Eating (North-) America ... Continued

As we are now here in NYC, one of the most diverse culinary meccas in America (if not the world), it is tempting to largely block-out the vast expanse of burgers and fries which occupied our stomaches for a majority of the trip. In the past two days we have sampled deliciously authentic mexican fare (tacos al pastor, mole poblano, and tortas), lunched on cuban pork sandwiches, enjoyed fresh brooklyn bagels, and consumed the best pizza I've had in two months. While all this gastronomic delight caused me at one point to compare the past 7 weeks to a "culinary black-hole", this is not entirely fair. One of the more interesting parts of the trip was noticing the lovely little differences between the edibles of the USA and Canada's "North-Americana." Here is a list of my personal favorites:

Poutine

U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins best described poutine when he called it, "A Canadian delicacy, that I have enjoyed many times." This pretty much sums up how I feel about it. For those unfamiliar, poutine consists of an ample portion of french friend potatoes sauced liberally with a thin brown gravy, and topped with either grated mozzarella cheese, or mozzarella cheese curds, the latter being the more 'authentic' variation. If you think (for some bizarre reason) that drowning a plate full of deep-fried potatoes in gravy and cheese sounds disgusting then you probably: (A) have never tasted poutine before, (B) are too worried about your health, (C) should not consider yourself my friend any longer, or (D) are sober.


exhibit A: U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, confirmed poutine-lover.


exhibit B: La Poutine.



"La Poutine" of course, is not without culinary peers. It can be reasonably considered a northern relative of the ever-popular "Chili-Cheese Fries". Although it, fittingly enough, lacks the spicy, in-your-face-givin'-you-heart-burn edge of its American sister-food. I however, preferred to simply think of poutine as Canadian Nachos, primarily due to the heavy nacho-withdrawal I endured throughout this trip.
Vigorous internet research has also brought to my attention that something unappetizingly-named "chips and mushy-peas" from across the pond may share common ancestry with la poutine, though this is unconfirmed.

"Tandoori Sizzler" Doritos Chips

Now, let me begin my saying that though I generally try to eat heathy, and was raised on very good organic home cooking, but I have always have a warm place in my heart for Doritos chips. Maybe this is related to my love of nachos... Anyways, I have enjoyed a fair number of Doritos "Nacho Cheesier" flavor in my life. But after a while, they just get kind of boring, and who really likes "Cooler Ranch" anyhow?? However, when I spotted a little bag of joy with "Tandoori Sizzler" written on it, I could not resist. I love Indian food, and Doritos, perfect! Well, not to spoil the surprise for anyone, but (drumroll please...) they don't really taste that different from "Nacho Cheesier." Certainly not like "regal spice of india", according to my poor French translation...

All this being said, I most definitely enjoyed "Tandoori Sizzler" Doritos immensely. Though they don't taste very different, I guess its just different enough for me. Sadly, it appears that for the moment they are exclusive to the Canadian market. It is to me, a truly sad statement about our collective palate. Are we really not cultured enough to appreciate a semi-spicy vaguely curry-flavored tortilla chip rolled out behind an at best essentializing and at worst racist add campaign (see video below)?? Come on Doritos corporate, have a little faith!


Canadian Doritos advert. Perplexing? Yes. Appetizing? You be the judge.


... On a somewhat related note: President's Choice brand "Memories of Morocco" couscous had some very interesting packaging...



Pretty much everything I was thinking about it has already been summed up on this Skidmore College Art History page, the section on the package is at the bottom. Oh, Canada, sigh...


and last but not least...
"Coffee Crisp" Candy Bars

One of the true highlights of Canada was when we were presented with two Coffee Crisp bars by a store clerk who, upon hearing of our journey, proclaimed excitedly that we didn't get these in the states and, well, we probably needed the energy. As it turns out both were true. A simple candy bar, Coffee Crisp can best be compared to a large single Kit-Kat section, with subtle undercurrents of coffee flavor. Extremely delicious. It helped that at the time the manufacturer of this chocolate covered coffee wafer was running a "Cabin Chalet" promotion, and had a map of the exact area we were printed on the label! (Wawa, home of the giant goose was clearly visible!)


Photo from web of excited man showcasing a coffee crisp bar.

(Correction: Apparently, I failed to do my research on this one! Thanks in some part to a web petition, Nestle has decided to bring Coffee Crisp (aka "A Nice Light Snack") to the USA! details can be found at coffeecrisp.org, yes, this is an actual website...)


Am you THIS excited about the news?! Well maybe you should be!