The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Old Fezziwig]

I mean, where do these names come from?! "Atmospheric River" and "Pineapple Express." Can we just go back a few years and just call them storms, or more accurately for California, some rain?

If by a few years, you mean nearly 20 years, sure.

The SF Chronicle's search is kind of garbage, but I found this quote in an article from 10 January 1995:

"What we are getting is not the classic 'Pineapple Express' where a large amount of moisture is drawn from the Hawaii area and pushed into the West Coast," said National Weather Service forecaster George Cline. "But this pattern is similar because we are having a flow of air from west to east."

 

[Scribe]

As one who lives in a place where the seasons are 'rain and muck' and 'dry and hot', let me tell you that there is a difference between a storm, rain, and these 'atmospheric rivers'.

 

[Maxperson]

As one who lives in a place where the seasons are 'rain and muck' and 'dry and hot', let me tell you that there is a difference between a storm, rain, and these 'atmospheric rivers'.

As someone who lived in Michigan for 7 years and California for 46, California has rarely even seen a storm. These atmospheric rivers have nothing on a powerful storm from the Midwest or East Coast.

 

[Jahydin]

I consistently get offered ketchup at Mexican restaurants, which pains me greatly.

Cholula?

 

[Scribe]

As someone who lived in Michigan for 7 years and California for 46, California has rarely even seen a storm. These atmospheric rivers have nothing on a powerful storm from the Midwest or East Coast.

Perhaps. I have never lived out east. Here on the canadian west coast though, when we get these events, its a grotesque amount of rain.

 

[Maxperson]

Perhaps. I have never lived out east. Here on the canadian west coast though, when we get these events, its a grotesque amount of rain.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure things are stronger up north.

 

[payn]

There is only winter and road construction here in the midwest.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Cholula?

Get that wooden-capped nonsense away from me! Tapatio is my default, if I'm not at home, with access to more bottles.

 

[Gradine]

As someone who lived in Michigan for 7 years and California for 46, California has rarely even seen a storm. These atmospheric rivers have nothing on a powerful storm from the Midwest or East Coast.

That really only holds true for the parts of California where most of the people actually live. Up in the ass end of the North Coast we're getting battered pretty good

 

[MNblockhead]

A question, as I polish off my drunken noodles:

How do I know what the typical spice level is of a cuisine that's not my native one?

I have a high tolerance for spiciness, and am interested in trying Thai and Indian food, etc., at their "right" levels. But I also know that dudebros asking to make stuff super-hot is incredibly common and they typically get stuff that's not at all typical of the cuisine, but just a bragging rights level of heat. (And I've won hot wing and chili eating contests, so I can do that, but it's not really what I want on a rainy day for lunch.)

When I've asked at restaurants, they just sort of shrug "it depends on the person" and want me to go ahead with my order.

Having lived in India, China, and Taiwan, and having Mexican in-laws I hate to break it to you, but there is no "right" levels of heat for the cuisine. Putting aside regional variations, there is still a wide variety of personal preference. From my personal experience, Korean food has been consistently the spiciest. But that is based on only one trip to South Korea and anecdotal stories from a business partner who didn't drink alcohol and worked on increasing his tolerance for spicy food to fit in when he lived in Korea. I've also found most dishes in Korean restaurants in the US, Taiwan, and my one trip to Korea to have a lot of heat.

In India it depends on the dish and preferences. But I spent most of my time in living in Maharashtra. Which isn't known as having the spiciest cuisine in India. But when people there order spicy, it packs a lot of heat.

In Taiwan, food tends to be a bit spicy. Some dishes are infamously so, such as Ma La Hot Pot. But usually, even in the night markets, you say how hot you want something when you order it. There are 5 levels: "wei la" (mild) to "te la" (heavily spicey)". Just saying "la" means spicy and you'll get it as spicey as the cooks thinks is basic spicy and that can change from restaurant to restaurant, food cart to food cart. I assume it is the same in China, but I never remember ordering with such specificity in China, either because my Chinese was worse or because I wasn't living in areas known for spicy food.

For Mexican, my experience was more from my best friend growing up, whose mom was mexican and ran an out-of-home mexican food ordering business, and my brother in law and his friends. My brother-in-law is probably not the best example because he is seriously addicted to heat. To the point that by his early 40s he was getting stomach ulcers and the doctors were telling him to cut back on the spice. But my sister doesn't have a high tolerance for really hot food and has never had an issue with typical dishes in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, where they live now. I assume the spiciness of Mexican cuisine varies by region. What has always struck me about mexican cuisine is not so much that it is hot, but how they tend to add a bit of heat to everything. Like even their lollipops are coated in dry chili pepper powder.

My last observation, and I don't know how logical it is, but it is how I think of it, I find Mexican and Indian spicey to be a "dry" spicy and easier to deal with. The heat tends to be added with dry spices or fresh pepper. I find Thai, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean to be wet/oily spicey, using a lot of infused spicy oils which can make for some seriously spicy dishes if you are not used to them. I've rarely had an Indian or Mexican dish that was too hot for me to eat. But I've had plenty of experiences with Korean, Thai, and Taiwanese dishes that were hotter than I could deal with.

Lastly, I'll say, while it seems most prevalent in the US in starting in past few decades, young men proving their toughness by the level of heat they can endure is an international phenomena and should not be treated as some litmus test on what is normal for that culture's cuisine.