part of acclimating my return to california is calibrating my palette.
sure, guam is definitely good eats but it most certainly falls into its own category: there we have an appetite for late night dining (fuji ichiban and po-chon chicken); savory overload (fiesta plates!) ; and comfort food (homecooked goodness). here there is always an opportunity for an adventure, a true foodie prequisite. Whether you are chasing something you heard of from someone else, following the next best thing on yelp, the food network, groupon, or discovering a OOAK to lure you back for more - the possibilities are endless.
i've been taking james and kylan on a foodie tour - all the old places i used to frequent that have maintained their awesome-ness since the last time i obliged. everything from the best burito, the bargain buffet, and where to find red rice - we have been enjoying every bite (but with restraint, of course).
last week joie and myself with our kids in tow ventured out to Fort Mason in San Francisco to partake in Off the Grid, a seasonal street festival of foodie trucks that offered up a very tempting lineup of reinvented roach coaches such as adobo, sisig, gyoza, pork buns, kimchee fried rice, and creme brulee to name a few. i wish i took more photos but it was quite an overwhelming experience - shoulder-to-shoulder foodies waiting in line to claim their territory. it also didn't help that the windchill brought our discomfort level to a frigid 60 degrees. we were pleased but it was impossible to be satisfied - not with the infinitely long queues and a few utterances of "i can make this better at home". but alas we can claim we've conquered the street food phenomena and did so with our foodie offspring in tow. it was enough to deter me from going to the adobo festival that also passed this weekend. it was also an inspiring sign of the times. it seems scores of chefs and foodies are using their creativity to make rare food accessible AND cheap! how else can one get excited about kalbi tacos and bacon-glazed doughnuts?!! we were able to not only enjoy the experience but sit around and brainstorm about how our guammie food truck would look and what we would serve up. who knows? chamorro-on-the-go might be coming to your city soon! james' restaurant has even been inspired by guam and is considering putting kelaguen, tinala katne, and red rice on their menu. but we'd have to market it for the masses to make it work! it's still a step toward letting the world know that guam belongs on the foodie radar.
now back to the food back home - we were fortunate enough to quickly whip up a spread of kelaguen, red rice, potato salad and all the staples you would probably find at your liberation day feast. biba guam!
I'm already conjuring up dreamy visions of this guam food truck...maybe just start with something visual to peak the interest those who never ventured to our side of the world. i've always thought mangge' was a good name to start with.
