Food & Culture

Aspects of Identity: Are we what we eat?

2010-03-22T10:19:00.001-05:00

Welcome to JUA 2010 Diet and Lifestyle group. Our quest while in Boston is to explore aspects of identity related to human physiology, diet and lifestyle. Some of our activities will include a visit to the Museum of Science to experience an interactive exhibit on Identity, meeting with a clinician who does obesity research at Mass General Hospital, viewing and discussion of the film "Supersize Me" and experiencing various examples of cuisine thought to promote health and some considered to be unhealthy. While on the trip, students will keep a journal that should include a food diary. This journal will be used in the final evaluation that will include a personal dietary assessment and reflection.

Your first assignment is to go to the link for The Museum of Science website, read about the current exhibit on "Identity" and formulate several questions that you would like to answer during your visit to the MOS. Please post your questions on the Blog.

Final Thoughts and Reflections

2009-03-12T14:48:00.003-05:00

The time in Boston for JUA was an interesting and educational experience. We tried different cultures foods, learning what they ate in their societies. Some were exotic, including the Chinese food we had, Dim Sum, while others were more Americanized, like the chocolates at Serenade Chocolates.

The first place we ate at was in Chinatown, which was Dim Sum. The food was unique which I hadn't seen before. The waitresses just kept coming out with different assortments of foods, it was quite overwhelming. I almost felt rude not eating all the food they served us. We literally had to tell them we were too full to have anymore. When we were done, we went to a couple of Chinese markets, where they looked at us like we were foreigners. One guy even yelled at us for taking pictures of his live eels.
-Michael B

For JUA, my group looked into the different foods that people of different cultures eat. We went to the Krishna temple, and they basically tried to get us to convert to their vegetarian religion.. The people all had made up names, however they all meant that they were servants of Krishna. Aside from that, the trip was good. It was very sad seeing the soup kitchen, however, you have to learn to accept that there is poverty in the world. Keppler’s restaurant was very good, and so was Kent’s moms chocolate store. Overall I found our JUA experience to be very informative.
-Johnny L

In the food and culture group we were asked to look at cultural and religious influences on diet. The most prominent example was being at the Hare Krishna temple. Hare Krishna is a 5,000 year old religion stemming from India. Like the Western idea of Hinduism, Krishna believes in karma which greatly influences their diet. Karma is an idea that everything people do has a cause and effect. So if you kill an animal, you receive bad karma for harming objects of Krishna (god). As a result, they practice a strict vegetarian diet. Their belief is that harming plants gives you less bad karma than killing animals. This led me to think about the number of people vegetables feed. It isn’t much. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to kill one yak to feed 100 people than 1000 plants to feed 10 people? I would think so. However 5000 years of belief has to start somewhere. On Tuesday I had lunch at a Tibetan restaurant. We were the only people in the restaurant so we were able to talk to the owner about Tibetan culture. He said that while all Buddhists practice vegetarianism, those in Tibet that live at high altitudes have no choice but to eat meat. Very few plants are able to survive at such altitudes.
-Alex K

For our first appointment we journeyed to the Hare Krishna temple to experience how culture and religion truly effects diet. This was the first and most certainly an eye opening experience for all of the members of our group. It was comforting to know some customs of the religion, as we were briefed by our group leader before departure, and were not going in cold. We were greeted at the door by Vishnu Das where we had to remove our footwear. We sat in the temple room and observed the ornately decorated walls and ceilings as we waited for the presentation to begin.
We were informed of the religious practices of the Hare Krishna and how the practice came to be. After, the diet was explained. The idea of Karma was an overall theme that drove these people to do the everyday actions that they perform. The idea that every action has a reaction and killing is most definitely off limits. When one eats meat they are therefore consuming the pain and suffering the animal endured when it was slaughtered.
Along with Karma came the idea of wasting resources. The Hare Krishna believed that the amount of wasted water and grain used to feed cows and animals used for meat was so abundant that it could be used to feed a great number of starving people.
These ideas made sense to me and persuaded me to stop and think a bit. They were not so grand that they would force me to change my entire lifestyle and become a Krishna, but I can see why some people do. This was a very productive, informative learning block.
-Evan S

Throughout JUA, many things intrigued me, but there was one that stood out to me. On Monday night we went out to dinner at a place called Terre Del Sol. Keppler’s Dad owns this restaurant and the one next to it called L’Espalier. We went and toured L’Espalier to see what the number two restaurants in Boston was like (according to Best of Boston). The manager toured us around both restaurants and brought us into the kitchens. We were told that at L’Espalier, the average person spends two hundred dollars on a meal including tax. This amazed me considering the economy at this time. This just proves how good the food is here because the restaurant was packed. At Terre Del Sol, we had an excellent meal, and I would recommend the restaurant. We were served a complementary dish from L’Espalier and it was excellent.
-Kent W

Our first adventure was great getting the chance to eat dim sum out at this restaurant in Chinatown. Even though, it seemed rushed it was pretty good, most of the food was really in a wrap. Also, it was a great idea to eat at that place first in order for the group to bond a communicate well.

The next adventure was the temple and how there people think it is good for them to be able to be vegetarians. I thought it was great learning about there culture and why it is strictly important they think it is good for them to be vegetarians and help the earth. They believe every cow is holy and that the process of which they are put in to be able to be eaten is not right. But, they did not give us a full detail of why they thought it was not right and how there leader thought it was irrelevant.

Lastly, best experience I had was with the chocolate and how they simply made it into an art. Kent’s mom and her associates made very delicious mixtures of food and chocolate. The best one that I tried while we were there was the marshmallow covered in chocolate. The way they make them at the story is very well made and made me want to eat everything in the store.
In conclusion, the JUA experience was great I had a lot of fun and thought that it was fun while it lasted. I enjoyed my topic learning about the differences of food and why they are made this way and such.
-Edwin N

Welcome to the 2009 JUA Food and Culture Blog

2009-02-19T16:20:00.005-05:00

Hello Food and Culture Group Participants
Your first assignment, prior to our trip to Boston, is to visit the following three links: Go Veg Go Green, Soup Kitchen and Chocolate. After viewing the five minute video on the Go Veg link please post thoughtful comments and formulate a couple of questions to ask our host, Jishnu Das, when we visit the Krishna Temple.

You will also be given a couple of articles about the significance of chocolate in ancient cultures and the historical development of chocolate as the food that we know (and love!) today. After visiting the Serenade Chocolatier website and reading the articles please consider what you would like to know about the production of fine chocolates or the luxury chocolate industry.

The Soup Kitchen link will take you to the opposite extreme within our culture with regard to food. Please take time to fully explore this site and post a comment. We will be visiting The Women's Lunch Place on the second day of our urban adventure. Please be prepared with thoughtful and sensitive questions.

Recall that one of our goals is to explore the limits of acceptability within our area of inquiry. As you prepare for our upcoming journey try to be aware of the varied roles that food plays within our culture.

Okay, let's get ready for a great trip!

Chinatown

2007-12-18T13:38:00.000-05:00

We visited a store called Wing’s Live Poultry. This was a very smelly store. You could smell it on the sidewalk before you even walked in. There were chickens stacked about six feet tall in cages with about two to a cage. When you buy your chicken, they cut the head off and sell it to you with feathers and everything. We lasted about 30 seconds in this store before leaving on account of the stench. After the Chinese chicken store we went to a Chinese bakery. Everything in the bakery looked good but most of the stuff was rather odd. I had a pork bun which is a sweet bun with pork in the middle; it was very delicious, but I guess it is an acquired taste because no one else did. In addition to the meat pastry there were egg yolk filled, shrimp filled, yellow rice cake and other odd baked creations. From the first Chinese bakery, we proceeded into another that looked considerably more popular and tasty. The second bakery contained delicious creations such as Chinese fruit tarts, red bean filled fried donuts, bubble tea, and other inviting dishes. It was considerably more enjoyable. We then visited a Chinese Herbal Pharmacy, as well as a number of Asian markets. There were offerings we had never seen before: soy soaked duck, fried and spicy chicken feet, pigs feet, tongues from a variety of animals, live eels, okra, durian, lotus root, Chinese okra, and duck web to name a few. For lunch we went to a Vietnamese restaurant, where the people welcomed us with open arms. Vietnamese restaurants are well known for serving delicious soups. We discovered that Vietnamese food is much more healthy than Chinese, because of the use of fresh vegetables, and absence of MSG as well as oil; it left us with a clean feeling afterwards. They told us that they eat rice with every meal, and never have dessert. Back to the hostel to blog. We will have Brazilian BBQ for dinner.

2007-12-18T08:55:00.001-05:00

Anna'S

2007-12-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

For the first dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant called Anna’s Taquieria. The food was amazing but the staff was not very helpful. They had trouble answering most of the questions we asked, but answered a few. They said that all of their ingredients were from the US. I think the factors that draw customers into this restaurant are the delicious food, authenticity, cheap prices, and speed of service.

North End-Italian Style

2007-12-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Maria's Pastry: This shop was a great find in the big city of Boston. As soon as we walked through the door the whole area smelled of wonderful Italian pastries. The vendor was very friendly and talked to us about traditional Italian cooking and how Marzipan played a big roll in her business. There were no imported foods or ingredients, but the wonderful cooking made up for it. An awesome place!

Samples: cannoli, marzipan fruits, tiramasu, pasticiotti, totos, cream puffs.

Polcari's Coffee: This coffee shop was filled with great smells of different coffees and spices from all over the world. There was a great selection of dried fruit, meats, cheeses, coffee, spices, and other fantastic items. The owners were very friendly and the business had been in business for 75 years.

Alba's Produce Mart: This was a fresh produce shop in the north end. the shop is small and full of fresh fruit from different regions. The fruit is imported from Florida and Peru with Italian pasta and home made pickled peppers. While we were there we got cactus fruit and Asian pears (later stolen at Mike's pastries :( ). Alba's was a family owned business owned by the Albas a new Hampton family, in a act of serendipity we walked in to the unsigned shop.

Salumeria Italiana: This was a great hit for everyone in the group. It was mostly made up of imported Italian cheeses. One cheese that he introduced to us was Drunken Goat cheese, none of us ever heard of it before. The Italians eat very healthy with lots of vegetables and cheese like olive salads and mozzarella salads with lots of oils.

Lunch: Fanuel Hall- Scavenger Hunt

2007-12-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

Rules

1) No one can eat American food.
2) No one can eat at the same place.
3) No one can eat the same type of food.
4) Must go outside of your comfort zone.
5) Guess each others food.

Types of Food:
Ian-Indian food-"Taste of India" it was really good; I got it because it looked good and I love spicy food. I got chicken tika misala and pikkatinda.
Jess-I chose Thai food because it was the first restaurant I saw, and I like the way it tastes. I purchased orange chicken and fried rice.
Armin- I eyed a pizzaria and had to get two slices of pepperoni. It was really good. Much better than Rossis or Pizza Market.
Jon- I got a chance to try real authentic Japanese cuisine. I had chicken and enjoyed the way they prepared it in front of me; it had an amazing taste.
Seth- I had a true Italian panini was a nice break from the normal frozen NH food. I'm glad to be in Boston.
Pat- I bought Chinese food and it was some of the best i have ever eaten, I'm really looking forward to Anna's tonight.
Josh- I got some Chinese food and it tasted like any other fast food Chinese restaurant. I am looking forward to going to Anna's because my family really likes it there, and I will feel at home when we eat there.
Jae- My lobster roll was actually fresh in both taste and appearance. I saw it many times, but it was the first time I've ever tried it. It was really good.

Preliminary Research

2007-12-16T13:44:00.000-05:00

The following preliminary research was completed by the group during a howling Nor'Easter,on the New Hampton School campus, Sunday afternoon. Given that the participants had little background knowledge of their driving questions, each did research to gain more sophistication of their chosen topic. Below please find some of the information discovered!

Preliminary Research for each Driving Question:
1) What are the distinguishing ingredients used in each ethnic food experienced?
Armin and Ian learned the following:
Irish food Ingredients Include:
Garlic, Cabbage, Kale, Potatoes, Onions, Egg, Tomato, Fish, Pork, Milk, Butter, Cheese, Barley, Blood, Oats
Mexican Food Ingredients:
Chocolate, Maize, Tomato, Vanilla, Avocado, Papaya, Pineapple, Chile, Pepper, Beans, Squash, Sweet Potato, Peanut, Fish, Turkey, Corn
Chinese Food Ingredients:
Rice, Noodles, Meat, Fish, Wheat, Onion, Ginger

2) Where do the raw ingredients originate?
What ingredients must be imported?
Are the businesses able to use local vendors?

Patrick and Josh learned the following:
Are ingredients available locally?
During this time of year in New England due to climate conditions mainly meat and
foods that have a long life span are the only locally available for restaurants to acquire.

Irish:
Irish cuisine consists mainly of foods that use potato as a base or
primary food and secondary dishes that mainly are based around sausage,
bacon, cabbage, shellfish, etc. Most of these ingredients are available
locally in exception to seafood, which is normally imported, and
vegetables that would be shipped from other areas of the United States
or from overseas depending on the preference of restaurant owners.

Mexican:
Mexican cuisine consists mainly of foods that use blends of flour or
corn tortillas with cheese, along with beef, pork, chicken, etc. in
combination with various vegetables and spices,including chili peppers,
green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and radishes. With the exception
of the meat products,most things can’t be purchased locally in New
England. Everything would have to imported or trucked in from other
areas of the United States depending on the preference of the
restaurant owners.

Chinese:
Chinese cuisine consists mainly of two or more general components, typically rice, noodles, or mantou(steamed buns), and accompanying dishes of vegetables, meat, fish, or other items. Everything except the meat could not be bought locally
during the current climate (winter). The fish could be from local fisheries or
could be imported, depending on the preference of the restaurant owners. The vegetables could be imported or shipped from other areas of
the United States.

Indian:
Indian cuisine consists mainly of vegetarian dishes. Many traditional
Indian dishes also include chicken, goat, lamb, fish, and other meats.
Everything except the meat and the fish could not be bought locally
during the current climate (winter). The vegetables, as main
ingredients in Indian dishes, would have to be imported or shipped from
other regions
of the United States.

Italian:
Italian cuisine, which varies mainly by region and season, is
characterized by its use of fresh, local, seasonal ingredients to
create dishes. Primary ingredients in Italian cuisine are olive oil,
garlic, pasta, herbs such as basil and oregano, fennel, seafood, wild
mushrooms, beans, eggplant, squash, and various forms of pork. Even
though Italian cuisine is known for using local ingredients the present
climate would call for all the ingredients, with the exception of the
pork, to be imported or shipped from other regions of the United
States. The herbs would more than likely be imported.

Brazilian:
Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region and uses a very broad range
of ingredients, the main staple in Brazilian cuisine is white rice and
black beans, but other ingredients include vatapá, moqueca (both having seafood and palm oil), and acarajé (a salted muffin made with white beans, onion and fried in palm oil (dendê) which is filled with dried shrimp, red pepper and caruru
(mashed okra with ground cashew nut, smoked shrimp, onion, pepper and
garlic), seafood, shellfish, commonly eaten tropical fruits...including
mango, papaya, guava, orange,passionfruit, pineapple, sweetsop, hog-plum, soursop, and cashew, dried meat, rice, beans, goat, manioc and corn meal. Almost all of these
ingredients would have to be imported with the exception of a few ingredients that
could be found in the United States, including,
shrimp, and orange. The would be almost no local buying in the present climate.

3) Is there a cultural significance behind the ingredients used, preparation techniques or presentation of the food?
Jae and Seth discovered the following:
Why do they use chopsticks in Asian Restaurant? Asia?
China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam food is usually eaten with chopsticks;
but it was the Chinese who were the earliest culture some five thousand
years ago. Their food cooked in pots required twigs to remove it.
Overtime, as population grew - people began chopping food into smaller
pieces so it would cook more quickly thus minimizing the use of wood
for cooking - twigs gradually turned into chopsticks
Some people think that the great scholar Confucius, who lived from roughly 551 to
47 B.C., influenced the development of chopsticks. A vegetarian,
Confucius believed knives would remind people of slaughterhouses and
were too violent for use at the tale. The use of chopsticks reflected Chinese pragmatism and frugality in overcoming the
difficulties of life. Famine, drought were common in ancient China;
food need to be shared between family members; picking only small
morsels with chopsticks to accompany bowls of rice. (Fork-&-spoon
would have enabled a user to take large portions - inconsiderate and
selfish when food is scarce.)

Why and how do we eat Indian food with our hands?
1. Indian food is complex, but for our purposes, we can divide it into rice and breads (chappatis/ Naans/ Rotis) and curries.
2. Use only your right hand.
3. Only your fingers should be used - no usage of the palm.
4. The thumb of the hand is used to "push" the food into your mouth.
5. You have to tear the bread (chappatis/naans
etc) with one hand only - children and novices use both hands. Using
your thumb and fingers tear a piece of the bread off, and then scoop
the curry or the vegetables, with the bread and then eat. It is
incorrect, and inelegant to eat the curry and the bread separately.
6. For the rice, you can use your fingers and thumb to similarly move the food into your mouth; Mix with curry.

4) What are the health benefits and or risks of the food we consume?
Jon and Jess researched Average Life Expectancies:
US..........78
Mexican.....75.63
Indian......68.59
Brazilian...72.24
Chinese.....72.88
Italian.....79.94
Irish.......77.9

Essential Question with Driving Questions

2007-12-16T13:18:00.000-05:00

Essential Question
What is the secret life of food?

Driving Questions
When a consumer chooses a restaurant or a market to procure food, what influences his or her choice? Curb appeal, smell, menu and price typically lead a consumer to make a choice.

The food group believes consumers should be asking additional questions.
1) What are the distinguishing ingredients used in each ethnic food experienced?

2) Where do the raw ingredients originate?
What ingredients must be imported?
Are the businesses able to use local vendors?

3) Is there a cultural significance behind the ingredients used, preparation techniques or presentation of the food?

4) What are the health benefits and or risks of the food we consume?

Many consumers do not pay close attention to the “secret life” of food. The food group will explore the secret life behind the food consumers purchase and eat while exploring ethnic restaurants throughout Greater Boston.

Cultures to be explored: Irish, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Brazilian, Indian

Itinerary Food 2007

2007-12-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

Sunday, December 16, 2007
New Hampton, NH
Campus Research: Neal Shartar Interview
Research whole foods vs. fast food
Prep Work on ethnicities of focus; Irish, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Mediterranean
Field trip: local grocery store to look at fresh foods....establish point of reference
5 PM Dinner: CunaMara, Bristol. Irish food and interview with Ray Gardiner ("Actually Irish" Menu)CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

Monday, December 17, 2007
Boston, MA
11 AM
Maria's Pastries: North End
46 Cross Street
The North End •
Boston, MA 02113
Tel (617).523.1196
Fax: (617) 557.4925
Interview Maria and her family

NOON
Visit International Coffee, Tea and Spice Market
POLCARI'S COFFEE
105 Salem Street • Boston, MA 02113
Tel. 617-227-0786
Bobby is the contact

12:30 PM
Visit Italian Market Salumeria Italiana: North End
Interview butchers and store owners
151 Richmond Street, Boston, MA 02109 1-800-400-5916 contact@salumeriaitaliana.com
Kristen, Emily, or Goni are contact

Late Lunch:
Scavenger Hunt Fanueil Hall

Afternoon&Dinner:
Ana's Taquiera Coolidge Corner
Anna's Taqeria, Coolidge Corner
+1 617 739 7300
Interview Employee
Contact Francisco or Mike cell 781 237 5795 mykaio@msn.com

Evening Activity:
Movie or Dessert

Tuesday, December 18:
Morning:
Chinatown
Chinese Bakery
Interview Employee

Tea Store
Interview Employee and Consumer

Poultry Shop
Interview Employee and Consumer

Asian Market
Interview Employee and Consumer

Early Lunch:
China Pearl
Interview Employee and Consumer

Afternoon:Cambridge Mediterranean Cuisine
Indian Pavilion (West Ave)
Midwest Grill (Cambridge St)

Return to Hostel 6PM

Mike T's Essay

2007-01-11T13:47:00.000-05:00

For the Junior Urban Adventure I was able to be in the food group. Over the course of this trip we went to many different kinds of restaurants and saw how many different cultures prepared their foods. On this trip my essential question was: Are certain people/cultures proud of their food and does food “unite” them in some way? So during the trip as we went to different restaurants and markets I would go up to store managers and talk to them about the food they were preparing and see if they could answer my question. Most of the store owners could and they all said that they are proud of there food because it is what they make when they are in their native countries. It seemed most of the people even though they did not say it made it seem like the food did “unite” them in some way. I think that the reason is that the food they are making is a part of them and they like to share it with all they can so they can spread their culture. It unites them because on their holidays that they have in their culture the
y can all get together and eat a dish that is from their home land and they can do things they do as they would there and it would make it seem like not has changed and that they are still right back in their native land. I think that this is very important for our country because that way everyone stays happy. If we had a dictatorship for a government that did not allow people to have certain foods for instance then the Asian people in America would not be happy because they would have to change there whole way of life and that is not what this country is about. This country is about being free; people come here so that they may be free. So they can have what ever religion, and life style and they can eat any kind of food they want at anytime!
After going to JUA I thought it was one of the best experiences I have had at my two years at this school. It was assume and I think it should never change. It is a fun way for kids such as myself to learn about the world around us but have fun at the same time. It was a great time and the food great was sick! If I could change on thing though I would have to say it would be the time we spent there. I think if we had more time there then we would learn more and have more fun and we could shop some more. But over all it fun a great time and if I could do it again I defiantly would because I learned a lot about the food around the world and how people feel about it. It was cool.

Ryan G's Essay

2007-01-11T08:27:00.000-05:00

My Junior Urban Adventure essential question is, “Will eating Middle Eastern food help Americans better understand their culture, while mending the apparent disparity of the two races?” .
In Boston, our group reached many different restaurants, markets, and shops of numerous races and people. While eating and shopping, my job was to pay attention to the small things between our group and the servers of the location where we were. I needed to get a sense of the interaction among the group and the waiter, cashier, etc. Any hostility or anger, any awkwardness or uncomfortable moments, any benevolence or kindness is what I watched for.
Our first stop was in Harvard Square where the group was hungry for breakfast after a long bus ride from the New Hampton campus. After walking by some Dunkin’ Donuts and a couple Starbucks, our leader pointed out a small neat Mexican breakfast eatery tucked away under large majestic, ivy-covered brick buildings either used for student housing or classrooms. As we entered through a clear windowed door, a burning orange mix with a bright burgundy paint jumped off the walls and engulfed us as an oversized menu grabbed our attention walking through a skinny path to the counter. The cashier greeted us with a wide smile as each member of the group gave our order. The employees were of a Latino looking skin color and were of pleasant service to our group.
The second restaurant for our group, near Copley Square, was an Irish lunch. It had the group thinking of corned beef and cabbage, however the group was pleasantly surprised as there was a wide variety of dishes to choose from. Our waitress used a thick Irish/Scottish accent, however I had the feeling it was misleading for I have close relatives who are descendents from Cork, a few miles away from Dublin. She was very methodical in her movements, taking our drink orders, and quietly placing our meals in front of us. Asking for a simple favor like a certain sauce or extra napkins is a clear hassle for her, and it took longer than it should have.
Finally, our group settled for dinner in Coolidge Corner at another Mexican restaurant, famously known for its tacos and burritos. On a chilly Thursday night in Boston, this restaurant was a bustling spot, bursting with loud noise of meal orders and laughter above a delightful Mexican melody. The employees behind the greasy glass counter lined with past patron’s finger tips were urgent and almost violent with their manor, as they needed to be for there was a long line of people waiting for their turn to order. Once the order was in, the meal passed through all of the cooks in a line all adding their own touch, similar to an assembly line. My order of quesadillas were tastefully delicious.
On our way back to the hostel I stopped in a tiny shop, underneath a giant five-story apartment building, the shop was filled with many goods from the Middle East -including intricate rugs and shiny silks, along with tall sand-filled glass vases. As I crept around the store peering meticulously at every item, I could feel the eyes of the lady behind the counter upon me. I picked up a male figure close to the size of a salt shaker with a snake around his neck and turned to ask where it was made. The woman told me it was crafted in Egypt. She then proceeded to tell me she owned the store and everything was handmade. We proceeded to talk about various items in the store and I ended up buying the figurine. She was polite and courteous and I enjoyed our conversation.
I have concluded to answer my essential question as yes, I believe eating and intermingling with the Arabic Americans will further the knowledge amid both cultures and help to create, maybe not a friendship, but a respectful understanding between the two races.

Pat S's Essay

2007-01-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

Essential Question: Are certain peoples/cultures proud of their foods and does food “unite” them in some way?

With my essential question in mind, I set out with my JUA group to find the answer in the restaurants and streets of Boston. After eating in many different restaurants of many different cultures I began to feel as though certain peoples and cultures are proud of their foods. I could feel that food does unite people. There were many different factors which led me to this conclusion, and I thoroughly enjoyed my search for answers.
Our first stop along the way was for breakfast at a little restaurant called Boloco. This was a place that specialized in making burritos, which is a food that is normally associated with Mexico and other southern countries. When we entered the shop you could instantly tell by the decorations that the owners were proud of their culture. The walls were painted in vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges. The only options on the menu were burritos, and most of them included various spices and salsas. At Boloco you could tell that the people who ran it were proud of their culture and this is why they decorated their shop in ways that were traditional of their southern countries. They were proud of the traditional foods of their countries, and this is why they only offered burritos on their menu.
Our next stop was at an Irish restaurant called Solas. In front of the restaurant there was a sign with huge letters that told this restaurant was an Irish pub. This shows how the owners were proud of their country and wanted others to come enjoy the foods and atmosphere of Ireland. When we walked in we heard Irish music playing, and all over the walls were words written in Gaelic. The atmosphere was very nice. The lighting was a dim orange and all the woodwork was done with very dark wood. There were Irish symbols all over the walls, and the menu included traditional Irish food like fish and chips. After leaving Solas with a full stomach, I could tell the people who ran the restaurant were very proud of Ireland. This pride in their country prompted them to start a place were others could come enjoy the culture they loved. They tried to share Irish culture with customers through decorations, music, and food. When we were in Solas it felt as thought we were in Ireland. The people who ran the restaurant were obviously proud of their food, and that is why they wanted to share it with others.
Another place we stopped to eat at was the China Pearl in Chinatown. Of all the restaurants we went to, this one displayed how people are proud of their food, and how food unites people the best. First, all the workers at the restaurant were from China. This shows how pride in their country’s food united these people to create and run a Chinese restaurant. There were Chinese decorations and symbols all over the walls. This shows how the people there were proud of their culture and wanted to display it. Next, instead of ordering what you wanted from a menu, servers would come around to each table with a cart, and if you wanted the food in their cart you told them. They punched a stamp on a card saying that you had eaten something from their cart, and when you were all done someone would come around, add up all the stamps on your card, and tell you how much you owed. This was definitely a display of Chinese culture because no American restaurants server food this way. Last, almost all of the customers were Asian. This shows how they were proud of their culture’s food, and they unite with one another where the food is. They come and meet together where there is food.
We visited several other restaurants on our trip, and each one displayed how the people running them were very proud of their food and culture, and how food of a certain culture unites people of that culture. This pride was most noticeably displayed in the music and decorations of each restaurant, and of course the food. Not only does food keep us alive, but it also gives us a sense of pride in our culture, and it unites us.

Ben B's Essay

2007-01-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

Essential Question: There are many different cultures represented in Boston. Is the food in Boston served in the restaurants actually made from the same ingredients and served the same way as it is back in the country of origin or is it “Americanized”?

During my stay in Boston I visited many different restaurants and venues. My group was the food group and throughout our journey we tasted many different kinds of foods in various restaurants from a handful of different countries. We never ate at the same place twice and for the most part we were kept well fed. During the trip I documented the dishes the members of our groups ate and whether the food we were eating was actually the same in America as back in the countries of origin.

The first place was an Irish restaurant that was called Solas Irish Pub. It was a place in the middle of the city that was in a dark but relatively friendly setting. At my table there were two dishes served that were Irish and one that was not Irish. One of the Irish dishes was a grilled chicken sandwich with tomatoes and bacon served with fries and pickled carrots, peppers, onions, and cucumbers. The other traditional Irish dish was a tossed salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, croutons, and dressing. The dish that was not actually Irish but was still being served at the Irish restaurant was a pizza with portabella mushrooms and cheese. As you can see the restaurant had to adapt slightly from Irish to a more American flavor in their cooking to keep the American people happy.

The second restaurant I visited was the Zenna Noodle Bar where a couple other fellow JUAers and I ate dinner. This was a Thai restaurant with a warm atmosphere and good service. Of the three dishes we ordered at this restaurant all were eaten in Thailand. One dish was the shrimp fried rice. This was made up of shrimp, rice, onions, cucumber, and scallions. Another dish eaten here was seafood with vegetables. This had shrimp, scallop, calamari, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, mushroom, thick noodles, and peppers. Another dish served here was the vegan egg rolls. These were egg rolls filled with steamed broccoli, peppers, carrots, and cauliflower. The last dish was the noodle soup. This contained thin noodles, broccoli, carrots, snow peas, and chicken.

The third restaurant we ate at was called the China Pearl. This was a place filled with rolling carts of Chinese cuisine located in the heart of Chinatown. All of the dishes we enjoyed at this restaurant were straight from their country of origin. One of the dishes at this place was the pork fried rice and the pork sandwich which was a glossy bread filled in the middle with red pork. We also had the crunchy crab dish which was a big ball of crunchy, crispy crackers with a crab claw sticking out of it. Another dish we had was the noodle-covered shrimp and chicken, which was a piece of chicken or a jumbo shrimp covered by a layer of thick noodle.

The last restaurant we ate at was the Express Italian Cafeteria located in the North End of Boston. In this restaurant we all stayed toward all the more traditional Italian foods. Some people had some cheese and pepperoni pizza. Others had Italian subs with salami, ham, tomato, lettuce, and Italian dressing. Others had Caesar salad and some even had pasta, more specifically penne with cheese and tomato sauce. All of the foods we ate in this restaurant were real Italian foods.

Throughout our entire trip there was only one instance where there was a foreign restaurant that served us a dish that was not actually from the restaurant’s country (this was of course the portabella and cheese pizza served at the Irish restaurant. This seems like a very good thing because this means that it is still possible to get good exotic foods in America without having to leave the country to get it.

Mike L's Essay

2007-01-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

During our time in Boston, our group scanned different parts of Boston looking for not just an ordinary place to eat. We did not just search for any old restaurant; we looked for different culturally based places and menus.

My essential question that I presented to every possible restaurant was “What spices dominate each of the cultures we are exploring?” Our first stop was at a restaurant by the name of Boloco, this restaurant was a Mexican style restaurant, which happened to have a couple vegan choices for me like the soy shake. After finishing the meal, I asked the lady working the counter my essential question and she seemed kind of confused. She then sent me to another lady who had some answers. She responded by telling me that at their restaurant their dominate spices where Cajun spice, oregano, thyme, and black pepper.

That night we ventured off to Brookline near Coolidge corner and our group split in two and I happened to go to Zenna’s noodle bar, which is a Thai restaurant. Here I had a plate of steamed vegetables and soup. Our waitress was Thai and she was able to answer all of our questions, so we gave her a heavy tip. When it was my turn to ask the question she responded with a ton of ingredients. There was a total of nine dominate ingredients that she gave me; Red pepper, red onion, garlic, lemon leaf, sugar, fish sauce, shrimp paste, tamarind, and choo chee sauce. Our meals seemed to all be healthy, but at the same time very affordable.
A couple hours after finishing up our eating we headed back to the hostile and settled in for the night. When we awoke in the morning we headed off for Chinatown, where we had a late breakfast. I did not have anything to eat there and it was too complicated to ask any questions, so no one in our group got any questions answered there, this certain place however, seemed to be the hot spot because it was packed with people. Other members of the group where pressured into eating things they were not accustomed to. After the members digested the food, we shopped a little and headed off to the North End famous for its Italian food.
When we arrived at the North End we ventured for a little while looking for a place to have our late lunch. We finally found a place called Express and we settled in, the place looked like a pizza place except for it had a fancy appeal to it and it was located in the North End, which gave it an advantage over any other pizza place. It was not packed and the wait for the food was fairly short. I ordered a veggie panini. After I finished eating I asked a worker my essential question and he gave me eight dominate ingredients; Jalapeno, fresh garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, and grated cheese.
Our trip to Boston opened my eyes to how others countries eat, and the way in which they go about eating. All of the places we visited where different in some way then the next, even Boloco, which we later found out was a chain restaurant. Lastly, I learned that each country grew and prospered off of what they could grow depending on their certain climate, so each country that we visited became accustomed to different kinds of food.

Matt M's Essay

2007-01-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

Essential Question: Why do most cultures combine their foods while Americans separate food groups?

Why do most cultures combine their foods while Americans separate food groups? Most cultures in the world only eat foods that are around them and do not separate food groups. Where as people in the United States can have a strange French pastry in the morning and by dinner a steak quesadilla. While my food group and I were in Boston we all found out great information about foods from many different cultures. Going into this trip I had already experienced real authentic food from three different cultures. I have traveled to Italy, Ireland and Switzerland, all of which do not mix there food groups.
In Boston we had Mexican, Chinese, and Italian, Thai, Irish, and Vietnamese foods during each meal. Mexican was the first stop on are list when we first arrived for breakfast in the morning. Boloco was the name of the burrito bar the served a variety of breakfast burritos. They did mix quite a different variety of foods such as: eggs, bacon, potatoes, rice, and salsa. This mix of food was quite a variety with eggs as a base of the burrito compared to a typical bean burrito. A typical American breakfast would be eggs with bacon and toast on the sides and a glass of juice.
Chinese food known for the phrase, “and that is?” with their noodles vegetables and mixed meats. Chinese rice and noodles can be plain or with variations of meat or vegetables. Americans would not make a plate filled with noodles, rice, vegetables, and meat. They would have a pile of each item individually, but never combine everything into one. Thai food is much like Chinese food with noodles and different types of rice, however, they add a spicier kick to the food that they eat. Along with Thai and Chinese food Vietnamese food is also in the same category. Vietnamese food uses more vegetables than meats. They also use a different variety of spices.
Italians do not just eat one meal but how about three meals in one sitting. Italians eat appetizers of pastas, then chesses, pasta with meat and the final course meat. Although they eat a lot of meals separate they eat more than one meal. The pastas can also have meat inside of it vegetables in the sauce. The Italians still mix there foods.
The Irish are not known for there glorious cooking or famous dishes they do in fact mix there dishes. The Irish make stews which contain vegetables, meat, potatoes in a thick gravy soup dish. Stews were made a lot in Ireland because of the poverty, it was cheap to make.
JUA was a great experience for the juniors at New Hampton School. The food group especially learned about many different cultures and the essential question that was written on the blogspot was answered after all the research that we did in Boston.

Fabio B's Essay

2007-01-10T21:50:00.001-05:00

Essential Question: Why, in many cultures that we are exploring is rice a primary food?

Rice is a primary food throughout many world cultures. In many of the restaurants that we visited in Boston almost all of them had rice in at least one dish. Rice is easy to grow and is cheap. Rice is so cheap that even the poorest of people are able to afford to eat it. But even though it is cheap it doesn’t stop the wealthier people from eating rice. Not only is it cheap rice gives enough nutrition for people to be able to live off rice. Along with it being very cheap and good for you it is easy to preserve and to make for dinner.
Rice can be severed many ways like brown rice and white rice. But when we went to this Indian restaurant they severed our meals with sticky rice. Then when we went to the Mexican restaurant and instead of the rice being a side dish it was actually inside our burritos. Rice in my country isn’t just a side dish or something you add on the side. Rice is in every meal you eat. Rice isn’t looked at as something extra to eat its one of the main foods we eat in my country. People don’t only just make rice just by growing rice. In my country we use corn to grow a special kind of rice called “cuzcuz”. Also people mostly purchase rice from the states mostly because of the taste.

Thank you to Matt M. for revision help.

Ryan S's Essay

2007-01-10T21:50:00.000-05:00

Question- What does it take to have a successful, culturally based restaurant in a city like Boston?

It takes a lot to make a successful, culturally based restaurant in a big city like Boston. You first need to figure out the type of restaurant you would like to be. It is much easier if you are of that culture. For example if you are Italian you should open an Italian restaurant. It takes more than just having good food to make the business successful. The owner must be good with their customers and have good financial books.
The food is what calls the people to the restaurant. If the person is born from that country usually most of the time they will have good authentic food. When you are from that country you know what it is like to make a good business in their country where the competition is high because they are surrounded by the same foods. When they open their own restaurant in Boston there will be less competition for that type of food and it will be easier to make a profit.
When a restaurant has good food people would also like to have a fitting price and sit in a nice place. The conditions of the restaurant must be clean and it usually helps if the place is decorative. When the food police come around and a restaurant is in bad conditions and not in a safe environment, they can close down the restaurant until it becomes improved. The easiest way to avoid from getting shut down is to clean up after every days work and never get lazy in the restaurant.
Usually if a person would like to start a restaurant of their culture they will not start off in a huge sit down area. They will start small in a little place until they get the recognition and then move on up to a bigger place. The location of where your restaurant is, is also extremely important. If the restaurant is in a dump of an area people will not be attracted to going there. However, if it is in a nice area people will become more attracted to it and go more often.
Restaurants can be extremely tough to design and own in Boston, but they are possible for people if they have a set plan. Although the one Mexican place that we visited in Cambridge was small it was one of the best Mexican restaurants I have ever eaten at. That little Mexican restaurant was better then some of the big chain restaurants. The experience that the food group had on JUA was a great way to understand the different topics food can bring up. I Based this paper off the questions I asked at every restaurant we ate at. Almost every employee that I asked said that you must work your way from the bottom to the top and it takes a lot o hard work. But with the right plan it can happen.

Orion O's Essay

2007-01-10T21:49:00.001-05:00

The question I chose to answer was “How do the ingredients in American foods differ from the ingredients in foreign countries”. After conducting thorough research on the trip, I have come to the conclusion that the ingredients differ to some extent. I was able to gather information on Asian, Middle Eastern, and South American foods. Although all of these cultures are very different, they use some of the same ingredients.
The first culture I looked into was Asian. I saw many different herbs that they used in a variety of foods. Some of these herbs include a betel leaf, Chinese chives, and laksa leafs. A betel leaf is used to wrap certain meats. It’s a little something to hold the beef in while you eat it with your hands. Some people also use the betel leaf as a type of chewing gum. Chinese chives are almost a substitute for garlic. They have a garlicky flavor to them. Laksa leafs are leafs that contain a minty slash peppery flavor. Some people use this leaf to sprinkle over their tea or soup. There are many other herbs that I haven’t mentioned but those were just some of the essentials.
The next culture I dared to explore was the middle-eastern area. I found some strange but oddly enough interesting ingredients in the Middle Eastern area. The first ingredient that caught my eye was the chickpea. The chickpea has many uses in the food world. It can be tossed into a salad or can be eaten like a snack. They are also used in bigger meals, like some of there traditional dishes. Another odd ingredient I found was cumin. Cumin is a seed that can be used to sweeten foods. It can also be used on tacos or to flavor meats. One of the last herbs I found was thyme. Although thyme is used in a variety of different cultures, it plays a big part in the Arabic dishes.
Thyme can be used to throw into soups, rice, meats, and many other foods. It gives foods a spicy slash bitter taste.
The last culture I spent time researching was the South American area. Most of these ingredients are used in a lot of dishes, but some of them originated in placeSouth America. To try and list al of them would be impossible, so I will only give you the most popular. The first is guacamole. Guacamole might be the most popular of the ingrediants. One of the main uses of guacamole is for dipping chips. There are so many differnt types of herbs and spicesw to explore thtat it would be impossible for me to tell u about all of them. I hope u enjoyed my report, and please visit our blog.

Tilman S's Essay

2007-01-10T21:49:00.000-05:00

How do the routines and/or manners observed in an ethnic restaurant represent the given culture?
I will observe the employees and diners for routines/ rituals of the culture.

In December the whole junior class of new Hampton school went down to Boston as part of a program its called junior urban adventure, JUA. I was in a group called food, my goal was to visit different restaurants to observe how employees and customers. I wanted to know how these restaurants showed typical cultural rituals of the ethnic restaurant it represented the culture of its food. For example I visited an Irish, Chinese, Mexican and Thai restaurants.
Most of the restaurants were really more American than ethnic except for the Irish pub, which were very Irish there.
At the restaurant Sólás, were we was for lunch, was everything very rustically, Irish music, good Irish food and it looked like that you are really in Ireland. The food was really good for the low price and the service too. It was a really nice restaurant.
Our first breakfast was at a Mexican restaurant Boloco. They made really good wraps, a little bit spicy. The restaurant looks like a little bit that they want to look like a Mexican restaurant, but it wasn’t like that, but they played Mexican music. It looks like a typical fast-food restaurant.
The china restaurant were we eat was not really nice. It was really Chinese, but I really didn’t like that there. I tried some food, but I really don’t like the Chinese food and there was real to much people in the restaurant.
Every restaurant were we was, without Sólás, was pretty cheap and the most didn’t really care about how it looks in the restaurant, clean was it.
I think the reason is why they don’t care how it looks like there was, that the food was pretty cheap but good. I liked that, without the Chinese.
Overall it was a wonderful trip, I learned a lot and I was lucky to have the experience of eating all different types of food in a new city to me.

Robert B's Essay

2007-01-10T21:47:00.000-05:00

My group for the Junior Urban Adventure was food. Our assignment was to start out by planning where we would be eating our meals all over Boston, and each restaurant a different ethnicity. We planned it out a few days before we left; part of the experience was getting from one part of Boston to the other by subway. It did get very confusing at times but after hoping a few gates we eventually got to where we needed to go. My essential question for the JUA was “Is it true that the food portions are bigger in America then that in other countries, and if so why is this”. I asked this at most of the resultants that we went to and almost every time the answer was yes the portions are bigger. Although the Chinese restaurant we went to on the last day for lunch had a lot of food. It was dim sum which is when the waiter pushes around carts of little plates of food and you can take off what ever you want and eat as much as you want. This is a long standing tradition in china and is still carried on today.
The night before we went to an American restaurant for dessert and the size of the brownie sundaes amazed me. They where the biggest brownies I have ever seen and four of them could have fed our whole group. I learned a lot on this trip that I didn't know before and saw a lot of really cool and different things. One of the coolest things I saw and learned about on this trip was the Chinese culture. Although I didn't agree with a lot of the stuff they eat its amazing that they are known for loving the longest in the world. We went into China town and saw them selling fried ducks hanging in every other window and live chickens in some others. We also went into a market and saw that they eat pig liver, cow stomach, chicken tongue, chicken feet and every fish and seafood you can imagine.

Chinese Markets

2006-12-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

While in the north end today we explored several different markets.
Each market contained several interesting food items. In an Asian market we saw live eels and fish that were about 2 and a half feet long. We also saw packs of duck tongues, a pack of chicken feet and a goat head. We stopped by a spice market and saw many different spices and herbs. Although we weren’t able to identify any of them they looked pretty weird. All in all it was fun to see foods from a different culture.

China Pearl

2006-12-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

WHO: We were served by asian waiters who spilled tea on us and gave us many little plates of chinese food.
WHAT: It was a restaurant with no menus, only many carts of various chinese foods circulating in a big room going from table to table serving what people pick off the carts.
WHEN: We did this on Tuesday for lunch.
WHY: We went to this chinese food restaurant because we needed some different cultural foods to eat other than American and we were in Chinatown.
WHERE: We ate at the China Pearl in Chinatown.

Zenna's Noodle Bar

2006-12-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

WHO: Mike Lyon, Fabio, Ben, Kelsey and Patrick went to Zennna Noodle Bar. All the servers at the restaurant were from Thailand, but the owner was from Vietnam. This was why the restaurant served a mixture of Thai and Viatnamese food.

WHAT: A Thai and Viatnamese restaurant. Most of the dishese consisted of noodles and rice. It was called a nooodle bar. The restaurant was decorated with Asian decorations including Asian symbols. It was pretty fancy but also affordable.

WHERE: Brookline, Mass. near Coolidge Corner.

WHEN: Monday, December 11, 2006 at approxiamately eighteen hundred hours.

WHY: We didn't want to go to the Mexican restaurant, so we decided to go and try something different down the road. We hadn't tried Asian food yet, and this place looked really nice, so we decided to go.

Name That Food

2006-12-11T17:19:00.000-05:00

WHO: Our whole group
WHAT: We were given three dishes and 4 menus; then we were asked to determine the restaurant or origin and the menu items given.
WHEN: Afternoon snack
WHERE: The Youth Hostel
WHY: As a group we have not been adventuresome to date...we ate Vegetable Platter which included assorted vegetable pakoras, samosas, tikki, and cheese pakoras; Non-vegetable Platter included a unique combination of meat somosas, chicken tikka, lamb cabob, and chicken pakoras.

Lunch: Solas--an Irish Pub

2006-12-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

Who: Everyone in the group went. Some people tried fish and chips, shepard's pie, and beef stew.

What: We learned there were many American dishes and very few Irish dishes. Our waitress was a lady with an Irish accent, but she didn't appear to be Irish.

Where: Solas restaurant which was attached to the Lenox Hotel.

When: Monday afternoon for lunch.

Why: To understand the difference in the foods in different cultures. For this meal we were experiencing the difference of the Irish food and their culture

Breakfast in Harvard Square

2006-12-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

WHO: Mike Lyon interviewed one of the servers and she was from Cape Verde (where Fabio is from!!) He found that most of the servers were Hispanic and proceeded to ask questions to answer his essential question which concerns what spices are used in different types of cooking and how they differ on a global scale. He found that the spices in the salsa in the burrito's were oregono, cajun spices, thyme and black pepper;
WHAT: Boloco Restaurant;Inspired Burritos
WHERE: Harvard Square
WHY: We were hungry; no other restaurant was open; it appeared to represent one of the cultures we hoped to study.

http://www.boloco.com/

Afternoon Pix, video to come!

2006-12-11T15:36:00.000-05:00

Breakfast at Boloco!

2006-12-11T08:39:00.000-05:00

Research: who.what.where.how.why

2006-12-10T14:06:00.000-05:00

The food group researched each type of food to be sampled in Boston. Comments were then made to this post with links to the websites used; each entry includes a comment describing the content of the website .

??Essential Question??

2006-12-10T14:02:00.001-05:00

Assignment: What is your essential question? How are you going to answer it?

Picking our Restaurant

2006-12-10T13:24:00.000-05:00

Assignment: To plan which restaurants we are going to, that have meals for under $10 and are a type of food you want to learn about.

What We Know, What We Want to Learn & Essential Questions

2006-12-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

Here are the rough drafts of most of the Essential Questions....click on the picture to view it as a larger image.

2006-11-05T12:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome food group! Are you hungry?

Using this book, the food group will to delve into the different ethnic neighborhoods around Boston. There are 13 diverse neighborhoods to 'taste'. We will 'taste' not only with our mouths, but with our eyes, ears, noses and hands. We will visit markets, interview vendors, compare different structures and truly 'taste' each area. We will research the diversity of the city and the clash of immigrant cultures in one of the gateways to America: Boston. As a group, our goal will be to look into the melting pot, and define: What is American? So, you, as members of this group, will 'walk a little, nosh a little, and immerse yourself in Boston as you never knew it."(taken from back cover)

We will use this blog as a resource throughout the JUA process. This is an open forum for discussion, questions and comments. Furthermore, it will help us to share information with each other, and the rest of the 'world-wide-web'.