meemalee

Som tam is more than a Thai salad - it's a trial by fire. Journalist Marina O'Loughlin commented that, "I had one in Bangkok that was so fiery I almost had an out-of-body experience ", and fellow blogger Hollow Legs ' verdict on a proper som tam was that, " It should be face-crunchingly spicy ". That probably makes som tam, a wondrous spicy green papaya salad , sound like a bad thing, but it's not. I guess the closest analogy for me is when you're standing right next to the speaker at a gig played by your favourite band in the world (for me right now this would be Chicago band Tortoise ). At the end you're left dazed and reeling, with white spots flashing in your eyes and a pounding ache in your ears, but the pain is spiked with the sharpest, purest, giddy pleasure. Maybe we're all just masochists. Talking of pounding, "som tam" actually means "sour pound", as it's made in a pestle and mortar - you mash away to ...

My husband just got back from another long work trip in Chicagoland . It was windy (appropriately), but it was also freezing cold, as winter had set in with a menace bringing snowstorms with it, so I'd packed him off with thermal undershirts and even a few pairs of long-johns. We Skyped on a daily basis, and one day he said to me, "Hey, you know Andy's is open? How weird is that?" Andy's is a purveyor of frozen custard , which is far as I can tell is pretty much like home-made ice cream - rich and eggy with a custard base. With branches all over the Mid-west, the outlet my husband was referring to is on Church Street in Evanston. Founded in 1986 in Osage Beach, Missouri by John and Carol Kuntz (heh), Andy's particular speciality is seasonal frozen custard-based desserts. So in the Autumn, they offer pumpkin pie concretes and apple pie concretes (where whole slices of pie are blended into the frozen custard), and in the Spring and summer they offer peach cobbl...

Sometimes when you go somewhere, there's something you always have to try. If you're in Italy, you need to go for pizza. If you're in Hong Kong, you need to check out the dimsum. If you're in Japan, you need to track down some sushi. And if you're in the US, you really ought to have a burger. I'd heard folk rave about In-N-Out before, and been impressed by Harold and Kumar 's quest for White Castle , but as I was based in Evanston, the place I was interested in was a small, independent joint called Edzo's Burger Shop . Open every day except Monday from 10.30 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, Edzo's is a quirky treasure. Whilst it's true that the bottomless soda machine comes as standard, there's also a range of unusual soft drinks such as bottles of guava and tamarind pop. And the four dollar milkshakes come in a range of enticing flavours, with specials for a dollar more - the day we visit, the specials are Spicy Mexican Chocolate and ...

I don't like trendy restaurants. You won't see me at the launch for the latest hip and happening place unless it's an accident; for example I once walked off the streets into the Wolseley when it first opened. I probably couldn't get a reservation now, but for what it's worth I rather liked it. But when I'm abroad, I often find myself homing in on places that are "cool", because those are the places that come onto my radar - certainly whenever I ask for a recommendation, nine times out of ten someone will suggest a fashionable hotspot. However, it's thanks to some local friends personally taking us that the husband and I find ourselves going to Girl and the Goat which has just that week graced the cover of Time Out Chicago. I have to admit I feel a certain frisson at being on the cutting edge for once, but this thrill is clouded rather by the concern that a certain Nathan Barley -esque Chicago-dweller who I have no desire to bump into might also ...

It's my first trip to the States. I've just quit my job. I'm waaay too over-excited, but I catch my breath long enough to ask where's good to eat in the Windy City. L2O is suggested to me by gourmet traveller and, without hesitation, I book. The husband and I are revelling at the view from the top of the Hancock Tower - he waves his hand loftily in the direction of L2O and said "It's just over there - it'll take us 20 minutes to get there, 25 minutes max". 45 minutes later, we're hot and bothered and seem to have overshot L2O as it's nowhere to be found. Turns out it's hidden inside the Belden Stratford hotel behind a nondescript door which is shut tight. The restaurant website is not clear about this, but then it's an arse to navigate and the background muzak meant I did not spend long perusing. A family in front of us tug on the door handle and peer inside curiously, and then, seemingly startled, scurry off to leave us to walk in ...