The other day I worked from home while my car got inspected. She passed! My old neighbor is my mechanic and he just takes the car from my mom’s house in the morning and then brings it back afterwards. It’s the best setup ever. When I went to pick it up, my mom got me food, cause she’s always concerned about me eating. I think judging by this blog, she has nothing to worry about.

One of my favorite Korean comfort foods is dukboki. Basically it’s rice cake (not like the ones dieters eat) smothered in a spicy sauce. The rice cake is just basically a chewy starchy tube that’s made with rice, and they slice it into a few inches in length. Then they add some fish cakes sometimes, perhaps a boiled egg, and lots of spicy cochujang, which is the quintessential korean spicy-fying ingredient. It’s spicy and sweet and chewy. This particular one was quite spicy. I believe I did start sweating.

The picture doesn’t do it justice, as it looks like a bloody mess. It kinda looks like really scary spaghetti with bits of random stuff in it. It doesn’t have a hint of tomato at all. It’s just spicy and sweet. I have very fond memories of when I was very little and still lived in Korea, we would always go to the market on the weekend. And there was a favorite stall of mine that served the best dukboki ever. I still remember it!

Today was unusually warm, and above 70 degrees for the first time in 2007. So like everyone else who got so excited about it, I ended my evening with a trip to the local Rita’s. As I was on my way home, my friend K called and asked if I wanted anything from Rita’s. She had just left her house to get to Rita’s, and I would pass it on my way home. So it all just worked out.

There was a big line, of course. I went with half tangerine and half Alex’s Lemonade. The tangerine was pretty good, and had real chunks of tangerine rind. A bit surprising at first, but full of flavor. The lemon, eh, was a bit bland. Sorry Alex. K went with wild black cherry and lemon, and man, am I ever glad she got that wild black cherry. It was amazing. There was such a rich and deep flavor about it. It tasted like a really excellent black cherry soda. Note to self, next time get a whole wild black cherry one.

I’m not the biggest fan of Rita’s, as I think their flavorings taste a bit artificial, but it’s handy in that it’s all over the place and easy to locate when you’re hankering for water ice. I have a friend who is from Philadelphia but moved to Austin to open a water ice shop – Jim-Jim’s Water Ice. That takes balls! I hope you have a great season this year!

There’s nothing I love more than a nice big bowl of steaming pho. The beefy broth, the crunch of the sprouts, the whole thing. I love every bit of it. I also love a very particular chicken pho. Now most pho joints serve a very bland chicken pho. It’s made with chicken based stock and sliced up chicken breast. Very boring. This is not my chicken pho. My chicken pho is made with beef stock. My chicken pho has grilled/fried chicken with incredible flavor. My chicken pho sometimes even trumps regular beef pho. Where can you get said delicious chicken pho? At Pho Ba Le, on Washington Ave (sometimes called Restaurant Cyclo). Only thing is, the last two times I’ve been there, it’s been closed having a sign saying “Closed for the Winter”. How can you be closed for the winter when you serve the best winter food there is?

There’s another pho place across the parking lot called Pho Ha. It’s one of those mostly pho only shops that brings out your food in 2 seconds. We were in the city last night going to a concert, so we stopped round Washington Ave to grab a bite first. I decided not to get pho last night because it was fairly warm out, and I got the chicken and spring roll over broken rice instead. As you can see, it was alot of food, and it was delicious and moist. I think the key is that it’s not white meat, but dark meat. One of my favorite things about getting this Com Tam dish is the pickled daikon and carrots that you always get on the side. I love the slightly sweet sourness of it, and the crunch.

M got a small pho. Small in pho places usually means pretty big. And the large means huge. I’ve had the pho there before and it’s very good. M seemed to enjoy it alot, and she pretty much ate the whole thing, broth included. I was so impressed!!!

Monday night I had to stop at the mall to return some stuff. While there, feeling particularly lazy, I picked up some chicken teriyaki to go from one of those “japanese” chain joints that serves teriyaki dishes. I really like it cause it’s so simple, just chicken with teriyaki sauce, and some grilled veggies and rice. I got a giant carton full for about $4. And on a lazy night, it doesn’t get any better. It’s fresh, steaming hot, and tasty, and requires absolutely no work whatsoever.

Pho Ba Le
600 Washington Ave
215-389-7844