Korean BBQ

The food culture in America, especially in larger cities like Philadelphia is so great. It is comprised of a blend of cuisines from all around the world. I used to be the person who stuck to what I knew. Wherever we went, I would order a chicken dish... like, I was THAT plain. Even though I am a Jamaican and we eat pretty peculiar dishes like pigstail, tripe and beef liver and kidney I would eat those things, but stay clear from everything else that was unfamiliar. Calamari?- no way! sushi?- definitely not! I think it was after I began dating Beau that I became a little more adventurous. So much so that I now crave sushi, and I am willing to try things like escargot when we go on super fancy dinner dates. 

I have tried many regional cuisines since we started dating, but one cuisine I have yet to try was Korean- specifically Korean barbecue.  After viewing a few Youtube videos with Korean foodfare (eg. clothesencounters), I decided I really wanted to try it. Hubs found us a deal to Miga in the Fairmount Park section of Philadelphia. We went on a Sunday evening and I was pretty excited to go. The menu was a little daunting because they did not have normal meats like beef or pork, they were listed as bulgogi and galbi -- and what actually is that?! We decided on the Korean bbq for two and had our ingredients mis en place in no time. 

We started out a little dainty, placing one or two meats and a few vegetables at a time. The waiter then came over and seized our utensils-- tongs and a pair of meat cutting scissors-- and threw a couple more things on the fire, chopped up the large pieces of beef into smaller ones and started brushing the sauces on. ------------I guess we weren't doing it right!! 😂--------------------- After that , we got a little more comfortable with how everything worked and made sure that guy did not have to come back again. We ate and were strangely satisfied, even though it didn't seem like a lot of food at the time.

Overall, it was a good experience. I can finally say that I tried Korean barbecue! But will I ever go back there again? Probably not to this specific locatio-- for two reasons only: (1) the portions of the sides seemed so meager. I'm talking like, ONE piece of bell pepper and a very sad 5 stalks of broccoli; and (2) I felt like it was missing something. Maybe the company of others friends/family, or maybe additional sides (like you see in googled images of Korean bbq). Whatever it was, I do believe our experience could have been a little better. I will probably eat these words in a couple years if  someone mentions going out for Korean barbecue and I end up going, but for now, it's up there with Hibachi, where the first time experience is fun and exciting, but it's not something you would want to do on a monthly basis. Maybe once a year or every six months so the experience and excitement is fresh again.

Have you ever dined at a Korean BBQ?

Article 13: Art Installation

The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts kicked off on Friday night with an eye-catching exhibit called Article 13 at Penn's Landing.  Here is a little blurb on the show/exhibition:

"Equal parts installation, spectacle, and documentary, Article 13 is a large-scale story made out of small stories in a constant state of evolution, based on current events related to immigration. A collaboration between Compagnie Carabosse (France) & Teatro Linea de Sombra (Mexico), Article 13 is a memorial to the thousands of migrants who have disappeared and at the same time it gives back human face, flesh and identity to the anonymous ones lost in search of a better world.

The memorial, made of sand and fire, personifies the scope of the phenomenon of immigration through the non-traditional presentation of statistical data, economic evidence, geopolitical aspects, the forms of those who have disappeared, and how things relate to each other. Along this path of inhabited installation, audiences are touched by words, snatches of conversation, and accounts given by migrants; providing seemingly lost perspective that these people — before they were statistics, or a number of 'disappeared' in the media, or even dangerous suspects — before all else, are human beings." (source)

Immediately after entering the gates to the outdoor exhibit, we saw these wooden statues 'walking' through bits of sand, surrounded by candles. Through the speakers, we could hear the voices of men and women with accents specific to the native lands telling their stories of wanting to make a better life for themselves-- having a dream and wanting to fulfill it. This resonated with me as I myself am an immigrant and the daughter of one. My mother told me stories of leaving Jamaica when I was 10 months and coming to America to make a better life for herself and her children. I am sure that most migrants share this story of hope and desire. This is also a relevant topic since immigration is such a hot button topic these days.

As we walked into the main exhibit, we were coming upon the finale (gahh! finding parking downtown is the worst!). Every section of the lot had a fire pit of some sort set up. The performers all had a routine that no one seemed to understand initially, but then it began making sense. They doused the clothing in water, slapped it on the fire pit, walked around and showed it to everyone, and then laid it down on the ground. I saw this as symbolism for those people who risked their lives trying to cross the waters-- trying to cross the borders, but they didn't quite make it. The performers made it a point to remember those people. It was not enough to remember those who have made it, but to also remember those who had similar dreams, but were not able to make it a reality.

    

The exhibit runs until tonight, April 10, 2016. It is completely free. If you are able to see it, then go.  It begins at 9pm.

Summer In the City

    

- Spruce Street Harbor Park +
Hispanic Festival - Penn's Landing (July 12, 2014)

Baby Robins

I was walking into our garage several weeks ago and found myself ducking from a string of twigs. I thought it odd that this white ribbon entwined with twigs was hanging from the door, so I looked up. Much to my surprise, I saw even more twigs stuffed in between the lights above the garage door. I instantly thought "those kids have stooped to a new low. Why on earth would they waste times stuffing our backyard lights with dirt and twigs?! Isn't stealing our recycling bin enough?!" (We have a middle school at a block away from where we live and those school kids are wild- to say the least.)

I grabbed a step-stool and my camera to get a closer look at the mess. I was shocked to see it wasn't a mess at all, but a neatly crafted nest. There were no eggs in it at the time. Beau wanted to take it down. The thought of an angry mama bird trying to keep her babies safe was not something he wanted to encounter. I pleaded with him that we keep it there. Afterall, she put such care into building it-- although it looked pretty rough on the outside, the inside was quite neat and smooth. Besides, we didn't know if she would actually lay her eggs there. She could have found a better location and decided to abandon that nest. That was my argument anyway, in an effort to have Beau agree to keeping the nest up (just in case). 

About a week or so later, Beau mentioned seeing a bird fly away when he went out to the back yard. I thought he was just paranoid, but then I saw the same thing when I was leaving for work one morning. So after work that day, I grabbed a chair and a camera and blindly (the chair/step-stool wasn't tall enough for me to look in) snapped a photo of the inside of the nest. When I viewed the photo, I was so excited to see four blue eggs laid side by side in the nest. They were so beautiful. I instantly fell in love and needless to say, Beau got even more nervous.

One week later, I decided to check on the eggs. My neighbors kids had a field day throwing balls around the day before and it made me a little anxious that they could have hurt the eggs. I snapped a couple photos and when I reviewed them, I saw two naked baby robins lying face down in the nest. I was even more in love.

Every few days after that, I would snap photos of the baby birds. Not every day, as to give mama and babies some time away from this crazy camera lady. Each time I shot photos of them, they got bigger and bigger and more feathered. Sometimes the sound of the camera shutter made them think I was mama bringing food, so they stretched their necks up and opened their mouths really wide. It was quite funny and a little mean.

One day, I went out to take a pic of them and they were fully feathered and practically bursting out of the nest. They were also less sleepy and more alert. That was my last photo of them. I went back just two days later and they were no longer there. To be honest, I felt a little sad. They were kind of like my non-human babies although I had no part in rearing or feeding them. I loved them nonetheless, and I am so happy that mama bird chose the lights above our garage door to build her nest and raise her babies.

 

Side notes:

** There were four eggs in the nest, but only 3 birds seemed to have survived. I'm not sure what happened to the other egg/chick, but I'm sure mama bird took care of it. She cleared the nest of all egg shells after each chick was fully hatched.

** You may be wondering how I was able to get such detailed photos of the baby birds--here's how...Each time I opened our back door, mama bird would be startled and fly away. She always perched herself on a tree limb close by, however, which allowed to her keep a watch of her babes. She never showed any signs of aggression... only on those few days after the chicks hatched. I couldn't get any good shots because the camera wouldn't focus (I think the chicks were moving around a lot) so I was out there taking photos longer than anticipated. Mama AND papa bird got a little antsy and would fly up to the door of my neighbor's house, flap their wings really hard, and then fly back to the tree limb. That was my cue to get the heck outta there. Other than that, I respected them and their babies, and they didn't try to peck me to death.