Category — Street Food

photo courtesy of James Oseland

Jon Stewart may have called him “dude,” but we never knew what a regular guy the president was until his recent trip to Indonesia.

“Bakso, nasi goreng … semuanya enak!” or “Meatball soup, fried rice … it’s all delicious!” President Obama said during a state dinner in Jakarta.

Political ploy or multi-culti mouth? The answer would be B: multi-culti mouth. Obama – a biracial American raised in the country’s most ethnically diverse state (Hawaii) — got his taste for Jakarta’s favorite street food during the years he spent there as a child.

But what is bakso? Think of your favorite hot dog cart, but filled with meatballs, noodles and broth. I did a brief survey of bakso connoisseurs and here’s what they said (plus, recipe included!)

courtesy Gourmet Latino Festival

What do you know about culinary tradition and the power of women in Latin America? Nothing, right? Okay, maybe you do, but I don’t and I would LOVE to.

If, like me, you don’t have enough cash to reach Buenos Aires head instead for the Gourmet Latino Festival, an eight-day celebration of Latin foods, cocktails, wines and coffees that kicks off in New York this weekend. The festival brings together more than 40 of well-known Latin chefs, mixologists and tastemasters from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, México, Perú, Uruguay, and elsewhere.

The festival boasts seminars on rum, agave, coconut. There will be dancing. There will be music. There will be eating. There will be lots of stimulating conversation. All that, and a brunch featuring levantamuertos (awake the dead) food and drink.

And if you see Chef Aaron Sanchez, who’s hosting several events, tell him he’s my dude (you gotta love him. He’s the nice one on Food Network’s “Chopped”) The festival runs June 4-June 12 in New York. See their website for more details and to buy tickets.

Lost in translation? According to the sign, this sandwich at a Starbucks-like coffee shop in Mumabi is a calzone. But it’s not shaped like a calzone, nor are its contents encased in baked pizza dough like a calzone. So….not a calzone. The sign also suggests that it is a “kothambir vadi” — a steamed fritter full of coriander and chilis. Perhaps that’s them stuffed inside. Hard to tell, though I don’t see a lot of coriander. I do see some cheese though….