Psycho Asian Comfort Food: Crepes, All Kinds

This was not my recipe, but they awakened a fire in my belly....
a fire that can only be quenched by... more crepes (and better cheese).

One of the single best benefits of having roommates from all corners of the world is a chance to mash up cuisines, creating new, and occasionally wonderful, dishes in the process.

American society contains an embarrassment of riches in the form of cultures from all over the world. I talk about Chicago a lot when people ask me about food, because it's such a very interesting example of mixing and matching, as well as just a all-out-amazing foodie town. Chicago's socio-ethnic history informs modern neighborhoods in a real and visible way, and many neighborhoods exist as a living record of the last hundred years of people and cultures moving in and out of these 'hoods. The city is both a global food experiment, and completely & utterly Chicago and midwestern in expression.

As for me? I know what I like, and I know that I'm a builder. Sometimes I get... mildly obsessed.

Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

It's that time in America - Thanksgiving!

Time to celebrate what we have in our relationships and to reconnect with friends and family... and eat slowly and surely until we're so full we hate ourselves. But that's what the after-dinner nap is for, dontcha know?

In this way, it's the perfect time to visit my home country and the friendly Midwest in particular (so, thanks Alex, for having your wedding during this time, or I probably wouldn't be here right now, because BRRR). There's something about a little snow on the ground and a warm, food-scented kitchen that activates all the Peace hormones in my brain. Provided, of course, that I'm in said kitchen, and not out shoveling or something. And wearing many, many layers.

In the spirit of recognizing how much I love about BOTH of my current homes - Vietnam and the US - here are a couple lists for you.

Sozo Cafe: A Cafe With Heart, But Little Soul (Food)

Does Chile Con Carne usually go over rice?

Sozo Cafe is a pleasant two-story cafe on Ho Chi Minh City's Bui Vien Street, right in the middle of the backpacker district and just down the block from Lam Cafe (a wildly different beast).

I spend a fair amount of time upstairs, where you don't have to do reconnaissance on outlet availability before you settle in and you're guaranteed an environment where you won't hear Vietnamese pop music or anything with Celine Dion - lots of piano, jazz, and old Standards from the '50s and '60s.

Pretty darn good PB cookies, too.

It's a lot of things. It's a reliable local organization that helps pull young and/or disabled Vietnamese and their families out of the cycle of poverty, has a great selection of western desserts (including, I must mention, that phenomenal brownie, DO GET WARM WITH ICE CREAM), is a really nice place to get work done in the AC on hot afternoons, and is super cheap and more quiet than many other comparable cafes. The ca phe da is sweet and the coconuts are cold - my tastes in cafe drinks are simple and this place delivers reasonably well.

Is the food that great? Well... it's nothing outrageously special..

But if you're in the mood for something serviceable without being pretentious or expensive, put this on your list of places that provide a 'home vibe' and stop in... or simply click through for my review below.