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Cookin again

Burmese food is an absolute joy. We hadn't tried it until we moved to SF, and we were missing out (in our defense, Boston didn't have a ton of Burmese restaurants -- looking now at Yelp, the only place I'm finding is in Allston along with a smattering of Thai and Vietnamese places; not sure if this because Yelp is lousy for searches or if there's just no Burmese food).
So far, I’ve only found the one Burmese restaurant, about a 15 minute drive from my house. But they’re EXCELLENT!


They opened about a month or so before the pandemic lockdowns were imposed, and Mom & I tried them in maybe their 2nd week of operations. We were driving around, running errands and having our usual discussion (bicker) about where to eat when I suggested we try something new, and there they were. We’d never had Burmese, so I went in to ask what it was like.

The owner/chef answered with a grin, “It’s a little like Indian, a little like Chinese, a little like Thai, and not like any of those.” I told her I’d be back, and relayed her answer to my Mom.Still sitting in front of the restaurant, we looked them up on Yelp. There were 16 reviews- 8 each from native Burmese and novices to the cuisine- with an overall rating of something like 4.8 stars out of 5. The Burmese Yelpers were all saying it was authentic, “like being home”, “like my Mom’s cooking”, etc. The newbs were all enthusiastic about finding a tasty new cuisine to explore.

We went in, and to be honest, I’d rate that first meal as among the best initial exposures to a cuisine as I’d ever had, and easily in my top 2 of the past 20 years. I’ve been back so many times, and I’ve told all my local friends & family about the place.

I’m about a quarter to a third of the way through their menu, and while I have definite preferences, I haven’t had anything I actually dislike. And the Burmese tea is addictive. I’ve had it every time I’ve been since I first tried it. I know they brew it super strong*, almost like coffee, and then add sweetened condensed milk to it. It even looks like a coffee au lait.

At this point I’ve met the entire family, and we often talk. In the depths of the lockdown, they almost went under. I went in one day at 3PM for $50 of takeout, and that was their first sale of the day. BUT, according to them, my word of mouth- and obviously that of others- spread enough that business turned around, and they seem to be doing fine at this point.



* I tried making it at home and my tea was NOT strong enough.
 
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I went to an Ethiopian restaurant years ago and really enjoyed the food (in the U.S.). I've never been able to find anther one, and every time I've mentioned it to someone, they inevitably make a joke about the food in the context of the famine from years ago.
I’ve only been to two Ethiopian restaurants myself. Well, technically, one restaurant that changed locations. But the second location was bigger, and had a broader menu that also included some Italian dishes as well.

I know there’s a couple other Ethiopian places around, but I haven’t been to any of them. Not because I’m loyal (I’m not) or the others have worse reputations (they don’t), but simply because they’re harder to get to.

As for the cuisine itself, I thought it was really tasty and a fun experience. There’s dishes I loved that gave ingredients I rarely eat elsewhere. (And injera bread is fun to eat with.)
 

I’ve only been to two Ethiopian restaurants myself. Well, technically, one restaurant that changed locations. But the second location was bigger, and had a broader menu that also included some Italian dishes as well.

I know there’s a couple other Ethiopian places around, but I haven’t been to any of them. Not because I’m loyal (I’m not) or the others have worse reputations (they don’t), but simply because they’re harder to get to.

As for the cuisine itself, I thought it was really tasty and a fun experience. There’s dishes I loved that gave ingredients I rarely eat elsewhere. (And injera bread is fun to eat with.)

Ethiopian and Nugerian are near top of lust for African foods I want to try. Never had any apart from Moroccoan and Egyptian which is Arabic. No Caribbean.

Local Thai place is on poolist. Owners other business lost booze license due to dodgy behavior with women in his pub. Second time he's been pinged for variety of misdemeanors.

Haven't been going much anyway due to one of our favorite breakfast places opening an Indian place which is great. Next week Indian.
 

I haven’t had Nigerian, but my parents have. According to them, the defining characteristic of the food served was SPICY!

They had been invited to a function in honor of a Nigerian priest who was stationed at our church as a parochial vicar- he was getting promoted to a parish of his own (still in Texas). Even the Nigerian bishop who performed his ordination showed up for the party.
 

I haven’t had Nigerian, but my parents have. According to them, the defining characteristic of the food served was SPICY!

They had been invited to a function in honor of a Nigerian priest who was stationed at our church as a parochial vicar- he was getting promoted to a parish of his own (still in Texas). Even the Nigerian bishop who performed his ordination showed up for the party.

I worked with a Nigerian super nice guy. Terrible taste in beer though.
 

I’ve only been to two Ethiopian restaurants myself. Well, technically, one restaurant that changed locations. But the second location was bigger, and had a broader menu that also included some Italian dishes as well.

I know there’s a couple other Ethiopian places around, but I haven’t been to any of them. Not because I’m loyal (I’m not) or the others have worse reputations (they don’t), but simply because they’re harder to get to.

As for the cuisine itself, I thought it was really tasty and a fun experience. There’s dishes I loved that gave ingredients I rarely eat elsewhere. (And injera bread is fun to eat with.)
My wife loves Ethiopian food, and we live (broadly) in an area where there has been good Ethiopian food available. One of these days she'll have a chance to introduce me to the cuisine, and I'm looking forward to it.
 



New gamestore has opened they're still unpacking.

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Anyway after our previous food discussion ended up chatting to a guy from Ethiopia lol and he was surprised about our talk about Ethiopian food.

Got an even bigger surprise when he found out I knew a bit of Ethiopian history as conversation turned to Ticket to Ride Africa which is one of our favorites for that game.

Talked about Coptic church, Italian invasion and ancient Axum. He got an even bigger surprise with geek talk where you could play as Ethiopia 1444 in Europa Unversalis and there's an African themed DLC named Origins and Ethiopia is very strong.

He was telling me about how they make bread. Sounded delicious like a bread/pancake type thing. History talk also included Mali, Persia, Mongols, and what became of Sparta. And a bit of Coptic/Orthodox/Catholic history.
 

New gamestore has opened they're still unpacking.

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Anyway after our previous food discussion ended up chatting to a guy from Ethiopia lol and he was surprised about our talk about Ethiopian food.
1) What surprised him about our discussion of his native cuisine?

2) pump him for info about where you can find it. Hey, maybe you & the wife Dan get a dinner invite!
 

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