Posted by Cathy Danh, February 18, 2008 at 2:45 PM
One would imagine that in a society where roughly 85% of the people are practicing Buddhists, vegetarian restaurants could be found on every corner. While this may be true in some parts of Asia, it is certainly not the case in Saigon, where eateries specializing in com chay are few and far between.
Exceptions to this general trend appear on the first and fifteenth of each Lunar Calendar month, when all Buddhists shy away from meat. On these particularly auspicious days, nearly all workers’ lunch establishments (com binh dan) serve vegetarian options.
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Posted by Zach Brooks, February 13, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Surprisingly, I actually like Valentine’s Day. Maybe it's not that big a surprise since I have someone I love, and against all odds, she actually loves me back (food obsessions and all). I know you can do nice things for people you care about “anytime you want,” but there’s something about Valentine’s Day that I like. Maybe it’s that you have an excuse to do something on a weeknight that you may not do otherwise. Last year my wife and I had the best Valentine’s Day—it involved a movie, some wine, and, of course, a pair of serious sandwiches. Fancy dinners and expensive flowers are nice, but I think hidden food snuck into a movie (with alcohol pairing of course) is the best option. And what better food is there than a sandwich? Perfectly portable, and easy to eat in a theater—silverware not necessary.
Lucky for us, there a place right between my office in Midtown Manhattan and our local movie theater on the Upper West Side of New York City that has a few serious sandwiches: the Bouchon Bakery take-out window, courtesy of Thomas Keller (French Laundry, Per Se). No matter where we eat, my wife and I usually order two different things and share (to cover more ground), but when it comes to the Bouchon Bakery vegetable jardiniere, neither of us are willing to give up a half…so two of the same thing it was.
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