so it took me 3 months to really get a hang of all this grad school stuff, living in new york again, finding my passion, and feeling like I’m on top of my world again.  I had a lot of refreshing moments today — even though the panda like shadows under my eyes from lack of sleep show otherwise.

the whole idea of finding my groove, and where i fit in to all of this food world stuff, and what and how i want to add to this discourse that I’ve chosen to immerse my life in, all seems to be falling into place…finally. Hahaha at least slowly in my head, I am feeling it through my soul.

I’m also slowly learning to take ownership of my ideas, opinions, and biases that are as juicy as my research methods class on monday nights.  aww baby’s all grows up. :)

I toot my own horn. toot, toot! Because frankly, if you’re not your biggest fan in life, who else can give you the amount of confidence that punches you forward?  Amen.

so after 6 hours of digging around last night for new wave technologies in agriculture for my food systems class, we gave a very truncated 5 min presentation on VERTICAL FARMING today.  Interesting stuff, worth a peruse if you gots some time. Wikipeadia it, and a quick Google search will pop up tons of links and other references to this interesting idea first spear headed by Dr. Dickson Despommier of Colombia U.  The skinny: A high rise self-contained all year round indoor “farmscraper” powered by urban waste: aka your poop, and utilizes filtered municipal “grey/black” water pumped through the building and existing agro-water technologies such as aeroponics, fogoponics, hydroponics, and drip irrigation to grow food locally within the urban “food shed” sphere of a city dense in population.  (Think tons of roots suspended in water solution with dissolvable nutrients, absent of soil and the earth initiated by artificial light and solar energy stacked high).  Check out the pics on the sites, interesting stuff…

Of course I have my criticisms of this completely artificial alternative food system (that is my job now; to assess these movements in grad school ain’t it? hahaha…) and it creeps me out a bit like the way Wall E. did in giving me a sense of desolate futurism with “people” “living” in self-contained artificially controlled environments.   Woohhweee, those are mouthfuls to say.  Is this the future of our urban cities? Will our earth become one giant city? Slightly terrifying ain’t it? Either way, check it out, and you tell me, I’d love to hear your opinion on the purposed architectural concepts.

yup, talk about BRAIN FRY. I smell food and good conversation. Enter Lee, my partner in crime today.  We exited the infamous library at 1pm, completely starved and in search for some good food.  Which way should we walk? East Village or West Village?  East.  He brought me to the coveted 4th st. co-op and we bulked up on grains.  I surveyed all the fresh local kale, beautiful tomatoes from a farther place (what blithe?), and avocados of course from Cali — which of course always remind me of last January when standing in Q’s kitchen, smelling and feeling all the fresh pomelos, garlic, and avocados freshly grown and picked or fallen from his parent’s backyard fruit orchard in San Diego.  Lucky bastard. LOL.

“You know, I’m more Granola than I thought…”

“Hahaha, I’ve never heard egalitarianism described like that before…in that case, I AM SO GRANOLA! by the way i made you a vegan cookie.”

“Aww. I feel so Loved!”

We walked to Abraco, (thank you Leiti!) after that so we could grab an olive oil cake slice. *ummm, heavenly”… and time for a real meal!  We stumbled upon a Japanese restaurant with a chef in the window rolling out fresh Soba noodles. “I was actually looking for the Organic Kitchen down the street (wearing the new badges with pride today) – but I’m sold. let’s go in.” You know me, I always have a soft spot for “traditional” Japanese cuisine.

FRESH.

YUM.

PARTY IN MY MOUTH, and HEARTY IN MY SOUL.

MMMMMMMMMMM FACE MMMMMMMMMMMM!!! :)

Soba Koh was an awesome find! It’s places like these in Manhattan where I feel so tucked in from it all, really they are the best parts of this city, on days where I need it the most.  Comfy, homey, and remind me of my travels.  Refreshing as hell, and full of great joy and awesome conversation.

Lee: 3 questions that I love to ask people, that says a lot about who they are, you ready?

J: Ok Bring it.

Q1 – If you could speak any 5 new languages, which ones would you pick?

J – French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, and…… Oooh, a CLICKING one like Swahili, aboriginal African something or Hawaiian (LOL: Scott… so un-PC but always makes me laugh just thinking about it…)

Q2 – What is your inner ethnicity/culture? Of what culture do you believe your soul gravitates towards?

That’s easy: Japanese & French for the food & cultural lifestyles, past and present, and Hawaiian & British for the politics. I dunno why, but I find an eternal and intrinsic fascination with these cultures…

Q3 (and the one that makes me the most uncomfortable and nervous and fiery inside all at the same time) – If you had to choose your last meal on earth… (Oh No, I know what you’re going to ask! I hate thinking about this question! Also because people ask me ALL THE TIME! aghhh!!!) WHAT WOULD YOU EAT?!

I resign, I think I would die before I could choose. HAHAHAHA… fact of the matter is, I just love the act of EATING.  The culture of eating, the time, the place, the setting, the mood, the company! The Chewing, Oral Fixations, Flavour Parties in my Mouth, Nostalgic Heightened Emotions, Orgasmic Mouth Feel, Texture, Viscosity, Salivation, … Ahhhh!!!

And every time I’m asked this question, I always answer differently depending on who I am at the moment.  I’ve definitely had meals where afterwards I was so satisfied that I definitely felt like and voiced out that I could die happy.  And most of those memories are of regional Japanese cuisine meals in various parts of the world…or just some damn home cooking that knocked me over with so much love.

Lee: Mine would be fresh baked bread in a perfect dome flaky crunchy crust, soft warm middle, a block of perfect cheese, a fresh bowl of simple organic salad greens and maybe the sweetest crispiest crunchy apple out there.

Hahaha, I was drooling by the time he said apple even though I was full of hand crafted soba and the most artful bento I had the pleasure in inhaling outside of Nippon.  This gave me a whole new meaning of FRESH really.

… So an hour after I was prompted, I believe I finally said: my mom’s 12 hour (give or take) 40 ingredient (give or take) black whole chicken soup steeped to perfection in the ceramic pot with two lids placed in a boiling water bath in a steel pot on the stove top.  What I have so endearingly called “Liquid Home” before.

Ahh Food.  If it don’t equal Love in your books, you ain’t living.  I know my body is craving some nurturing right now in every realm possible, and I am really looking forward to Christmas this year, back home, in the new pad, hopefully with snow and all sorts of mom soups and my annual list of places to eat out at when in Toronto :)  Also comprising my Cali list too… I can’t wait. ;)

but alas! there is so much to accomplish before then! and that is just half of the foodie fun…

So, What would YOUR last meal be? I am so curious to know!

Hoping that you find a bit of liquid home this safe and warm thanksgiving holiday,

Have a good one!

xoxo J xoxo

“the food was good, not too expensive, but the service was &%($%!”

i am almost tired of writing and saying it. because it’s the same thing over and over. there’s a lot to be tolerated, but why should i put up with rudeness at any sit down service place? it’s a different story if it’s a take out place, or a whole in the wall, i just don’t understand the lack of business sense. happy guests = more business = more money!!! isn’t that a given?!

i was at Lemongrass today, (i can say this without any privacy issues since there are a million places that aren’t chained together called “Lemongrass” in Toronto) and i was with my parents. “want to try a new place?”
“sure!!” i’m always down for new places. why not right?
we drive twenty mins, we park, we walk in. (this alone means that places in t.o. are so spread out that new developments and new establishments are popping up everywhere, and because of this, you’d expect some level of competition and excellence, no?)
no. i almost laugh to myself as i walk in and it looks the same as many “recently new” asian restaurants popping up all over toronto do. (there must be one interior designer and architect who is making BANK in this city, because all these places loooook and feel the SAME! as if a design warehouse had a shipment of the trendy new materials for a contractor to use (lately it’s been dark wood and beige walls), you can almost track down which restaurants in the city have been remodeled by whom and at what time period in the last few years…hahahaha)

so we scan the whole place which is empty except for two tables,
and stand there awkwardly waiting for someone to tell us where to sit.
finally, my mom walks towards an open random table cuz the doorway is cold
and we sit down without any assistance or greeting.
the server is standing next to us chatting with the other table on our right,
the table to our left has not been busted yet, and the two dollar tip is still sitting on the table
“excuse me”, my mom says. but no answer.
the waitress finally turns around, like she’s annoyed that we interrupted her conversation
“i’ve been here before, and i know this dish takes longer to cook, so can u put in this order (1/2 cornish hen) while they decide what they want?” says my mom.
the server looks at her, confused, “ugh, ok” and walks away.
my dad looks into his tea cup, it’s dirty. there’s a ring of red around it and some solid crud. yeah, yum. it looks like someone just poured out the left over tea in it the last time and ran it through the washer if any – very briefly or upside down.
five mins pass,
no tea…
my dad is thirsty.
he signals me to grab a clean cup from the table next to mine
i grab the cup from his hand and say, “let me give this back to the server, they need to know about this, it’s gross”
another server comes by, i show her the cup, and she reaches over to the table where i grabbed the clean one from, also confused as to why i switched them already.
i look at the menu
another two mins pass,
i look up from my menu for a second and another server lady is hovering over me. dead panned. looking washed out.
“anything u want?” in chinese.
“umm, the ginger honey tea please”
“that’s it!? you’re not ordering food?”
“well i didn’t know you were taking my order now!”
“what do you want” annoyed.
“i’ll have the lemongrass chicken vermicelli/lunch special 1″
she grabs my menu
“wait, and the mango cranberry juice”
“and you?” signaling to my mom
“we already put in her order, but she wants a mango juice too”
“what?”
“we already put in her order for the 1/2 cornish hen, and it also comes with a juice”
“oh” and starts to walk away
“hold on! my dad hasn’t ordered yet”
“what do u want”
“i’ll have the yellow curry chicken please”
“so two cranberry /mango juices, one lunch special 1, and a yellow curry chicken” and begins to walk away again. (man she couldn’t wait to run away)
“and a ginger honey tea!” i scream after her. “geez”

“how do ppl do business like this?! i don’t get it.”
our drinks come after another five mins –
one tea, one mango/cran juice.
the guy who brings it to our table throws it down and walks away –
“excuse me”, he walks away, “excuse me!” his back is facing me now, EXCUSE ME!” (my voice gets louder and more annoyed each time)
he finally turns around after my third and final plea and looks at me.
“we ordered two juices please”
“ok”
i knew i was yelling after him because if i didn’t i would never see that other glass of juice.

our food came, all at different times, and we ate it. we carry a pretty awesome conversation, and we manage to have a good time. the food turned out pretty good for a bargain price — $6.99 for my lunch meal!
and eventually we finish and naturally want to leave.
the girl is chatting again next to us at this point,
and we look at her and signal for the check.
she looks up at us and once again agrees but mouths “one moment” to us, and keeps talking.
why is it that you can never get out of restaurants like these faster? either that or they throw you the bill when you’re still eating. why do i want to stay in a crappy service place?

I sigh and remember my revolutionary idea at this point —
IF WE ALL BAN TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE THIS —

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try this the next time you go out to eat:
when the check comes,

write on the final bill:

TIP THE COOKS PLEASE.
or TIP IS FOR THE COOK
or PLEASE TIP THE COOK
or at the very least, PLEASE SPLIT THE TIPS WITH YOUR COOKS

either one.
and seriously, leave the tip for the cook.

how is it fair that COOKS bust their asses 3 times as hard as servers do, and yet servers good or bad ones can walk out at the end of their day with shorter shifts, with more breaks, and with MORE MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS?!?!

and how many times have i left a one cent tip for a very notoriously rude rude waitresses. (–Ten Rens, yonge & empress, y’all know who i’m talking about, and there’s no way around it, in high school we as underaged kids had no where else to go and lots of allowance and excess money to spend! and recently, my baby sister went there, spotted a major hair in her food, pointed it out to the waitress and she said “sO?”. went to get the other waitress to which also replied to my sister with a “and?”…
how bout them apples. you have choices as consumers ppl.)

and i’m sorry your JOB is to bring the HOT FOOD to the TABLE. at the VERY LEAST. you don’t deserve good tip if you do nothing on top of that. and if you’re rude, that’s where your ten percent starts to diminish, REALLY FAST.
legally i only have to pay the tax and the cost of my bill.
legally, i have the right to walk out of the restaurant before i order any food or drink.
and if the server asks (which has happened to me many times at the end of the meal, some have even chased me out of the restaurant) –
umm, “you forgot the tip!”, or “was there anything wrong with the service?”
you can say -
oh no i didn’t forget, i’m sorry,
the tip if for the cooks in the back who cooked my food.
and yes, there was something wrong with the service. it was shit. and you were rude, and the fact that you have to come running out to ask me if there was something wrong really means you don’t give a shit about your job and you have no idea how it works. in which case, how much you’re making directly reflects how hard you’re working.

it’s simple, your job is to make the customer happy.
food makes the customer happy, esp hungry clients/guest who walk into a restaurant.
the faster your service, the better,
the more attentive your service, the better,
the more observant you are, the better,
and it’s a meal, it’s when people feed themselves, it’s when people relax, it’s when people celebrate, it’s when people are eating alone and it might get you more money if you to talk to them like humans!

i am all for tipping BIG when i think a person deserves it, in fact there have been many servers i’ve made really happy with my 20% b/c they were absolutely exceptional.
i understand how this industry works b/c i work in this industry.
and when i have servers giving me attitude when i’m on the line, or hostesses complaining to me about how hard it is to deal with customers and be on their feet all day long –
i just look at them, usually sweaty, hot, and exhausted and say — hmm, try working on the line for one shift ten to fourteen hours straight. it’s 100 degrees back here. so i’ll trade places with you. i have hostessed and waitressed before, so if you can stand my job for even one shift, and still think what you do is harder, then you can keep your tip, in fact, i’ll give you my tip that i made that day in your shift. deal?

hahaha, i may be sassy about this, but i’m fed up because it absolutely sucks that waiters/tresses will walk out of the restaurant at the end of the night with more cash in their pockets than cooks do.

and aren’t you essentially walking into a restaurant because you don’t want to cook that day/night? or you want to be fed, taken care of, and that you’re essentially paying for the FOOD?!

so please -
try this next time
let’s start a revolution:

write it on your bills, with a giant smiley face:
“TIP THE COOKS PLEASE!”

and maybe that’ll make waiter/tresses work harder, if their tip is being split or taken away from them, that it’s not a given, and maybe (one could only hope) that TIP will become something of an incentive and a reward for hard work again, and not taken for granted.

hats off to the chef, so
how bout some more cha-ching? :)

speed, consistency, heat, speed, consistency, heat, and FOCUS.

if you ever want to see how the food industry really works,
jump into a kitchen.

for one night, time will stand still and time will fly,
for one night, you will see what it feels like to FEED the masses and feel the pressure of performing at your highest,
for one night, you will feel what it’s like to work in a TEAM, with nothing but trust, and respect, with fire, knives, and a mad hustle.
everyone’s frantic energy has one goal in mind,
GET THAT FOOD PLATED, HOT, and OUT with a lil side of pizzaz please.

pick it up pick it up pick it up!!!

sure, you can pick up a book like “kitchen confidential” by anthony bourdain and read about it,
but once you see what you see, and experience what it’s like to be elbow deep in food,
it’s no wonder how one can truly muster up some mad respect from the entire industry who all sweat it out every single day.

props to all those who work in the kitchens,
i have endless respect and appreciation for y’all.
it is the most humble place to be.
everyone has to eat,
and everyone can cook, if you put in the patience, time, energy, and passion into learning the art. :)

time to pump out those brunch covers tomorrow!!
wahooooo!!!
eggs, eggs, eggs!! :)
ppl always say, (or rather french cooking traditions say)
you’re not a true master of cooking, until you master the EGG.

let’s do this!
xoxox

Welcome to my Gastro Heaven.
I have decided to start blogging about the thing that makes my world go roundy round, what floats my boat, and what my gutt talks to me about each and every day; and that is precisely – FOOD
I grew up learning to listen to the conversation between my head and my heart, and i have finally realized that at the ripe young age of 25 (yes, a pretty monumental year don’t you think? ;) ) – that my gutt has been feeling oh so left out.
so here,
in this space you will find:

new foods, new nutritional wonders, properly written recipes (yes there are a lot of not so good ones out there – and that’s a mouthful to say at which i am ready to challenge), and a daily blog of what i’ve eaten. sounds familiar? maybe. that’s for you to judge.
this is how i roll. jlo styles.
cuz
jlo eats.

i live to eat / i eat to live

and i LOVE to write about it.
and that is my motto in life.

except let’s make this fun shall we?

Food should be fun, food should be orgasmic, and food should be everything you’ve ever dreamt of.
Why shouldn’t it be?
Food can inspire you, food can sustain you, & food needs to FEED YOUR body mind and soul.
Why can’t it?

scared and confused about what to eat? about what is safe to eat anymore? and most importantly what is – dun, dun, dun – HEALTHY?!?
me too!
so talk to me, walk with me on my lifelong journey to discover
what should jlo eat today?!
and the question that is always on my mind and minds alike -the same question that will always always be asked every single day of your life whether you know it or not -
What should i have for BRUNNER- (BReakfast-LUNch-dinNER) today/tonight/tomorrow?
(and what the heck did i have yesterday!?)

my stomach loves to hug yours :)
-Jay