Saturday, March 2, 2013

No Kidding

We Always Random and Usually Shallow folks are not usually ones to be terribly adventurous. In any way.

We like to watch shows featuring the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern…who travel to all sorts of exotic locations and eat food that is bizarre (I’m sorry but it usually is). And sometimes their locale is not exotic…places such as Appalachia, just as an example. But the food is still bizarre.

And it’s not that we like cooking shows so much as eating shows. Though I must admit that our latest family TV show addiction is “The Taste” (Check your local listings for time and station…mostly because we DVR it and frankly I have no idea when or where it’s on.)
We see the foods they prepare and often we are on the fence about whether we would try them if presented with the opportunity.

I will personally admit that I don’t know if I would try them.

Mr. Always Random seems a little more willing than I am.

But after tonight I wonder if I possibly have more gumption in my taste buds than I previously thought.

This evening we went to a local Burmese restaurant…it’s called Chin Brothers. It’s at Stop 11 and Madison, in case anyone is interested in checking it out.

And actually, it’s at Stop 11 and Madison even if you’re not interested.

Mr. Always Random and I had been there previously, but my 11yo in particular had been asking for us to take him.

Making it a family affair, we went back tonight and took my parents with us.

It’s not at all the type of place they frequent…it’s not about presentation or ambiance…definitely wasn’t entirely sure what they would think, but I was hopeful.

When we walked in, it was abundantly clear that they were in the process of remodeling, so the décor was “rustic construction”…I was afraid we were sunk.

It was also abundantly clear that we stood out in the room, and that’s all I’ll say about that. We didn’t mind…I’m just saying it was kind of obvious.

So we perused the menus…fortunately there were pictures of many of the items. Albeit small pictures, but pictures nonetheless.

And the waiter was struggling slightly to describe what some of them were.

Finally the moment of truth had arrived and we had to make our decisions. And if you are one of my family members, please forgive me if I report the name slightly incorrectly…I wasn’t taking notes. 

So I’m sure you were wondering so let me report who ordered what:

  • My 11yo and my mother ordered the same thing…Singapore Noodles.
  • My 9yo had Sweet and Sour Pork.
  • My dad had Fried Noodles.
  • I had Burmese Noodle Salad.

I refuse to try to describe any of them. I wouldn’t possibly do them justice, and frankly some of the combinations may not sound appealing to our American palette. But trust me…they were all worth a try.

You may have noticed an omission in my list. That was intentional. This item deserves to have attention called to it on its own.

Mr. Always Random was waffling on what to get. The rest of us had ordered and our order being submitted to the kitchen was hinging on his decision.

He’s probably the most adventurous eater of any of us, so I was hoping he would try something that I wouldn’t dare order.

He’d already asked the waiter what the best overall item was and the waiter said he loved it all.

No help.

But when presented with the sub-category of Curry dishes, the waiter didn’t hesitate to choose “the best”. I knew in my gut, just by looking at the list of possibilities, what he was going to say.

And apparently not one to disappoint, he said it.

Goat Curry.

Now, I bet some of you are thinking, “Goat Curry IS the best.”

But I bet most of you are thinking, “Goat Curry is the BEST?”

See…same sentence…different emphasis.

But back to the Goat Curry.

Curry…not so much the problem, though it’s not my favorite of all the spices.

Goat.

Goat?

Really?

Yes…Goat.

Well…what was Mr. Always Random to do? Order the dish which may be the most disgusting thing he’s ever eaten? Or risk possibly offending the person who was putting our order in with the chef.

Hmmmm. It was a tough call, but he probably made the right choice in that situation.

He ordered the Goat Curry.

It came out of the kitchen, looking all “curry-ish”.

Yellowish brown.

Curry-ish.

But each of the PBA tried it. I wasn’t going to be the only one left out.

Plus the reviews were favorable. My 9y even said, “Next time, I’m getting the Goat Curry.”

So I tried it.

It was curry-ish…which, as I said, is not my favorite…but I moved past it.

The meat was tender.

It was very unexpected.

But most importantly…it was tasty.

I would even eat it again.

I have to admit, when that waiter said the Goat Curry was the best, he wasn’t kid-ding.*

*Editor’s Note: I blatantly stole that joke from my dad, but it was just so punny, I had to repeat it.

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