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Homegrown food adventures
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19 2007
To indulge his “fascination with the world’s diverse cuisines,” Tom Parker Bowles spent a year traveling the world to sample regional cuisines and discover why some foods—try insects, chicken feet, innards and snakes—are treasured by some cultures but disgusting to others. Parker Bowles—he’s Camilla’s son, Charles’s stepson—is a London-based food journalist, so he described his food adventures in the recently published “The Year of Eating Dangerously,” aptly subtitled “a global venture in search of culinary extremes.” Parker Bowles explains that his book is about “a love of good food, and a fascination with other cultures. Far from being some gloating, narrow minded rant about the strange food of foreign countries, I see this as a love story about all things edible.”
This is not intended to be a book review, though the book is a good read if you like food, but more a suggestion about the possibilities for similar food adventures in our own backyard. Think about it. If Northern Virginia’s schools have students who speak some 90 different languages, somewhere around here—probably at the back of obscure malls or in hidden storefronts, where rents are lower—groceries, small family-run eateries and even full-fledged restaurants must .cater to those diverse homegrown tastes. Where Parker Bowles’s travels took him to New Mexico, Nashville, Spain, Sicily, Tokyo, China, Korea, Laos and, of course, Britain, you can do all that—with the possible exception of Laos—and even more, without leaving home.
One of the true fringe benefits of living in Northern Virginia is the ease of sampling other cuisines and cultures. Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Tex-Mex and Central American, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, even American, are almost literally around every corner, Korean and Vietnamese tend to be more centralized, with Greek, Spanish (how about all those tapas places?) and French catching up. Even markets have gone international. Hot food take-out at the Whole Foods on Route 7 often features such dishes as Ethiopian vegetable curry and tofu korma—maybe not the most authentic versions, but at least an introduction to different tastes.
Where to start? How about Myanmar, or Burma, which has been so much in the news. By now most of us are familiar with Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisine. Since those three countries are neighbors, Burmese cuisine is bound to be similar, and to share many ingredients, yet Burmese cuisine remains distinctive. Two local restaurants specialize in Burmese food, Myanmar (7810 Lee Highway, Falls Church, 703-289-9013 and A Taste of Burma (120 Edds Lane, Sterling, 703-444-8510), both a bit off the beaten path (Myanmar is off a service road adjacent to the Jefferson Golf Course, in the MerriFalls Shopping Center, A Taste of Burma at the far reaches of Sterling’s Countryside Shopping Center).
You’ll probably see some familiar dishes on both menus, but avoid them if you want to sample Burmese food. You can ask about the most popular dishes or for some guidance. Otherwise, Mohinga, the fish soup with rice noodles and a variety of garnishes, which is the national dish, is a good start. Mohinga, spelled different ways, must have similar origins to a Malaysian laksa or even Vietnamese pho, but is distinctive, delicious, and satisfying, especially on a brisk day
You can also make a wonderful meal of Burmese salads, and it would be a mistake not to try at least one of these refreshing, crisp concoctions. One favorite is the ginger salad, another the green papaya salad, but do try whatever looks, or sounds, tempting. Whatever you try, do share your discoveries and impressions, and think about a return visit to try more Burmese dishes.
EcoTour to Calvert County Maryland,
May 17th
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