Aloha Spirit...Sometimes It Is A Food Thing

So this morning I got to my work set up and did what I do almost every morning and that is walk down to Char-Cu-Te-Rie in here in downtown Visalia, Ca for my morning coffee and time to kick back and do some reading.

 This week I have been reading The Ethical Butcher but today I grabbed the travel issue of Lucky Peach magazine and started reading an article that featured Roy Choi (Kogi and A-Frame) and Christina Tossi (Momofuku Milk Bar).

Roy starts talking about the "aloha spirit". "The aloha spirit happens in many ways. Can you think of letting someone in your house without feeding them, or let them go on the road and not pack them a lunch?" This question got me to thinking about food, friends/family and being involved in the hardcore scene.

One of my favorite things in life is when my wife and I open our home up to friends. Whether it was for a special occasion or just to say "Come over I am firing up the grill". You could almost always count on after any-show our house and yard would be filled with friends and bands who were on the road.

I knew first had that bands on the road did not get good meals on the road so if they were in my house they got fed. There is nothing better then a bunch of guys hanging out around a bbq grill in the snow drinking beer.

In September of 2007 I put together a going away party/birthday party for my wife (we were getting ready to leave Spokane and return to California). I used my buddies restaurant and cooked three pork shoulderes and prepared Kalua Pork, tons of rice and potato salad. Beth made her garlic bread that everyone freaking loves (she has only given the recipe to one person and the is Joey). It was an evening of just spending time with friend.

I think about the times of sitting around a diner and eating food that may not be the nest on the planet but you sit there for a couple of hours with your friend and just b/s the whole time. Everyone has had those late nights at Dennys.

Sometimes I think people miss the point of food. I think food is about community. I was not trying to do something awesome when I would cook late nite after a show it was about bringing people together. The truth is some of the best food around is not always the "best" food but the best times.

When you are eating or in some cases feeding people think of what Roy Choi said about the aloha spirit...Sometimes that is what it is all about.

Yay for noodles! The rise of noodles in America.

    I grew up eating ramen even to this day it is a common thing around the house. Ramen in a cup, a package and really what ever form we can find. Seriously, my 13 year old if she could get away with it would eat noodles everyday!

   I have had noodles when I went to Japanese resaturant but it was not until we moved to Spokane,Washington that I had PHO. I noticed there were quite a few PHO joints and they always quite busy.

   The days of ramen being connected to broke college kids has almost gone the way of the buffalo so to speak. The truth is the way people view noodle in general seems to have changed.

    When it comes to noodles at home people seem to be finding to ways to eat there noodles differently, preparing them with other ingredients then just the broth and noodles. In our house we actually own the "Momofuku" book by David Chang and we will make our own broth ad other ingredients to have with our noodles. We love going out for PHO as a family and turns out this is the case of a lot of people.

#26 seafood PHO!!

   The fact is people just love noodles. I hit up Eddie Huang of BaoHaus in New York city and asked the question "Why do you think ramen has become so popular in the U,S, lately?" and this is what he had to say...."It's been popular but I'm not the biggest fan... Would rather a bowl of soba, kalbi tang, pho, or beef noodle soup any day"

     I think the only real point I have to make is go eat a bowl of noodles...trust me!! If you have never had noodles outside of a packet of dry noodles from the store you do not know what you are missing!!