Eat Me Drink Me

Olé Mole

Manny Santiago — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:16:26 +0000

Mole (pronounced Mo-lay, gringo) Poblano, the brown kind of mole is, after being the national dish of Mexico, often accused of looking like various kinds of doodie. Do not buy into this cheap, lazy way of thinking of one of the best foods (next to avocados, chocolate, pulque…) to come off the pages of the [...]

Jalapeño Whole Wheat

Manny Santiago — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:20:36 +0000

Jalapeños are small, spicy quasars in my universe of food. Small enough to carry around in pockets for impromptu picnics, yet possessed of an efficiency of flavor deep enough to soothe the Aztec shaman raving bloodlust mad in my head (and actually they go great with brie!). I’ll be honest here: sometimes I drift off [...]

China Fakes

Manny Santiago — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:23:46 +0000

Slowly munching my veggies like a ruminating quadruped I can still taste the piping-hot baozi, a faux meat dish at Xuxiangzai, Beijing's Veggie haven

Beijing Food Markets

Manny Santiago — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:12:26 +0000

Manny Santiago explores the Foodie paradise of the Dong Hua Men Night & Sihuan Markets in Beijing as he travels overland from Kyoto to California

Making Mochi

Manny Santiago — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:22:30 +0000

Come the Japanese New Year, when some particularly enthusiastic families and co-workers across the archipelago once again dust off their bamboo rice steamers, big wooden hammers, not forgetting the Sake, and head off to the local community center, school, or as in my case, the abandoned yacht club, it raises the hairs on the neck [...]

(The Best) Bloody Mary (Ever)

Manny Santiago — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:16:42 +0000

Was it just me or did 2009 seem like a bad hangover? Now more than ever Eat Me Drink Me feels that in this the January morning of 2010 we all need some hair of the dog, if only to clear the blurry vision, the settle the nerves and to brace for whatever potential boons [...]

Stinky French Cheese

Manny Santiago — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:08:53 +0000

Have you ever opened a cheese and wondered what small rodent just died in the immediate vicinity? Or who suddenly started cooking bacon? As I progress in my lifelong quest to make the perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich it is only since I escaped the U.S. that I am truly beginning to glimpse the undiscovered country [...]

Owariya Soba

Manny Santiago — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:59:34 +0000

Visualize if you will, a spry young man in his work kimono, made of an easy to clean light fabric, walking down the dirt-paved roads of the old capital Kyōto to the clickety-clackety of hundreds of Japanese sandal-wearing passers-by as they go about their daily business, smiling and nodding while the deciduous trees rain orange [...]

Grilled Cheese

Manny Santiago — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:02:20 +0000

I grew up on hotdogs, pb&j & grilled cheese. So when some wonderful little elf left an exquisite LOAF of pure uncut White Bread on my porch for God only knows why, I had to take the poor waif in and protect it, piece by honkey slice piece, by putting cheese next to it, melting [...]

Spicy Green Peanut Curry

Manny Santiago — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:24:15 +0000

This is my comfort food. At least ever since trekking around Thailand it has been. The capital and cultural melee that is Bangkok is filled with beauties and cons, faith and sewers, but the best thing about the 10 million plus “city of angels” is the food. It’s a veritable symphony of street stall sumptuousness. [...]

La Nuova Bruschetta Italiana

Manny Santiago — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:50:40 +0000

What began as a morning experiment in breadmaking turned into an entire day of feasting and tasting, laughter and gaiety, all thanks to the serendipitous alignment of weather, food, drink, people and the all-important Lazy Saturday Afternoon. Winter Strawberries. Tomatoes in Spring. Summer Sanma. Persimmons in Fall. Season is everything. And seasonal cooking is big, [...]

Habanero Burn

Manny Santiago — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:16:10 +0000

I am in mid-burn. My groin region feel like it’s midsummer in Tijuana at the Free Clinic, and while the buen Doctor sits chatting up the Donkey-girl from last night’s show, he’s also haphazardly telling you in no uncertain terms that your inflamed, red-as-the-Japan-sun verga – as he put it – “could very well melt [...]

Le Biere Trappiste

Manny Santiago — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:16:39 +0000

What is the genius of Belgian Trappist Monk tradition? What does it mean: Trappist Beer and why is it six dollars a bottle? After a bit of imbibed research and some hard sought questions in a few local European Beer Pubs, I’ve found out some interesting facts about what makes a Trappist Ale so special, [...]

Pizza – It’s Good For You

Manny Santiago — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:52:49 +0000

Recently I found a bunch of ancho chiles while raiding my cabinets for food (Once again, living the “poor life of the artist” lends to creativity like nothing else I know of). Anchos are dried Poblano chiles and almost impossible to find in Japan. Hence the phrase “worth their weight in gold” comes to mind. [...]

Friends of Laphroaig

Manny Santiago — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:49:42 +0000

As of November 2008 I’m a Friend of Laphroaig. Which means what exactly? Turning 33 is a momentous occasion in the life of a Man Who Walks Like Jesus. I feel like Johnny Cash more and more and thusly I need to get back to my roots, specifically my Scottish roots and drink Real Whisky [...]