautiful little white
plate.
And we ordered
1 artichoke,
a glass of wine, and spent the entire
afternoon having
one of the best meals of our lives
in this small little trattoria,
like the Italian equivalent of a delicatessen. Right.
(01:04):
And it kind of reminds me of this
whole search that I think a lot of
people do when they go somewhere and they're
into the food
and they wanna find this that special
mom and pop shop, that little hole in
the wall, that that A little more local
type of thing. It it really reflects
not just the local flavor, but the absolute
(01:26):
best of the of the local flavor. Sure.
Yeah. And you can find these places
everywhere
where you're getting
the authentic
food
and the authentic cuisine,
and you're getting probably one of the best
meals of your life. Right. Right. And it
could be standing by a food truck. Mhmm.
(01:46):
Or it could be a fairly high grade
restaurant.
But whatever it is,
it's that combination
of
authentic local flavor,
and
the whole experience
makes it one of the best meals of
your life. Nice. Right. Nice. Okay. So And
Are we thinking we're doing, like, a food
travel show, like, for for one's ears? Is
(02:08):
that the the audible world. Kinda find the
hole in the wall places that folks don't
know about? Sure. Don't know about. Well, lots
of people do know about them. I mean,
I think this But in our general audience,
probably, there's a lot of people that Well,
I could say about places that I've been,
you know, that I think Cool. Well, we'll
take some places you've been. Sure. Okay. I'm
thinking of I'm thinking of a place in
Hanoi in Vietnam. No. That's not a good
(02:29):
one. No. Moving on.
I guess we're talking about this because
Oh. Oops.
Your culture's showing.
And I'm Dean Foster. And I'm Tom Peterson.
And I'm Torren.
(02:50):
Hey. It was one of the best meals
of my life. Okay. And it reflected,
you know, the absolute
Oh. Best of the local
local cuisine. And this was just another little
place. Is this the place you talked about
maybe a few episodes ago? Is that right?
Did I mention? I think so. In yeah.
In in Hanoi. Yes. I think you mentioned
that. The restaurant is What was the name
of it? Chaka Lavang. Yes. You did. Yep.
(03:11):
And, it's really just a small local place,
an unobtrusive.
You know, you you never you never know
that it that it's the place you wanna
go to. Yeah.
And I mean It's it's so let me
ask you a question about something like that.
You you most travelers,
I think, people,
and I'm gonna talk from the from the
US perspective.
(03:33):
Most travelers
in in foreign lands,
unless they're, you know, very well versed in
it, maybe for whatever reasons. They're very well
versed in the culture and
and in the in the area that they
happen to be in. When they see
something that doesn't look like a,
you know, a a very nice restaurant
(03:54):
or something along those lines, which you might
be in a town. I I have been
in smaller towns in Europe and so forth
where you you don't necessarily seize anything like
that. You you see these little places, and
that's it. That's because you're using the criteria
of I don't know anything here, so I'm
just gonna go for the safe one, which
is like looks familiar. The thing that either
(04:16):
looks familiar or looks clean Yes. Or, you
know, And that's because you don't you have
no other field of reference. And that's that's
my question. Right? My field of reference is
just the opposite. The dirtier and the scrubbier,
I I don't wanna get in. I you
know? Because
because So it's it's showing. It kind of,
like, pushes some away, but it appeals to
you. Which is just as kind of,
(04:38):
ignorant, I think, because it could be dangerous,
and you can get sick there. Absolutely. And
I have. You could find some real gems
that way. Yeah. They would Well, it's a
little bit of a Russian roulette. It is
a Russian roulette, but I will always opt
for the one that looks a little funky
as opposed to the one that looks a
little clean. Concavity. Yeah. I think I think
you because the upside
is is
(04:58):
great.
The these little kinda I'm gonna use the
term dive because it has a negative connotation
to it, but I think Which I like.
But they can be I've been in dives
that have just been great. Dives can be
real fun. Yeah. Yeah. Real good stuff. It
could be fun, but they they can also
be Right. They can also be Right. They
can also be Right. They can also be
Right. They can also be Right. They can
also be when you don't quite know what
you're getting from abroad. Particularly out of your
own element without any cues whatsoever Yep. It
(05:19):
could be a little dicey, and maybe it
it will be,
not so great. Right. Maybe you will get
a little bug, but maybe you'll even get
a bad bug. I don't know. I'm gonna
always opt for the take the I'm gonna
take the risk. Maybe a mediocre bug.
Go for it. Hey. I'm Sylvia. Talk about
it, and I've had some of those bugs.
(05:39):
That bug might be good. Yeah. Sure. Don't
turn the bug down. Hey. The bug man
in in Bangkok. Now he was The bug
man in Bangkok. That's gonna be my new
book, I think. It's gonna be the bug
man in Bangkok. He's a guy. Thank you.
He's on there.
I'm sure he's got a lot of competition
now, but I remember when we were there,
there was this guy on the street corner,
and and he was selling bugs
(06:02):
right on the street Uh-huh. Which are these
huge I mean,
some of them were cockroaches,
but others were on skewers. They were just
big beetle type things,
and a lot of places around the world.
These were cooked. Yeah. Oh, they'd cooked and
and cooked good deliciously.
Actually, the kids would run by the little
you know, the kids on the street would
(06:22):
run by and steal a little
grub, you know, because he's also got grubs.
So it's on it's on skewers Mhmm. Out
like a open barbecue. Mhmm. And
and and they've got you know, it it's
being cooked over charcoal with garlic
and salt, and it's crispy. Sounds good to
(06:43):
me. Unless you had some reason not to
wanna eat a bug, you're gonna wanna eat
this. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's already tasty.
Mhmm. Oh, yeah. You know? Sounds good.
So I think I think the bug man
of Bangkok now has got a whole bunch
of
competitors.
Sure. But when we were there That sounds
like a very old,
way of of of cooking and and serving
(07:05):
stuff
in those regions that they that that's not
something they came up with, like, you know,
5 years ago or something like that. We're
we're eating these these creatures because there's a
they're a source of protein. Mhmm. And in
lots of cultures around the world, we're eating
insects in one form or another. Sure. Yeah.
Grasshoppers.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Yep.
(07:25):
Snails? Are we getting closer to western cuisine?
We're we're drifting into France now with Escargot.
We'll just call it that, and it sounds
a lot better than snails. Snails are insects,
But No. But they're they can be very
not
something you maybe wanna eat if you're knowing
it's a snail and you look at the
slimy little thing. I guess I'm mentioning this
because it's all on a spectrum.
(07:47):
Right? Yeah. And so you can And that's
really where we're going right here. Yeah. We're
looking for the little places, and you're talking
about street food
and that kind of thing. And even in
New York, you can get really good street
food. You can also get really lousy street
food, but you can get some wonderful stuff.
But if you're open and want to really
explore,
and some place looks authentic and interesting, you
(08:08):
can also ask someone. Absolutely.
I think so. We get ourselves tied up
with this stuff, and we become less exploratory
because of
the fear of the unknown. Right.
And and I think that
we're always gonna be much more successful when
we travel if we
(08:29):
if we ask humbly and sincerely. Right. Come
from a place of curiosity. And and and
and humility. Yeah. Yes. And so that you're
indicating that you're open to new and different
things. So the Hanoi restaurant,
Dean, how did you find out about it?
Did you ask somebody? We we had heard
about it Okay. Fortunately before we left. Oh,
(08:50):
okay. Someone,
who'd who'd been to Vietnam many times Nice.
Told us about it. Okay. And,
when we got there, oh, it was everything
I'd hoped it to be. It looked really
kinda run down. Right. Right. And then the
food smelled great. Which is perfect because you're
not gonna get a lot of tourists and
No. Not gonna be too crowded probably, but
(09:10):
it's gonna be incredible. One of the one
of the rules that I have for myself
is when I travel to Asia, I always
bring along,
particularly
those countries that use chopsticks. Mhmm. And there
are many Mhmm. That are influenced by Chinese
culture.
So China,
Myanmar,
Taiwan, Vietnam.
(09:32):
So I always bring my own chopsticks with
me. In case I find myself somewhere where
I'm not so comfortable about,
I wanna try the food, but I'm not
so comfortable about the level of cleanliness of
the restaurant. Oh, sure. I can use my
own chopsticks. Yeah. I was out here. I'm
not gonna take out my own chopsticks
at a, quote, unquote, fancy restaurant because that's
not an issue
there. Right? But
(09:53):
and Japan and Korea,
same thing. But
in local,
quote, unquote, dives
or family run places, I
sometimes I like to use my own chopsticks.
So I always travel with my own. Mhmm.
But at Chocolavang, I didn't even feel that.
I just felt like this place is gonna
be good. Mhmm. And
(10:13):
so I went with my instincts, and it
was, and it was wonderful. But some of
the people I was travelling with,
they they were less adventurous. Do you remember
what you ate?
No. It was a long time ago. It
was just but it was just real good.
They I do remember that they had 1
or 2 specialties that they were known for.
Okay. And we knew that, and we asked
for that. Oh, nice. That was smart. Yeah.
(10:35):
So that was
And and, yeah, it worked out, obviously. And
that that also goes to a little bit
of education ahead of time as opposed to
just taking a flyer
on something that's there, but that others have
said to you, yes. I did this Yeah.
Word-of-mouth. And really found it. I mean, that's
whether you're going into a foreign culture, you're
going into a culture that is just
I don't I'm not gonna say foreign, but
(10:57):
not your normal places to be. In other
words, you may be in your that you're
familiar with. Exactly. Okay. So so sorry. Dion,
I looked up choco laveong, and I'm seeing
it's a grilled fish dish.
So maybe that's maybe that's what what you
had. Yeah. Yep. Sounds right. That would be
their specialty. Right. That's specialty. Originally from Hanoi.
(11:17):
There you go.
Nice. Nice.
So it looks good.
I'd not to jump away from Hanoi, but,
or or the the fish.
But, I don't think I've told this story
on the podcast, but Okay. Well, I'll determine
that. Since we're okay. Since You have told
me. Assuming you
oh, okay.
(11:38):
Or that one. Oh, yeah. That one. I
see. I'm sorry.
When we were in France for a period
of time, my, You and my yep. My
daughter and I,
Cameron,
took it on ourselves to to find in
we were just living in a very small
town just outside of Paris.
(11:59):
We took it on ourselves to find the
best chocolate mousse
we can find. Sometimes if you just define
one thing that you want and you ask
about where can I find the absolute best
of this kind? Absolutely.
Locals will will will give you their opinion,
but you can do it, you know, and
you find something But you gotta try. I
(12:19):
don't know. Is moose gonna be good in
France? I know. I know. That's the place
that If you could find a really good
one at around Paris, you probably were finding
one of the better ones in the port.
It is going explode. Yeah. Very likely. Yeah.
And we were looking for that, actually. Yeah.
Sure. So so we Yep. So we were
I mean, we we we went to places
on the on the Champs Elysees and places
(12:40):
like that to to try to find them
where you might expect that kind of thing
to happen in, in the heart of Paris.
And we had fortunately, we had time. So
we went around and we were living the
small town was right adjacent to Versailles,
the town and the palace.
And,
but in the town,
(13:00):
we were we were in the center of
the town, and we were looking for some
places. And there was this little small
stand really Exactly. In in almost like almost
in an alleyway with a with a door
and a and a and a ceiling. Mhmm.
And,
and we we looked in there, and they
seem to have things like this. And we
(13:21):
went in and asked for it there, and
it was right adjacent
to the Versailles bus station.
And, Well, then right there, you know it's
gonna be great. Right? Gotta be great. This
has gotta be good. So we were and
it was
so, you know, we okay. So we took
it. We got it, and we took it.
There was no place to sit or anything.
We went out and sat at a,
(13:41):
on a on a on a bench, I
remember. And and also but quite frankly, in
those areas, the the the center of of
the towns like that, which was really not
big in Versailles, but the center of the
town like that
is just gorgeous and decorated
beautifully and so on. But it was this
little really cubby hole, and we and we
took that out and sat down. That was
(14:02):
the best we found Yeah. Yeah. After extensive
research on our part. Nice.
And it was and we went back. And
sometimes if you put in if you put
in all that effort, even if it isn't
the best, you're gonna remember it as the
best. Well, that's it. And especially you might
be coming in thinking, well, we're not a
whole situation. Right. And then, oh, it's actually
real good. Yeah. I mean, I so as
(14:22):
I've mentioned before this podcast,
I lived in Jordan, the country of Jordan,
for a number of years, and the best
chicken shawarma
sandwich I ever had there was at a
bus station. The bus station about 20 minutes
away from me. It was like It was
incredible. I had it all the time. It
was like the artichoke that we had in
Rome the first day we landed
because we didn't have a frame of reference
for anything finer,
(14:43):
and it was just so wonderful
that we remember it still that way. Yeah.
Of course. You've had you've had you've had
great meals since, but Oh, yes. But that
one will always stay Oh, yeah. I do
it was was that in in our case,
was the chocolate mousse the best ever? Honestly,
I've never had the same reaction
to anything else in very expensive chocolate mousse
(15:04):
to to also other places. Quite live up
to it. And it doesn't and it doesn't
really matter because it It doesn't. It was
the whole experience Exactly. That you that made
it as great as it was. I will
say, though, that we did we I mean,
living right in the area there, we were,
we had the option to to do this.
So at one point, we were sort of
like, maybe we should go back and do
(15:24):
it again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It somebody has
to. We have to make sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Let's verify. We wanted to make sure
we But it was that good. Oh, it
was. And it was. Oh, yeah. What you
gotta do is not a valid scientific test.
Exactly.
That's it. And,
yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we were and we
verified it. Science. Good. Good. I appreciate your
devotion to the scientific method. I think you
(15:44):
were very well
Something. Someone had to, and we felt it
was our obligation. Yes. I remember going to
a conference in,
in Frankfurt, which is
an interesting city to visit, and but it's
a very business oriented city. Okay. It's not
as touristic necessarily as many other cities
(16:09):
are, but it was a conference. Okay? So
we were there. I'm there for a conference,
and I'm out to eat one night
in this
recommended
local German restaurant,
with typical
food from Frankfurt and the region.
And,
I'm
(16:30):
I'm sitting there, and this fellow comes in.
And he sits down, and he orders
a bowl of schlag,
which is whipped cream.
Oh.
A bowl of whipped cream.
Okay. Sounds good to me. And he
and that was what he had. That's it.
That's what he came in for. Now maybe
(16:51):
this individual and I do think it was
probably unique to him. Mhmm. I I never
saw anybody else do this, so I'm not
saying this was a local,
dish
in any Or a custom that in the
area. Yeah.
But I was intrigued by the fact that
he came in and ordered a dish of
(17:11):
a bowl of whipped cream.
Mhmm. And,
as you travel as I traveled from
southern Germany
into Austria and then into Hungary,
the whipped cream
became more and more
common
on the menu,
as I traveled in this direction.
(17:33):
And,
not as a separate dish, but every time
I would have a dessert
that
often came with whipped cream. Okay. Right. And
Schlag. Michlag.
With whipped cream. Yeah. All the time. I
was always reminded of this man who'd eliminated
every all the He was no all the
mitt. It was just the Schlag. Just the
(17:54):
Schlag. That's all he wants. Yes.
He so he was my standard bearer. To
the heart of it. He was absolutely my
standard bearer. I love it. I love it.
Yeah. Yeah. Cut out all the all the
Yeah. No mitts needed. So maybe he's
wondering, is he just thinking this is so
good?
This is what I want. This is what
I want. I would I would hope that's
(18:14):
why. I mean, it would be good. It's
perfect sense to me.
Yeah. Give me a bowl of schlog right
now. No. Schlog me up. Right. Okay.
Not in any way. Going too far. Yeah.
It could be. Yep. Maybe not. Maybe not.
No. That sounds great. Yeah. Absolutely. I think
(18:34):
that's very wise. It's interesting. You you you
do see, in in some cases I mean,
living long enough, you start to see people
come into restaurants or whatever and order some
stuff, and you kind of wonder why
they would be doing whatever it is. And
I guess I guess our the the good
nature,
is to say
that must be special then if they're doing
(18:55):
that as opposed to I think they may
be insane,
which it might be both. It may be.
It may have been this unique individual, but,
you know, the the
that whole reason He also was he also
died 18 minutes later. It's maybe that. Well,
that's a good way to go out. One
doesn't know. It's a good way to go
out, honestly.
Why why not always ask to take these
(19:16):
risks risks in life and you make your
decisions. You do it for the last year.
Sure. Sure. And then you slog your way
out, I guess. And then on the other
end of the spectrum, not the small little,
unassuming places, but every now and then, I'll
have a great meal in a really nice
restaurant. I'm remembering one in Bordeaux
Okay. Where it
(19:37):
the town of Sauternes
Uh-huh. Where they make that very fine
dessert wine
is in the Bordeaux region.
And the town itself, like I learned when
I was there, is a tiny little small
town, an intersection
or or two of streets,
but it's world famous because all around it
(19:58):
are acres and acres of these vineyards Mhmm.
That produce this incredible wine. Yeah. But the
town itself is
is nothing much to speak of unless you
live there, of course, and then it's your
town.
So Sauteurne, world famous sweet wine,
but a very small little town. We were
there on a Sunday. There was only 1
(20:20):
one or 2 restaurants that were actually open,
and one of them
was filled with with townsfolk and family coming
for Sunday lunch, Sunday's
meal Mhmm.
Beginning,
early in the afternoon and extending as as
long as it needed to be.
And it was filled with joie de vivre,
(20:41):
and and it was
and the food was delicious, and the food
was incredible.
And everything was made, not everything on the
menu, but many things on the menu were
made with the local wine, with sauter. Mhmm.
Sure. Yep.
And I remember having
a soup that I will always remember
(21:03):
till
till the end of my days,
which was an oyster
and sauterne
soup.
Oysters Oysters and sauterne.
Made with heavy cream. Oh my goodness.
Oh my goodness. I'm in.
Wow. One can only have this one. See,
(21:24):
I didn't see the heavy cream coming. Yeah.
I'm so glad I did.
Yeah. So Yeah. Yeah. It sounds great. Yep.
It was it was phenomenal.
Yeah. And I would go if I were
ever back there, I would go in and
order that soup. Sure. I don't probably, maybe
nothing else. Do you remember the name of
the Highly unlikely that I would wouldn't order
(21:45):
something else. But,
no. But it's the only you go into
town, and there it is. That's it. So
okay. You go there. You'll you'll you'll figure
it out. Yeah. Nice.
Very nice. Okay. So if anybody's going there,
yeah, you'll
find it. Yeah. Now that wasn't a hole
in the wall, but we're in France now.
So it's Right.
This was this was a nice respectable place.
(22:07):
But Oh, that's right. That was But not
fancier. But not,
not a haute cuisine.
This was food for everybody. Okay. Mhmm. Okay.
Mhmm. But it happened to be
oysters
and sauterne
and Nice.
Soup. Yeah. Nice.
I'm in. Yeah. I'll take a bowl right
now, please. So next time you find yourself
(22:30):
in Bordeaux, there you go. Yeah. Sure.
We also,
this was in the Loire Valley,
in France, and,
there was a there was a place I
remember.
I do not remember the name of it,
but it had it had very nice it
was
desserts.
Mhmm.
Patisserie Oh, we're going back to desserts again.
(22:51):
Yeah. Yeah. It's hard not to always wind
up there. Yeah. But we always were I
was always looking for bonjourie and patisserie. Yes.
The bakery and the and the desserts. And,
and this small little place had they had
a little castle, I remember. Mhmm. And the
tour of the castle,
the draw for the people to go to
the castle was that they had,
these places where people had been chained up
(23:13):
down in the down in the dungeon. Oh.
And so the tour was of their dungeon.
Oh. Yeah. And, that was their special could
have a patisserie at the end of the
tour. Yeah. Well, since then you feel fine.
I decided to opt out of the dungeon
and just go to the patisserie. Just like
the man with the schlog. Just go right
to right to what you want. To the
patisserie. Yes. No time wasted. And it was
(23:35):
wonderful. Yeah. I wish you don't waste time
for sure. Yeah. I think, again, wise.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Dean, are there are
there other hole in the wall places around
the world that you Oh my god. Recommend?
But my experiences are, you know, is limited
to me. But,
I think the the moral of the story
is
(23:55):
open up
and really check these
check out where you are with the locals.
Check them out. You know? Yeah. Talk to
the locals. Right.
Find be curious. Yeah. Ask them about their
lives and
and start a conversation.
And and people will,
more often than not, I have found,
(24:16):
be very willing to share the best that
they have with you. Is there a time
that sticks out to you in particular where
you were asking or talking to talking to
the locals and they recommended someplace, and it
was like, oh, I'm so
thank goodness.
Yeah. Act actually, it it was in in
in Sri Lanka. Okay. Then I was traveling
through southern India and Sri Lanka,
and
(24:37):
I was fortunate that I had a colleague
in Colombo
who
she's Sri Lankan, and so she was able
to recommend
different places to me. And, you know, I
said,
Sarah, I you know me.
I don't need
a high level tourist restaurant. Right. Right. I'm
much more interested in having
(24:59):
really fine local food Mhmm.
By someone who can really
give me something that reflects
the best of of the region. Yeah. And
so she was able to,
turn me on to
a particular place outside of Colombo, actually,
that
(25:19):
was remarkable, and it was it was a
vegetarian restaurant. Mhmm.
And it was, what they called banana leaf.
Mhmm. Yeah.
So the food comes out. There are no
plates.
It comes out on a big banana leaf.
They put a banana leaf down where a
plate would be,
and,
you're going to be eating it.
(25:39):
And,
you know, protocol says you eat with the
right hand, not the left hand. Uh-huh. Mhmm.
So you eat it
eat it with your right hand, and you're
just going to mix the rice and whatever
dishes they bring out to you
together on the banana leaf. Mhmm. And you
mix it up, and you
put it in your mouth Mhmm. With your
with your fingers. Nice. And you just pop
(26:00):
it in. Yeah.
And it was, I don't know what it
was. It was just really, really different from
most of the food that I was having
Yeah. On the trip. And most of the
food that I was having in South India
and in the rest of Sri Lanka was
wonderful. Mhmm.
I was not mistreated.
Yeah. But this particular restaurant,
(26:22):
a local little restaurant on the edge of
the the forest,
was
spectacular. Something special. Yeah. It really was. And
it was vegetarian,
and I they really knew how to use
their spices and and,
and local ingredients, and it was spectacular. Nice.
Very nice.
(26:46):
I wanna see if I can look it
up. I I don't know if I'm gonna
have any success, though. It's hard with hole
in the wall places. Right? Because that's the
whole idea. It's not a whole And they
may not be there tomorrow even though Right.
Right. It could be more, you know, transient.
Yeah. But I don't know. I mean, even
even the finest restaurants come and go. You
know? Oh, absolutely. But it it's it's a
very difficult business. Yeah. But at the same
time, these places now might be on the
(27:08):
Internet. Yeah. You know? It's it's it's a
it's a little bit different world. And they
and they often cater to a very
unique
clientele Uh-huh. Who, once they know them,
come there's lots of repeat. So they often
do stay around for quite a long time.
Mhmm. You know, they're the they're the little
place that everybody knows at the train station.
(27:28):
Sure. And that's where you go because
and and you're taking the train every day
because that's where you live, and that's what
you need to do. Mhmm. And so there's
this repeat clientele all the time.
I'm thinking also, Tom, of of the there's
a there's a little stand
in the ferry building,
that,
(27:50):
in Saint Thomas that takes you to the
Saint John takes you to Saint John. Mhmm.
And there's a guy there who's got a
stand, and he makes the best
fried bread.
Fried bread? Yeah. I've ever had. Fried bread
is a staple in lots of different places,
and it's made lots of different ways. Yeah.
For those who don't know about fried bread,
can you describe
(28:10):
what that because I'm imagining, like, you know,
a loaf of bread.
You'd buy the, you know, buy the grocery
store in the States, but I'm guessing it's
quite different. Like a patty. Uh-huh. Yeah. And
it's,
and it puffs up a little bit. Mhmm.
It's like a paratha in in India. Mhmm.
Puffs up a little bit,
and
and it's deep fried. Mhmm. So it's more
(28:32):
like something like a cross between a doughnut
and and a bread.
Yeah. I was gonna say,
at
at at fairs. Well, it was called What
can I think of it? In the Caribbean,
they call it Johnny cakes.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's yeah. And
he makes the best Johnny cakes I've ever
had. Funnel funnel cake. That's what I was
saying. Funnel cake
is funnel cake is different. Okay. But it
(28:52):
but it is a fried dough. Okay. Every
culture's got its fried dough,
and funnel cakes is 1. A Johnny cake
is a fried dough,
dish from the Caribbean. I'm looking for a
different looking. Yep. Yes. Different looking. But this
is this is the best. Yeah. And it's
so delicious. And he's got his his clientele
every day. They're taking the ferry back and
forth. Mhmm. And so he can depend on
(29:14):
them. And he'll be there for as long
as he keeps making the best Johnny cakes
around. Nice. Yeah.
I in Shanghai also, there's,
an area of Shanghai
that's
they call it Chinatown
because
Shanghai
started as actually a western city Mhmm.
(29:36):
Which happened to be in China Mhmm. Because
it started
with European
exploiters coming and claiming the land and
and claiming sections of what became Shanghai Yeah.
As their own colonial outposts for trading. Yeah.
So there's an area of Shanghai that's Frenchtown,
an area that's Shanghai that was once known
(29:56):
as Englishtown,
And there's an area that was, in fact,
local Chinese,
and it's called Chinatown.
But Yeah. It's interesting.
Right in China, in Shanghai.
Right?
But it's, the old Shanghai,
and it's been restored.
And it's very touristic in many ways, but
(30:18):
it also is still very authentic.
And
there's a lot of,
stands and restaurants
in this area,
and there's one in particular. They all sell
Shanghannese dumplings, which is a local tradition. Oh,
I love dumplings. And it's dumplings that are
served in, a broth.
(30:41):
And
you you stick your straw
into the cup Mhmm.
And through the cup holder
into the dumpling. Mhmm. And you break the
dumpling, and you suck the broth up through
the straw,
and then you eat the dumpling.
Okay.
And, of course, everybody claims to make the
best Chinese dumplings Mhmm. In Shanghai Sure. In
(31:03):
Chinatown, in the Square. Mhmm.
Except there is one place Oh. That really
does its best. Okay. Yeah.
And,
it was my experience that
the way you identify this place is because
they're the ones that have the longest line.
Ah, okay. Oh, sure. Yeah. Makes sense. Sure.
Mhmm. Yep. And the line is is a
(31:23):
mix of locals and also tourists. Mhmm.
But everyone there on that line has found
out one way or the other Mhmm. That
this is where you get the best. Yeah.
Yes. Yeah. That's I remember picking a restaurant
in in Monaco,
and I had no idea. No idea. And
and and Monaco is not like a backwater
town or anything,
(31:44):
but it's,
Probably the opposite of the present in the
backwater. This was down by by a freeway,
and, actually, they were getting ready for the
for the 24 hour race, yeah,
that,
that they have there. And so there was
all these barriers up and everything. It's a
complicated place. It is. It's a tiny little
place. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And Getting around is
(32:05):
tough. And I and and there was we
walked by a bunch of restaurants, and there
was this one restaurant that there was a
line.
And,
that finally decided, you know what? We're going
to the place that's got the line because
somebody knows something here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And
it was spectacular.
It was just great. Also But clearly designed
to not need a reservation. It was just
(32:27):
open, and you just go on the line.
Yeah. I mean, it took us a little
while to get in,
because of that. And usually, those kind of
places have one specialty, like the Shanghainese noodles,
Shanghainese dumplings. In this case, I remember that's,
I got,
I I'm gonna say rabbit. It was a
walk away? It was no. No. This was
a restaurant restaurant. Or sit down. Yeah. Yeah.
It wasn't big, but it was, but it
(32:49):
was a restaurant restaurant. And it was, and
it was very nice,
but it was it was
extraordinary. That's how I remember. Remember the
name and same for Chinese? I do not
remember the name of the restaurant. No. No.
No. It's it's
the one with the big line. Okay. Yeah.
There you go. Look that up. In Shanghai
and I do I do one more thing
(33:10):
too. I remember
my daughter got married in the Bahamas, and
we were all there. Yeah. That was that
was really fun. Yeah. And at that night,
everybody went out on the town. Not everybody,
but a lot of the mostly younger people
went out onto the town. Not at a
wedding. At a wedding. Really? Yeah. I think
it was a pretty good mix of ages
for whatever reason. It was pretty good. And
(33:30):
I had decided I was gonna stay back,
and I and and and then
decided I I couldn't. I I I had
to go. He gave So life is short.
Yeah. That's right. So it it so I
headed out and, not knowing at all where
I was going or anything. Oh, no. Wanna
buy. And I I'm feeling a little peckish,
you know? And it's now we're in later
in the evening, but I'm feeling a little
(33:50):
peckish. So I go by a little a
little cart stand kind of thing that is
serving kunk.
Oh, yes. Now okay. So I'm doing it's
it's later at night. It's a little stand
in the Bahamas,
Shellfish.
Yeah.
Do you really do this?
But I really like cotton.
(34:11):
And C O N C H. Yes.
And,
so I
got it and,
it was cooked. Oh, yes. Yeah. Oh, yes.
It was
the best conch I've ever had. Mhmm. Yep.
You took the risk and you did it
and it turned out It turned out great.
Yeah. Right? Yeah. I could have been, you
know,
(34:31):
worshiping to the porcelain god,
for a while if it it hadn't. But
And you might. But But I'd I'd it
really I figured, you know what? If that
happens, that happens. I'm I'm gonna get some
because it might be really good, and it
turned out to be better than really good.
Well, so what he was saying, yeah, don't
don't be afraid. Yeah. Don't be afraid to
dive in. Give it a try. Be curious.
And be informed.
Make make it make an informed decision to
(34:53):
the degree that you can get the information.
You wanna minimize the risk, but you don't
wanna try to obliterate. Don't be reckless because
then you'll never never experience the highs either.
Right. Right. Exactly.
High, man. Woah. I'm getting hungry just thinking
about it. I'm so talking about peckish.
Yeah. Now we all gotta go eat. I've
gone beyond. I'm I'm uber peckish at this
point. Oh, well And and all of this
(35:14):
talk to around the world here and all
these different foods and everything is it's made
me glad that we can say that
Oops.
Your culture show.
Smell you.
(35:35):
Before you run off and disappear back into
your own cultures,
let me give you some information about something
we really want you to know, and that's
how to get hold of us.
Give us your questions,
oopscultureshow@gmail.com.
(35:55):
And be sure to follow us on whatever
social media you use
at oopscultureshow.
Thanks.
Cheryl and I went to Italy on our
honeymoon, and
we were
in Rome.
And at the time, you know, we're young,
and we don't
have
we're we're on Arthur Frommer's Europe on $5
a day, or maybe at this point, it
was
$15 a day or something like that. Right.
We land.
(00:20):
We wanna get something. It's kind of lunchtime
by the time we get into the,
and we walk around the corner. Where are
we going? I don't know. Let's just see
what we have here.
And walk down the street, and there's a
little trattoria.
And we walk in,
and there's a case of artichokes,
the most magnificent looking artichokes you've ever seen,
(00:41):
stuffed
and served on on this beautiful little white
plate.
And we ordered
1 artichoke,
a glass of wine, and spent the entire
afternoon having
one of the best meals of our lives
in this small little trattoria,
like the Italian equivalent of a delicatessen. Right.
(01:04):
And it kind of reminds me of this
whole search that I think a lot of
people do when they go somewhere and they're
into the food
and they wanna find this that special
mom and pop shop, that little hole in
the wall, that that A little more local
type of thing. It it really reflects
not just the local flavor, but the absolute
(01:26):
best of the of the local flavor. Sure.
Yeah. And you can find these places
everywhere
where you're getting
the authentic
food
and the authentic cuisine,
and you're getting probably one of the best
meals of your life. Right. Right. And it
could be standing by a food truck. Mhmm.
(01:46):
Or it could be a fairly high grade
restaurant.
But whatever it is,
it's that combination
of
authentic local flavor,
and
the whole experience
makes it one of the best meals of
your life. Nice. Right. Nice. Okay. So And
Are we thinking we're doing, like, a food
travel show, like, for for one's ears? Is
(02:08):
that the the audible world. Kinda find the
hole in the wall places that folks don't
know about? Sure. Don't know about. Well, lots
of people do know about them. I mean,
I think this But in our general audience,
probably, there's a lot of people that Well,
I could say about places that I've been,
you know, that I think Cool. Well, we'll
take some places you've been. Sure. Okay. I'm
thinking of I'm thinking of a place in
Hanoi in Vietnam. No. That's not a good
(02:29):
one. No. Moving on.
I guess we're talking about this because
Oh. Oops.
Your culture's showing.
And I'm Dean Foster. And I'm Tom Peterson.
And I'm Torren.
(02:50):
Hey. It was one of the best meals
of my life. Okay. And it reflected,
you know, the absolute
Oh. Best of the local
local cuisine. And this was just another little
place. Is this the place you talked about
maybe a few episodes ago? Is that right?
Did I mention? I think so. In yeah.
In in Hanoi. Yes. I think you mentioned
that. The restaurant is What was the name
of it? Chaka Lavang. Yes. You did. Yep.
(03:11):
And, it's really just a small local place,
an unobtrusive.
You know, you you never you never know
that it that it's the place you wanna
go to. Yeah.
And I mean It's it's so let me
ask you a question about something like that.
You you most travelers,
I think, people,
and I'm gonna talk from the from the
US perspective.
(03:33):
Most travelers
in in foreign lands,
unless they're, you know, very well versed in
it, maybe for whatever reasons. They're very well
versed in the culture and
and in the in the area that they
happen to be in. When they see
something that doesn't look like a,
you know, a a very nice restaurant
(03:54):
or something along those lines, which you might
be in a town. I I have been
in smaller towns in Europe and so forth
where you you don't necessarily seize anything like
that. You you see these little places, and
that's it. That's because you're using the criteria
of I don't know anything here, so I'm
just gonna go for the safe one, which
is like looks familiar. The thing that either
(04:16):
looks familiar or looks clean Yes. Or, you
know, And that's because you don't you have
no other field of reference. And that's that's
my question. Right? My field of reference is
just the opposite. The dirtier and the scrubbier,
I I don't wanna get in. I you
know? Because
because So it's it's showing. It kind of,
like, pushes some away, but it appeals to
you. Which is just as kind of,
(04:38):
ignorant, I think, because it could be dangerous,
and you can get sick there. Absolutely. And
I have. You could find some real gems
that way. Yeah. They would Well, it's a
little bit of a Russian roulette. It is
a Russian roulette, but I will always opt
for the one that looks a little funky
as opposed to the one that looks a
little clean. Concavity. Yeah. I think I think
you because the upside
is is
(04:58):
great.
The these little kinda I'm gonna use the
term dive because it has a negative connotation
to it, but I think Which I like.
But they can be I've been in dives
that have just been great. Dives can be
real fun. Yeah. Yeah. Real good stuff. It
could be fun, but they they can also
be Right. They can also be Right. They
can also be Right. They can also be
Right. They can also be Right. They can
also be when you don't quite know what
you're getting from abroad. Particularly out of your
own element without any cues whatsoever Yep. It
(05:19):
could be a little dicey, and maybe it
it will be,
not so great. Right. Maybe you will get
a little bug, but maybe you'll even get
a bad bug. I don't know. I'm gonna
always opt for the take the I'm gonna
take the risk. Maybe a mediocre bug.
Go for it. Hey. I'm Sylvia. Talk about
it, and I've had some of those bugs.
(05:39):
That bug might be good. Yeah. Sure. Don't
turn the bug down. Hey. The bug man
in in Bangkok. Now he was The bug
man in Bangkok. That's gonna be my new
book, I think. It's gonna be the bug
man in Bangkok. He's a guy. Thank you.
He's on there.
I'm sure he's got a lot of competition
now, but I remember when we were there,
there was this guy on the street corner,
and and he was selling bugs
(06:02):
right on the street Uh-huh. Which are these
huge I mean,
some of them were cockroaches,
but others were on skewers. They were just
big beetle type things,
and a lot of places around the world.
These were cooked. Yeah. Oh, they'd cooked and
and cooked good deliciously.
Actually, the kids would run by the little
you know, the kids on the street would
(06:22):
run by and steal a little
grub, you know, because he's also got grubs.
So it's on it's on skewers Mhmm. Out
like a open barbecue. Mhmm. And
and and they've got you know, it it's
being cooked over charcoal with garlic
and salt, and it's crispy. Sounds good to
(06:43):
me. Unless you had some reason not to
wanna eat a bug, you're gonna wanna eat
this. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's already tasty.
Mhmm. Oh, yeah. You know? Sounds good.
So I think I think the bug man
of Bangkok now has got a whole bunch
of
competitors.
Sure. But when we were there That sounds
like a very old,
way of of of cooking and and serving
(07:05):
stuff
in those regions that they that that's not
something they came up with, like, you know,
5 years ago or something like that. We're
we're eating these these creatures because there's a
they're a source of protein. Mhmm. And in
lots of cultures around the world, we're eating
insects in one form or another. Sure. Yeah.
Grasshoppers.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Yep.
(07:25):
Snails? Are we getting closer to western cuisine?
We're we're drifting into France now with Escargot.
We'll just call it that, and it sounds
a lot better than snails. Snails are insects,
But No. But they're they can be very
not
something you maybe wanna eat if you're knowing
it's a snail and you look at the
slimy little thing. I guess I'm mentioning this
because it's all on a spectrum.
(07:47):
Right? Yeah. And so you can And that's
really where we're going right here. Yeah. We're
looking for the little places, and you're talking
about street food
and that kind of thing. And even in
New York, you can get really good street
food. You can also get really lousy street
food, but you can get some wonderful stuff.
But if you're open and want to really
explore,
and some place looks authentic and interesting, you
(08:08):
can also ask someone. Absolutely.
I think so. We get ourselves tied up
with this stuff, and we become less exploratory
because of
the fear of the unknown. Right.
And and I think that
we're always gonna be much more successful when
we travel if we
(08:29):
if we ask humbly and sincerely. Right. Come
from a place of curiosity. And and and
and humility. Yeah. Yes. And so that you're
indicating that you're open to new and different
things. So the Hanoi restaurant,
Dean, how did you find out about it?
Did you ask somebody? We we had heard
about it Okay. Fortunately before we left. Oh,
(08:50):
okay. Someone,
who'd who'd been to Vietnam many times Nice.
Told us about it. Okay. And,
when we got there, oh, it was everything
I'd hoped it to be. It looked really
kinda run down. Right. Right. And then the
food smelled great. Which is perfect because you're
not gonna get a lot of tourists and
No. Not gonna be too crowded probably, but
(09:10):
it's gonna be incredible. One of the one
of the rules that I have for myself
is when I travel to Asia, I always
bring along,
particularly
those countries that use chopsticks. Mhmm. And there
are many Mhmm. That are influenced by Chinese
culture.
So China,
Myanmar,
Taiwan, Vietnam.
(09:32):
So I always bring my own chopsticks with
me. In case I find myself somewhere where
I'm not so comfortable about,
I wanna try the food, but I'm not
so comfortable about the level of cleanliness of
the restaurant. Oh, sure. I can use my
own chopsticks. Yeah. I was out here. I'm
not gonna take out my own chopsticks
at a, quote, unquote, fancy restaurant because that's
not an issue
there. Right? But
(09:53):
and Japan and Korea,
same thing. But
in local,
quote, unquote, dives
or family run places, I
sometimes I like to use my own chopsticks.
So I always travel with my own. Mhmm.
But at Chocolavang, I didn't even feel that.
I just felt like this place is gonna
be good. Mhmm. And
(10:13):
so I went with my instincts, and it
was, and it was wonderful. But some of
the people I was travelling with,
they they were less adventurous. Do you remember
what you ate?
No. It was a long time ago. It
was just but it was just real good.
They I do remember that they had 1
or 2 specialties that they were known for.
Okay. And we knew that, and we asked
for that. Oh, nice. That was smart. Yeah.
(10:35):
So that was
And and, yeah, it worked out, obviously. And
that that also goes to a little bit
of education ahead of time as opposed to
just taking a flyer
on something that's there, but that others have
said to you, yes. I did this Yeah.
Word-of-mouth. And really found it. I mean, that's
whether you're going into a foreign culture, you're
going into a culture that is just
I don't I'm not gonna say foreign, but
(10:57):
not your normal places to be. In other
words, you may be in your that you're
familiar with. Exactly. Okay. So so sorry. Dion,
I looked up choco laveong, and I'm seeing
it's a grilled fish dish.
So maybe that's maybe that's what what you
had. Yeah. Yep. Sounds right. That would be
their specialty. Right. That's specialty. Originally from Hanoi.
(11:17):
There you go.
Nice. Nice.
So it looks good.
I'd not to jump away from Hanoi, but,
or or the the fish.
But, I don't think I've told this story
on the podcast, but Okay. Well, I'll determine
that. Since we're okay. Since You have told
me. Assuming you
oh, okay.
(11:38):
Or that one. Oh, yeah. That one. I
see. I'm sorry.
When we were in France for a period
of time, my, You and my yep. My
daughter and I,
Cameron,
took it on ourselves to to find in
we were just living in a very small
town just outside of Paris.
(11:59):
We took it on ourselves to find the
best chocolate mousse
we can find. Sometimes if you just define
one thing that you want and you ask
about where can I find the absolute best
of this kind? Absolutely.
Locals will will will give you their opinion,
but you can do it, you know, and
you find something But you gotta try. I
(12:19):
don't know. Is moose gonna be good in
France? I know. I know. That's the place
that If you could find a really good
one at around Paris, you probably were finding
one of the better ones in the port.
It is going explode. Yeah. Very likely. Yeah.
And we were looking for that, actually. Yeah.
Sure. So so we Yep. So we were
I mean, we we we went to places
on the on the Champs Elysees and places
(12:40):
like that to to try to find them
where you might expect that kind of thing
to happen in, in the heart of Paris.
And we had fortunately, we had time. So
we went around and we were living the
small town was right adjacent to Versailles,
the town and the palace.
And,
but in the town,
(13:00):
we were we were in the center of
the town, and we were looking for some
places. And there was this little small
stand really Exactly. In in almost like almost
in an alleyway with a with a door
and a and a and a ceiling. Mhmm.
And,
and we we looked in there, and they
seem to have things like this. And we
(13:21):
went in and asked for it there, and
it was right adjacent
to the Versailles bus station.
And, Well, then right there, you know it's
gonna be great. Right? Gotta be great. This
has gotta be good. So we were and
it was
so, you know, we okay. So we took
it. We got it, and we took it.
There was no place to sit or anything.
We went out and sat at a,
(13:41):
on a on a on a bench, I
remember. And and also but quite frankly, in
those areas, the the the center of of
the towns like that, which was really not
big in Versailles, but the center of the
town like that
is just gorgeous and decorated
beautifully and so on. But it was this
little really cubby hole, and we and we
took that out and sat down. That was
(14:02):
the best we found Yeah. Yeah. After extensive
research on our part. Nice.
And it was and we went back. And
sometimes if you put in if you put
in all that effort, even if it isn't
the best, you're gonna remember it as the
best. Well, that's it. And especially you might
be coming in thinking, well, we're not a
whole situation. Right. And then, oh, it's actually
real good. Yeah. I mean, I so as
(14:22):
I've mentioned before this podcast,
I lived in Jordan, the country of Jordan,
for a number of years, and the best
chicken shawarma
sandwich I ever had there was at a
bus station. The bus station about 20 minutes
away from me. It was like It was
incredible. I had it all the time. It
was like the artichoke that we had in
Rome the first day we landed
because we didn't have a frame of reference
for anything finer,
(14:43):
and it was just so wonderful
that we remember it still that way. Yeah.
Of course. You've had you've had you've had
great meals since, but Oh, yes. But that
one will always stay Oh, yeah. I do
it was was that in in our case,
was the chocolate mousse the best ever? Honestly,
I've never had the same reaction
to anything else in very expensive chocolate mousse
(15:04):
to to also other places. Quite live up
to it. And it doesn't and it doesn't
really matter because it It doesn't. It was
the whole experience Exactly. That you that made
it as great as it was. I will
say, though, that we did we I mean,
living right in the area there, we were,
we had the option to to do this.
So at one point, we were sort of
like, maybe we should go back and do
(15:24):
it again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It somebody has
to. We have to make sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Let's verify. We wanted to make sure
we But it was that good. Oh, it
was. And it was. Oh, yeah. What you
gotta do is not a valid scientific test.
Exactly.
That's it. And,
yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we were and we
verified it. Science. Good. Good. I appreciate your
devotion to the scientific method. I think you
(15:44):
were very well
Something. Someone had to, and we felt it
was our obligation. Yes. I remember going to
a conference in,
in Frankfurt, which is
an interesting city to visit, and but it's
a very business oriented city. Okay. It's not
as touristic necessarily as many other cities
(16:09):
are, but it was a conference. Okay? So
we were there. I'm there for a conference,
and I'm out to eat one night
in this
recommended
local German restaurant,
with typical
food from Frankfurt and the region.
And,
I'm
(16:30):
I'm sitting there, and this fellow comes in.
And he sits down, and he orders
a bowl of schlag,
which is whipped cream.
Oh.
A bowl of whipped cream.
Okay. Sounds good to me. And he
and that was what he had. That's it.
That's what he came in for. Now maybe
(16:51):
this individual and I do think it was
probably unique to him. Mhmm. I I never
saw anybody else do this, so I'm not
saying this was a local,
dish
in any Or a custom that in the
area. Yeah.
But I was intrigued by the fact that
he came in and ordered a dish of
(17:11):
a bowl of whipped cream.
Mhmm. And,
as you travel as I traveled from
southern Germany
into Austria and then into Hungary,
the whipped cream
became more and more
common
on the menu,
as I traveled in this direction.
(17:33):
And,
not as a separate dish, but every time
I would have a dessert
that
often came with whipped cream. Okay. Right. And
Schlag. Michlag.
With whipped cream. Yeah. All the time. I
was always reminded of this man who'd eliminated
every all the He was no all the
mitt. It was just the Schlag. Just the
(17:54):
Schlag. That's all he wants. Yes.
He so he was my standard bearer. To
the heart of it. He was absolutely my
standard bearer. I love it. I love it.
Yeah. Yeah. Cut out all the all the
Yeah. No mitts needed. So maybe he's
wondering, is he just thinking this is so
good?
This is what I want. This is what
I want. I would I would hope that's
(18:14):
why. I mean, it would be good. It's
perfect sense to me.
Yeah. Give me a bowl of schlog right
now. No. Schlog me up. Right. Okay.
Not in any way. Going too far. Yeah.
It could be. Yep. Maybe not. Maybe not.
No. That sounds great. Yeah. Absolutely. I think
(18:34):
that's very wise. It's interesting. You you you
do see, in in some cases I mean,
living long enough, you start to see people
come into restaurants or whatever and order some
stuff, and you kind of wonder why
they would be doing whatever it is. And
I guess I guess our the the good
nature,
is to say
that must be special then if they're doing
(18:55):
that as opposed to I think they may
be insane,
which it might be both. It may be.
It may have been this unique individual, but,
you know, the the
that whole reason He also was he also
died 18 minutes later. It's maybe that. Well,
that's a good way to go out. One
doesn't know. It's a good way to go
out, honestly.
Why why not always ask to take these
(19:16):
risks risks in life and you make your
decisions. You do it for the last year.
Sure. Sure. And then you slog your way
out, I guess. And then on the other
end of the spectrum, not the small little,
unassuming places, but every now and then, I'll
have a great meal in a really nice
restaurant. I'm remembering one in Bordeaux
Okay. Where it
(19:37):
the town of Sauternes
Uh-huh. Where they make that very fine
dessert wine
is in the Bordeaux region.
And the town itself, like I learned when
I was there, is a tiny little small
town, an intersection
or or two of streets,
but it's world famous because all around it
(19:58):
are acres and acres of these vineyards Mhmm.
That produce this incredible wine. Yeah. But the
town itself is
is nothing much to speak of unless you
live there, of course, and then it's your
town.
So Sauteurne, world famous sweet wine,
but a very small little town. We were
there on a Sunday. There was only 1
(20:20):
one or 2 restaurants that were actually open,
and one of them
was filled with with townsfolk and family coming
for Sunday lunch, Sunday's
meal Mhmm.
Beginning,
early in the afternoon and extending as as
long as it needed to be.
And it was filled with joie de vivre,
(20:41):
and and it was
and the food was delicious, and the food
was incredible.
And everything was made, not everything on the
menu, but many things on the menu were
made with the local wine, with sauter. Mhmm.
Sure. Yep.
And I remember having
a soup that I will always remember
(21:03):
till
till the end of my days,
which was an oyster
and sauterne
soup.
Oysters Oysters and sauterne.
Made with heavy cream. Oh my goodness.
Oh my goodness. I'm in.
Wow. One can only have this one. See,
(21:24):
I didn't see the heavy cream coming. Yeah.
I'm so glad I did.
Yeah. So Yeah. Yeah. It sounds great. Yep.
It was it was phenomenal.
Yeah. And I would go if I were
ever back there, I would go in and
order that soup. Sure. I don't probably, maybe
nothing else. Do you remember the name of
the Highly unlikely that I would wouldn't order
(21:45):
something else. But,
no. But it's the only you go into
town, and there it is. That's it. So
okay. You go there. You'll you'll you'll figure
it out. Yeah. Nice.
Very nice. Okay. So if anybody's going there,
yeah, you'll
find it. Yeah. Now that wasn't a hole
in the wall, but we're in France now.
So it's Right.
This was this was a nice respectable place.
(22:07):
But Oh, that's right. That was But not
fancier. But not,
not a haute cuisine.
This was food for everybody. Okay. Mhmm. Okay.
Mhmm. But it happened to be
oysters
and sauterne
and Nice.
Soup. Yeah. Nice.
I'm in. Yeah. I'll take a bowl right
now, please. So next time you find yourself
(22:30):
in Bordeaux, there you go. Yeah. Sure.
We also,
this was in the Loire Valley,
in France, and,
there was a there was a place I
remember.
I do not remember the name of it,
but it had it had very nice it
was
desserts.
Mhmm.
Patisserie Oh, we're going back to desserts again.
(22:51):
Yeah. Yeah. It's hard not to always wind
up there. Yeah. But we always were I
was always looking for bonjourie and patisserie. Yes.
The bakery and the and the desserts. And,
and this small little place had they had
a little castle, I remember. Mhmm. And the
tour of the castle,
the draw for the people to go to
the castle was that they had,
these places where people had been chained up
(23:13):
down in the down in the dungeon. Oh.
And so the tour was of their dungeon.
Oh. Yeah. And, that was their special could
have a patisserie at the end of the
tour. Yeah. Well, since then you feel fine.
I decided to opt out of the dungeon
and just go to the patisserie. Just like
the man with the schlog. Just go right
to right to what you want. To the
patisserie. Yes. No time wasted. And it was
(23:35):
wonderful. Yeah. I wish you don't waste time
for sure. Yeah. I think, again, wise.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Dean, are there are
there other hole in the wall places around
the world that you Oh my god. Recommend?
But my experiences are, you know, is limited
to me. But,
I think the the moral of the story
is
(23:55):
open up
and really check these
check out where you are with the locals.
Check them out. You know? Yeah. Talk to
the locals. Right.
Find be curious. Yeah. Ask them about their
lives and
and start a conversation.
And and people will,
more often than not, I have found,
(24:16):
be very willing to share the best that
they have with you. Is there a time
that sticks out to you in particular where
you were asking or talking to talking to
the locals and they recommended someplace, and it
was like, oh, I'm so
thank goodness.
Yeah. Act actually, it it was in in
in Sri Lanka. Okay. Then I was traveling
through southern India and Sri Lanka,
and
(24:37):
I was fortunate that I had a colleague
in Colombo
who
she's Sri Lankan, and so she was able
to recommend
different places to me. And, you know, I
said,
Sarah, I you know me.
I don't need
a high level tourist restaurant. Right. Right. I'm
much more interested in having
(24:59):
really fine local food Mhmm.
By someone who can really
give me something that reflects
the best of of the region. Yeah. And
so she was able to,
turn me on to
a particular place outside of Colombo, actually,
that
(25:19):
was remarkable, and it was it was a
vegetarian restaurant. Mhmm.
And it was, what they called banana leaf.
Mhmm. Yeah.
So the food comes out. There are no
plates.
It comes out on a big banana leaf.
They put a banana leaf down where a
plate would be,
and,
you're going to be eating it.
(25:39):
And,
you know, protocol says you eat with the
right hand, not the left hand. Uh-huh. Mhmm.
So you eat it
eat it with your right hand, and you're
just going to mix the rice and whatever
dishes they bring out to you
together on the banana leaf. Mhmm. And you
mix it up, and you
put it in your mouth Mhmm. With your
with your fingers. Nice. And you just pop
(26:00):
it in. Yeah.
And it was, I don't know what it
was. It was just really, really different from
most of the food that I was having
Yeah. On the trip. And most of the
food that I was having in South India
and in the rest of Sri Lanka was
wonderful. Mhmm.
I was not mistreated.
Yeah. But this particular restaurant,
(26:22):
a local little restaurant on the edge of
the the forest,
was
spectacular. Something special. Yeah. It really was. And
it was vegetarian,
and I they really knew how to use
their spices and and,
and local ingredients, and it was spectacular. Nice.
Very nice.
(26:46):
I wanna see if I can look it
up. I I don't know if I'm gonna
have any success, though. It's hard with hole
in the wall places. Right? Because that's the
whole idea. It's not a whole And they
may not be there tomorrow even though Right.
Right. It could be more, you know, transient.
Yeah. But I don't know. I mean, even
even the finest restaurants come and go. You
know? Oh, absolutely. But it it's it's a
very difficult business. Yeah. But at the same
time, these places now might be on the
(27:08):
Internet. Yeah. You know? It's it's it's a
it's a little bit different world. And they
and they often cater to a very
unique
clientele Uh-huh. Who, once they know them,
come there's lots of repeat. So they often
do stay around for quite a long time.
Mhmm. You know, they're the they're the little
place that everybody knows at the train station.
(27:28):
Sure. And that's where you go because
and and you're taking the train every day
because that's where you live, and that's what
you need to do. Mhmm. And so there's
this repeat clientele all the time.
I'm thinking also, Tom, of of the there's
a there's a little stand
in the ferry building,
that,
(27:50):
in Saint Thomas that takes you to the
Saint John takes you to Saint John. Mhmm.
And there's a guy there who's got a
stand, and he makes the best
fried bread.
Fried bread? Yeah. I've ever had. Fried bread
is a staple in lots of different places,
and it's made lots of different ways. Yeah.
For those who don't know about fried bread,
can you describe
(28:10):
what that because I'm imagining, like, you know,
a loaf of bread.
You'd buy the, you know, buy the grocery
store in the States, but I'm guessing it's
quite different. Like a patty. Uh-huh. Yeah. And
it's,
and it puffs up a little bit. Mhmm.
It's like a paratha in in India. Mhmm.
Puffs up a little bit,
and
and it's deep fried. Mhmm. So it's more
(28:32):
like something like a cross between a doughnut
and and a bread.
Yeah. I was gonna say,
at
at at fairs. Well, it was called What
can I think of it? In the Caribbean,
they call it Johnny cakes.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's yeah. And
he makes the best Johnny cakes I've ever
had. Funnel funnel cake. That's what I was
saying. Funnel cake
is funnel cake is different. Okay. But it
(28:52):
but it is a fried dough. Okay. Every
culture's got its fried dough,
and funnel cakes is 1. A Johnny cake
is a fried dough,
dish from the Caribbean. I'm looking for a
different looking. Yep. Yes. Different looking. But this
is this is the best. Yeah. And it's
so delicious. And he's got his his clientele
every day. They're taking the ferry back and
forth. Mhmm. And so he can depend on
(29:14):
them. And he'll be there for as long
as he keeps making the best Johnny cakes
around. Nice. Yeah.
I in Shanghai also, there's,
an area of Shanghai
that's
they call it Chinatown
because
Shanghai
started as actually a western city Mhmm.
(29:36):
Which happened to be in China Mhmm. Because
it started
with European
exploiters coming and claiming the land and
and claiming sections of what became Shanghai Yeah.
As their own colonial outposts for trading. Yeah.
So there's an area of Shanghai that's Frenchtown,
an area that's Shanghai that was once known
(29:56):
as Englishtown,
And there's an area that was, in fact,
local Chinese,
and it's called Chinatown.
But Yeah. It's interesting.
Right in China, in Shanghai.
Right?
But it's, the old Shanghai,
and it's been restored.
And it's very touristic in many ways, but
(30:18):
it also is still very authentic.
And
there's a lot of,
stands and restaurants
in this area,
and there's one in particular. They all sell
Shanghannese dumplings, which is a local tradition. Oh,
I love dumplings. And it's dumplings that are
served in, a broth.
(30:41):
And
you you stick your straw
into the cup Mhmm.
And through the cup holder
into the dumpling. Mhmm. And you break the
dumpling, and you suck the broth up through
the straw,
and then you eat the dumpling.
Okay.
And, of course, everybody claims to make the
best Chinese dumplings Mhmm. In Shanghai Sure. In
(31:03):
Chinatown, in the Square. Mhmm.
Except there is one place Oh. That really
does its best. Okay. Yeah.
And,
it was my experience that
the way you identify this place is because
they're the ones that have the longest line.
Ah, okay. Oh, sure. Yeah. Makes sense. Sure.
Mhmm. Yep. And the line is is a
(31:23):
mix of locals and also tourists. Mhmm.
But everyone there on that line has found
out one way or the other Mhmm. That
this is where you get the best. Yeah.
Yes. Yeah. That's I remember picking a restaurant
in in Monaco,
and I had no idea. No idea. And
and and Monaco is not like a backwater
town or anything,
(31:44):
but it's,
Probably the opposite of the present in the
backwater. This was down by by a freeway,
and, actually, they were getting ready for the
for the 24 hour race, yeah,
that,
that they have there. And so there was
all these barriers up and everything. It's a
complicated place. It is. It's a tiny little
place. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And Getting around is
(32:05):
tough. And I and and there was we
walked by a bunch of restaurants, and there
was this one restaurant that there was a
line.
And,
that finally decided, you know what? We're going
to the place that's got the line because
somebody knows something here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And
it was spectacular.
It was just great. Also But clearly designed
to not need a reservation. It was just
(32:27):
open, and you just go on the line.
Yeah. I mean, it took us a little
while to get in,
because of that. And usually, those kind of
places have one specialty, like the Shanghainese noodles,
Shanghainese dumplings. In this case, I remember that's,
I got,
I I'm gonna say rabbit. It was a
walk away? It was no. No. This was
a restaurant restaurant. Or sit down. Yeah. Yeah.
It wasn't big, but it was, but it
(32:49):
was a restaurant restaurant. And it was, and
it was very nice,
but it was it was
extraordinary. That's how I remember. Remember the
name and same for Chinese? I do not
remember the name of the restaurant. No. No.
No. It's it's
the one with the big line. Okay. Yeah.
There you go. Look that up. In Shanghai
and I do I do one more thing
(33:10):
too. I remember
my daughter got married in the Bahamas, and
we were all there. Yeah. That was that
was really fun. Yeah. And at that night,
everybody went out on the town. Not everybody,
but a lot of the mostly younger people
went out onto the town. Not at a
wedding. At a wedding. Really? Yeah. I think
it was a pretty good mix of ages
for whatever reason. It was pretty good. And
(33:30):
I had decided I was gonna stay back,
and I and and and then
decided I I couldn't. I I I had
to go. He gave So life is short.
Yeah. That's right. So it it so I
headed out and, not knowing at all where
I was going or anything. Oh, no. Wanna
buy. And I I'm feeling a little peckish,
you know? And it's now we're in later
in the evening, but I'm feeling a little
(33:50):
peckish. So I go by a little a
little cart stand kind of thing that is
serving kunk.
Oh, yes. Now okay. So I'm doing it's
it's later at night. It's a little stand
in the Bahamas,
Shellfish.
Yeah.
Do you really do this?
But I really like cotton.
(34:11):
And C O N C H. Yes.
And,
so I
got it and,
it was cooked. Oh, yes. Yeah. Oh, yes.
It was
the best conch I've ever had. Mhmm. Yep.
You took the risk and you did it
and it turned out It turned out great.
Yeah. Right? Yeah. I could have been, you
know,
(34:31):
worshiping to the porcelain god,
for a while if it it hadn't. But
And you might. But But I'd I'd it
really I figured, you know what? If that
happens, that happens. I'm I'm gonna get some
because it might be really good, and it
turned out to be better than really good.
Well, so what he was saying, yeah, don't
don't be afraid. Yeah. Don't be afraid to
dive in. Give it a try. Be curious.
And be informed.
Make make it make an informed decision to
(34:53):
the degree that you can get the information.
You wanna minimize the risk, but you don't
wanna try to obliterate. Don't be reckless because
then you'll never never experience the highs either.
Right. Right. Exactly.
High, man. Woah. I'm getting hungry just thinking
about it. I'm so talking about peckish.
Yeah. Now we all gotta go eat. I've
gone beyond. I'm I'm uber peckish at this
point. Oh, well And and all of this
(35:14):
talk to around the world here and all
these different foods and everything is it's made
me glad that we can say that
Oops.
Your culture show.
Smell you.
(35:35):
Before you run off and disappear back into
your own cultures,
let me give you some information about something
we really want you to know, and that's
how to get hold of us.
Give us your questions,
oopscultureshow@gmail.com.
(35:55):
And be sure to follow us on whatever
social media you use
at oopscultureshow.
Thanks.
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