The Word of Hodge

Today while shopping at the Curious Iguana, a locally owned bookstore in Frederick, I overheard an exchange between a Father and his young son. The son was little. I'm not good with guessing children's ages; I also didn't want to appear to be eavesdropping, but I'd say the young boy was somewhere between 2-16. Anyway, the father had just answered his cell phone, which already irritated me a bit given the intimate nature of this quaint bookshop. I thought "this better be important". Whether is was important or not, I never found out, but what struck me was the following exchange between father and son. Upon answering, the son whined at his father, "Let me talk to MOM!"

The father replied, "It's not Mom, it's Chelsea".

The son responded, "Alright, then let me talk to Chelsea".

"Chelsea doesn't want to talk to you" the father said rather nastily.

Click Here to see part 1 of The Best Thing I Ate This Year 

One of my favorite things about Bourdain was, while he loved his adventures in fine dining with his highly acclaimed chef friends, he equally loved having a cheap meal on the streets with the locals.  I believe he once ate the unwashed anus of a warthog in Africa.  During one of his Vietnamese trips, he talked about his unabashed love for a Vietnamese noodle soup called Bun Bo Hue.  Most of us by now are well versed in the deliciousness of Pho, the very popular Vietnamese noodle soup.  I know I have been a big fan of the thin rice noodles, slices of rare beef, and ‘nasty bits’ of tripe and tendon, that make up a steaming hot bowl of delicious pho, for quite some time.  Bourdain claimed Bun Bo Hue puts the more popular pho to shame.  “Want a hangover cure?”  he asked rhetorically.  “THIS is a hangover cure!”  as he slurped down thick vermicelli rice noodles and the spicy, sour, umami, reddish broth that makes up a bowl of Bun Bo Hue.  I knew I had to get my hands on a bowl of this soup. 

Soon after seeing that episode I had a bowl of Bun Bo Hue and a Vietnamese restaurant near me, that makes a very tasty bowl of pho.  I was not impressed.  The mysterious meat was unappealing.  The broth smelled really funky.  The noodles were nearly mush.  I was perplexed.  How could my culinary hero think that this was better than pho?!?  I buried this disappointment deep into the recesses of my mind for a few years.  Then, just a few months ago, I met my brother at his favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Frederick.  A place called Lucky Corner.  He had taken me there previously on one occasion, and I enjoyed the pho very much.  But Lucky Corner does a lot more than just pho.  The extensive menu had many dishes that sounded promising, and the plates of food on surrounding tables, looked and smelled, utterly delicious.  This is all to say, this place was legit.  

So, on our second visit to Lucky Corner, I was feeling a little daring, and decided to give Bun Bo Hue another shot.  Once again, the meat looked mysterious, and the broth smelled a little funky.  But here’s the thing.  It was absolutely DELICIOUS.  The broth, which stars beef bones and beef shank, lemongrass, fermented shrimp paste, sugar, and chili oil, was intoxicating with its complexity.  The scary looking meat was tender and not at all scary in its flavor.  The thick, round, rice noodles, were perfectly cooked.  The spiciness of the soup was addicting, and comforting on a cold December evening.  I was hooked!  I slurped down every last drop of my new found vice, leaned back from the table, with sweat dripping down my forehead, broth dribbling down my chin, and knew things would never be the same.  

It is that time of year.  A time to reflect on the year that was, before making resolutions for the year that will be.  One of my favorite things to think back on, are all of the delicious meals I enjoyed throughout the year.  And although this year was no exception, it was hard to ignore the gigantic loss the entire culinary world experienced this year with the passing of Anthony Bourdain. 

Through his various endeavors, whether on television or in print, Tony introduced an entire generation to places and dishes, we may have otherwise never experienced.  Through shows like ‘No Reservations’ and ‘Parts Unknown’, Bourdain allowed viewers to travel to the far reaches of the globe, and experience a place through his eyes, ears, and most importantly, his taste buds.  He had become so synonymous with food travel, that often before traveling to a place, I would go back through the archives to see if Tony had been there, and if he had, wherever he went became a must-eat destination on my journey.  

Such was the case before my wife and I traveled to the province of Quebec for our first wedding anniversary in September.  While we’ve had many friends who have raved about their experiences there, I didn’t truly become excited for the trip until we rewatched the Quebec episode of Parts Unknown.  Featured in the episode are three extraordinary characters.  A trio of Quebecois gourmands, who could whip together the most elegant of meals on the middle of a frozen lake, or in a sugar shack in the middle of the wilderness.  These three Canadian legends were Fred Morin and David McMillan of Joe Beef, and Martin Picard of Au Pied du Cochon.

We were able to score a late reservation at Au Pied du Cochon on our last night in Canada.  Having done some Yelping beforehand, I knew I was going to order the Canard en Conserve (Duck in a Can) regardless of what else was on the menu.  I was not disappointed.  After some deep fried balls of foie gras, fried green tomatoes, and lots of wine, it was time for the main event.  The superb waiter presented me with the canned duck like it was a bottle of fine wine. He then proceeded to bust out his handy extraction tool (a can opener) and crank open the aluminum safe haven that was housing my suckling water fowl.  On the plate was a perfectly grilled slice of french bread, awaiting the decadent mountain of tender duck breast, braised cabbage, and rich foie gras.  Lots of foie gras.  Each bite was an orgasmic experience.  It wasn’t Meg Ryan in ‘When Harry Met Sally’, but it was close.  I was on such a food high after the meal, my wife and I decided to walk the 20 blocks back to the hotel, despite it being a chilly Canadian evening.  During our walk we reviewed the trip that was, and gushed on and on about the meal we’d just had. But, I also thought of Tony on that walk, and how thankful I was he had shown me the way.  As he had so many times before.