The Science Spice

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What Good is Food?

No matter how old you are, where you come from, or what you do every day, one thing is the same for all of us. We all eat food.

I realize it sounds obvious, but I do believe that food is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and also something we all get to share. More than that, food represents so many things in our society. Food is a science, but it is also an art. Food is a necessity, but it is also a luxury. How many things can claim to be all that?

I think we often see food in one of two ways. On one hand it is very easy to forget the importance of food. We reduce our day-to-day meals – our source of life and energy – into a quick second thought. A lot of us don’t really care where we get our food, how they are being made, or even what we eat. Food is sometimes as simple as getting our fuel for the day, just enough to stay out of hunger because it is a physiological necessity.

On the other hand, food can be overvalued sometimes. I mean that certain foods have become tourist attractions and even trends nowadays. Of course, I’m not against this – at all. I love going on culinary tours, trying out new restaurants every week (I am currently living in LA, so this is a must), and proudly jumping on the Boba bandwagon. But we often take the aesthetic part of food so much that we leave behind the rest. We forget to feed our bodies the right way. Overall, I think we see food as one of those two things depending on the day or time. But rarely do we appreciate food as the unique mix of these things.

So what good is food? And what food is good?

These are questions that cannot be answered the same way for everyone. Food means many things to many people. Food also takes on different forms in different cultures. But I think that everyone would agree if I said that good food should keep us healthy, both physically and emotionally. It should be the best way to promote health: it’s one of the things we do the most every day!

I come from a family who sits down at the dinner table together almost every night. I think it is a privilege that more people must try and experience. To me, food means fellowship. If there is something worth enjoying, it’s worth enjoying together. So, of all foods in the world, I have a very strong preference towards home-cooked meals, where “made with love” isn’t just a cliché, because we can truly eat for the nourishment of our bodies and minds.

Unfortunately, that’s not where I am at the moment. I am currently living outside of home, studying biochemistry at university. This is, of course, largely because I want to know more about health and similarly how we can improve it through food. I enjoy looking deeper to understand biomolecules: the very things that make up our food – and us! Right now I am pursuing knowledge of food and health through chemistry and biology, but I know that someday my new knowledge will be served around the dinner table on our plates and in our conversations.

I don’t know much about food or nutrition, and neither am I the most fit and healthy person (even within my family!) But I do love to read and think about all these things, especially since they are things that I believe everyone should know a bit about. And, just like everyone else, I have firsthand experience with eating food (three times a day!) as well as a bit of reading and cooking on the side. At least there is something I can share there.

If we all had a simple, leisurely way to learn and appreciate food, I think we all would love it. So that is why I wanted to start a small collection of my thoughts and suggestions about food, inspired by many different, daily things. Just some science, opinions, and personal experiences. My writings may not be professional or medically advised, but I hope that they are at least relatable and sensible. As you know, I am no nutritionist, but at the end of the day, it isn’t them who eat our meals. It’s my food and yours. So let’s enjoy it.

Portraits and Proteins

If there was one unexpected thing I learnt from studying science, it is that science isn’t everything.

Of course, I expected my time in college to give me more knowledge on biology and biochemistry – which I certainly did. Maybe a little math and other things as well. But my most important lesson was that living life is as important as understanding it.

I had one Professor who really was as great a speaker as he was a scientist. In our first lecture, he started a talk about how proteins were modified in our bodies. I opened my notebook excitedly to jot down mechanisms, equations, and reactions. But the first thing he showed us was a painting of Venus out of her shell by Botticelli (like a naked protein out of its ribosomal crib!)

After dwelling on the painting for a bit, the next slide was – to my surprise – a portrait of Elizabeth the First in a magnificent costume, like decorations on a protein. As he recounted more stories of Elizabeth, flipping through more paintings and depictions of her, I found myself wondering if I needed or wanted to know this. I thought that this class was for a serious, determined student who was keen on science – and here I am getting a podcast on art and history?

This was something I had thought often, even in high school. Learning the basic cell theory, for example, came with the history behind it, which (at the time) I could not care less about. Why do I need to know this? Even someone who was forced into biology class could understand this. I was interested in the things only “real” scientists cared about!

But indeed I found that the real scientists – who I expected to talk only of matter’s presence and matters present – they were so well-versed in stories and people. The finest minds appreciate history, news, books and music surprisingly much more than a young and aspiring student like myself. They could talk of journalists and historical figures with just as much passion as for a thesis or presentation.

In fact, learning about the people behind in the science world is not just memorization, it is inspiration: regular people like myself trying unexpected things to find something new. Sometimes it was a stroke of luck while other times it was pure determination. And how about dissecting scientific breakthroughs in the news? News of that sort are sensational, and for that reason very often misleading. How often do we stop to think about the people writing the things we read?

And here I thought I was smart if I understood only science.

Although it can change the world, science is really more like a spice. It gives new flavors and perspectives to the world around us and we should absolutely go deeper to understand it. But lest we focus only on it and miss too many things around us – it should never replace the experience of living.

A Spoonful of Spices

In my last post, I risked appeasing the inner carnivores within many of us. I’m sure nothing sounds more comforting to hear than sharing a whole, delicious centerpiece of meat. One of the things that I thought made a meat centerpiece so natural is that we are not wasting any part of the animal, and moreover, each part is beneficial to our nutrition in some way. It turns out, the same thing applies to another family of delicious foods – plants.

If foods made of animals have shaped celebrations and parties around the world, then plants have shaped global history itself. During the height of European reign in the first millennium, it was spices and herbs – the parts of plants – that caused wars and controlled economies. My country Indonesia was once known as the Spice Islands, gifted with such an abundance of exotic plants with remedial, medicinal and aromatic uses that attracted the world over. Even in ancient times, people knew the value of spices and herbs as foods and commodities.

Spices and herbs are everywhere – not just in certain places in the world. Eastern countries flourish with spices such as turmeric, nutmeg and cinnamon, imparting strong and pungent aromas that strengthen the taste of sweet and savory. Western countries, on the other hand, have herbs like basil, thyme and rosemary that taste more earthy. Not only are they found in various places around the world, they are also abundant in a variety of parts that make up the plant. A lot of spices come from the bark, roots or seeds of a plant, while most herbs come from leaves.

If that does not speak variety enough, you might be surprised at the diversity of organic compounds that these spices are most prized for. Plants must protect itself from death and decay, and one way it does so is by producing antioxidants, which turn out to be our natural medicines! Some of the most well-known antioxidants are capsaicin, which makes peppers hot, or curcumin, which stains turmeric with a deep golden hue. And these are just two of the many thousands of compounds that protect us from chemical damage but also make foods flavorful and appetizing.

My personal favorite spice is ginger. Coming from a family that loves to cook Chinese food, we used ginger all the time for stir-fries, soups or marinades. But you can find it nowadays in many new forms and flavors. I love having a refreshing carrot and apple juice with a splash of ginger – my mother’s special. Some ginger gives sweetness and heat that will keep you feeling warm on a cold day, or equally refreshed on a hot summer day. Try combining spices in a new way, depending on your mood!

The Centerpiece

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It was a cold and dry evening at the Joshua Tree. The first day of the retreat was filled with music and games, but the real event began when my friends and I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner. The large, delicious-looking turkey – which frankly I have only heard of in movies – was really right in front of me this time. What a great way to spend my first Thanksgiving weekend in the United States. It was a cheerful and comforting time with a memorable dinner that was evocative of tradition and family.

It made me reminisce family dinners back home, especially during Chinese New Year. When we had occasions like these, the main event of the night was usually a large piece of meat that was to be shared by everyone. Of course, it is not just my family, but each culture that has their own versions of this celebratory centerpiece – whether it is a spicy smoked fish, slow roasted meat, or a barbecue.

I find it symbolic and fundamental for us as social beings to share food. When everyone is taking a part of the same food, it quite literally means that everyone is taking part in the gathering. Sharing not just time but also the meal itself shows trust, kindness and hospitality. Even the prodigal son was welcomed with a fattened calf!

Also, virtually nothing goes to waste when the centerpiece is consumed by each person. Every part of the food can be enjoyed when eaten whole. This is interestingly consistent with how plants and animals can give us nutrition – each part of the living being stores a different collection of nutrients and amount of energy, so eating the food in its wholeness also shows appreciation for the diversity within a single being. To me, this again symbolizes the reason for our social gatherings.

Most meals on a daily basis admittedly fall short of the whole thing. Processed meats especially reflect this loss in quality. They are nowhere near the whole food that gave rise to it. Although they may be the practical solution for a busy day, we cannot deny that they are clearly not feast-worthy.

When we do get to celebrate, however, it is freshness and the unique mixture of tastes and textures that we all want. Whatever culture or dietary habit you have, a celebration will always call for a whole food that is nutritious and available for all to enjoy.

Eat Before You Eat

How do you eat?

Maybe with a knife, or maybe a spoon. Maybe while conversing with your family, or at other times alone. Maybe it is a quick bite, or while sitting down to an hourlong feast. What unites each one of us anyway is that we eat to be filled.

Every person eats essentially with their stomach to keep the body running. But maybe there is a time – perhaps just once a week – when we can sit down a little longer before we eat to appreciate what is in front of us. And during that time, we should try to eat with all our senses, enjoying the many ways that food enriches us before letting our stomach finish the work.

Eat with your eyes. You’ve probably heard of this expression, although today it is probably more appropriate to say “Eat with your Lenses (Whether Yours or your Phone’s)”. But it is indeed so intriguing to see all the varieties of foods that you may never even have heard of. How can a large, spiky (and smelly) fruit be just as much a food as, say, a thin slivers of pasta dough or a block of soy? What a beautiful mystery. Food doesn’t even have to be plated methodically or arranged artistically – the many colors, shapes and sizes of countless foods in the world can paint their own picture!

Eat with your nose. Remember that every particle of food that tickles our nose comes from a molecule of life. A slice of marbled beef smells great, and in a very different way from the earthy smell of honey. A sprig of thyme is aromatic but clearly not the same as a clove of garlic. Smell the food and see if you recognize the different aromas – there are so many that they cannot even be described with words! Remember that these delicious smells of organic compounds come from real and living sources, once fixated in a plant or an animal, and is now prepared for you to enjoy.

Eat with your ears. Think about the way your food was cooked, and perhaps even the rhythmical progression you may have heard. Did you hear a sizzling or a searing, maybe a bubbling of boiling water? Maybe it even crunches or crisps as it enters your mouth. Cooking and preparing food is harmonious – it is a symphony of chemical reactions and physical changes that you can observe and enjoy with your ears. It is science in action: among the most simple, yet most important in our everyday lives.

Eat with your hands. If you have tried to cook meat, you would know what it means to feel and judge the quality of a food by the spring of its touch. Or maybe you love to shop for fruits, and you would know as well that a squeeze or a tap can tell you which ones to take and which to avoid. Feel the texture of the food – only when you experience the touch of heat or coolness, lightness or thickness of a food can you appreciate its freshness. And there is clearly no substitute for freshness when it comes to quality.

Eat with your tongue. Isn’t it amazing that we can taste so much with so little tastes? Most people today know that there are five basic tastes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami – but no one person masters even a fraction of the numerous ways to combine these tastes! Consider our taste buds, commanding the different areas of the tongue and lighting up when encountering specific flavors. There are thousands of delights we can enjoy by trying new foods, new cultures, new cuisines – all by delicately tweaking the balance of tastes.

Eat with your heart. How can all these things come from such a simple thing as food? Isn’t it simply amazing that foods, even made in any way, can be an experience for your senses all while nourishing your body? Thus, the most important thing before you eat: don’t forget to say grace for your food and thanks for the hands that have prepared them.

“Anyone Can Cook.”

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Really, Gusteau?

(If you haven’t watched Ratatouille, go ahead and do this right now!)

Remy, a rat who is ironically the protagonist of Ratatouille‘s culinary journey, learns that to be a cook, he must make. And to make food, he comes to realize, is fundamentally human. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma highlights one philosophy behind why we cook. As humans become a more civilized and social group of people, cooking represents a transition from nature into culture, from survival to health, from necessity to choice. In other words, no animal can cook. But we humans do.

Humans don’t just survive; they discover, they create.
Remy, Ratatouille (2007)

In cooking, we not only have the direct responsibility, but also the chance to experience the many joys of what we consume. It is a culture that only humans have developed, with benefits we stand to lose if we forget that anyone can cook.

“A thief takes. A cook makes,” says Gusteau. But why is making better than taking? That is, even if anyone can cook, why should anyone cook?

When we take, we often take what nobody wants. We pay no attention to what we stuff ourselves with. We trade the nutritional value of cooked foods for a couple of minutes we end up not wanting anyways. And we often get something that was not made with our benefits in mind, but rather those of the industry.
When we take, we often take in what we see and hear at face value. Whether they come from advertisements and recommendations, all the same. While we have the opportunity for an endless variety of foods to our liking, we simply take what others say are good, without knowing their stories and perspectives. We are reluctant to have what is best for us if taking seems easier.
But maybe the worst thing is when we take away the privilege and benefit we get from creating: the art of choosing the freshest and healthiest produce, the excitement of trying something new, the precious time spent cooking together, the learning experience regardless of success or failure, and no doubt, the stories that we can share.

Have we been thieves to ourselves?

Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.
Auguste Gusteau, Ratatouille (2007)

When we tell ourselves that we can cook, we show the very courage that makes us human. The process of creating itself is a journey worth being a part of. What we take becomes all the more meaningful if we make it ourselves, because we can choose what is best and take pride in what we earned.

Truthfully, not anyone can chef, unless maybe you are an (un)lucky rat who found himself in the heat of a professional kitchen. But certainly anyone can cook, by virtue of the fact that you are a creative human being, blessed with the comfort of your own home.

Enter the Crave

I’ve always been a fan of the idea that you should like what you eat. Even as babies, we have a natural instinct and preference for certain foods. But recently there’s a particular word – a much stronger one – that we sometimes use to describe liking food: craving. And I personally don’t think that they’re the same.

In my experience, it seems that craving is more common than just liking. I’ve heard of all sorts of cravings. Chips, chocolate, bubble tea, you name it. I certainly know by experience what it feels like to crave. It becomes my first thought on a Saturday morning, unfortunately. The super-famous Indomie, the fried noodle from Indonesia gaining popularity everywhere – that’s my weakness. As I finish the final bits, only guilt could stop me from devouring yet another one, at least for another week.

There’s something up with foods that can do that to you. In particular, the fact that they come so fast and easy. It just seems so convenient to have a delicious meal (which, by the way, I’ve thought about all week) literally in under five minutes.

Here’s a thought: ever heard of a craving for baked potatoes? I haven’t. But I’ve definitely heard of cravings for French fries, hot and greasy, straight out of the drive-through. Everyone knows what fast foods are, and if you are reading this you have certainly tried it, maybe even on a regular basis. But it turns out, there are a lot more “fast foods” than the classic examples we always think of. Why? To answer that question, well, what is so fast about fast food anyways? Is it cooked quickly? Served quickly? Eaten quickly?

While all of these are true, let’s look deeper – I mean literally – into the human body. Where the fast truly begins is the moment we digest and reap the (momentary) benefits of a sugar or fat rush. Our bodies have learnt to love high-calorie sugars and fats because they are energy dense. But highly processed foods, in particular, are used up as quickly as they are taken in, and the body needs more fast to keep us in that state.

When we increasingly speed up the process, we start to depend on more of it, and more frequently. No wonder the need for speed propagates to restaurants and industries that want us to constantly feel this way. And not just that, these foods may even be the “practical” food products harmlessly sitting in your freezer until they are fried to perfection. Enter the crave.

Maybe we need to hit the brake, take a break, break the cycle. Let’s appreciate time at the most fundamental level, from selecting foods that take time to be grown, to taking the time to plan meals and cook your own foods. Potatoes and vegetable roasts and stews are some great examples – they need extra time to be grown, prepared, cooked and digested. I have no doubt you will learn to like these foods, but – unlike the fast-acting, fast-depleting foods – over time and patience.

For me, I’m still a big fan of my instant noodles of course, but I now try to eat it as a side to some better stuff: beansprouts, bokchoy, eggs, maybe cabbage on other days. And let me tell you, they have definitely won me over. The noodles are a little treat aside the full meal of better, slower foods – foods to be liked without the need to be craved.

My favorite noodles – a bit of a healthier variety, though.

And remember, don’t defeat your own purpose by expecting results fast. That is the fast food way of thinking. Growth and improvement take time, as our bodies and minds would agree.

How is Food an Art?

If you think about it, most artworks are created only once. For example, the very famous painting of Mona Lisa was conceived once and painted once. Any other portraits of a woman sitting with a book, smiling in such a characteristic way, can no longer be called unique as they might be if the Mona Lisa was never painted.

A song – a beautiful composition of notes, rhythms, lyrics and instruments – is also an original piece of art. There may be endless covers, remixes, remasters and versions of a particular song, but the unique melodic combination that we call a song is created only once and attributed to one particular songwriter or songwriters. The same goes for literature: so many play and novels, but only one playwright; one author.

Food, on the other hand, is nearly the exact opposite of these art types. I would say that there are a limited number of foods in this world. Yes, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of foods, but at a certain point, people will (or perhaps, have?) stop inventing new foods. For the most part we simply don’t discover new species of plants and animals to serve on our plates in the same way that we paint or write about an endless number of subject matters. Most forms of media can be as abstract as they want to be. Our food cannot – they must be edible and hopefully delicious.

But this is in fact something great about food! I am thankful that many years ago some person learnt how to cook my favorite foods, who undoubtedly learnt it from another person, which continues to go up until, well, who knows when. The essence of food – that is, the recipes and ingredients – are an important part of every culture as they are passed down from generation to generation. And indeed I am happy they have mostly stayed the same.

But then where is the creativity in food, when we seemingly know all we need to already? Well, there are always new creations – unique ways to combine, prepare and serve the same foods we have known since we were children. There may be limited foods in the world, but I am sure there are unlimited interpretations of that one food. Here’s a great example I love – noodles. I’ve never had two different bowls of noodles that taste the same, and yet I can’t say which one is definitely my favorite. Each minuscule touch that elevates or emphasizes a different aspect of a specific dish makes noodles unique in its own special way. I love Korean ramyun, Japanese ramen and Chinese lamian: each a different interpretation of one food that have become entirely new creations.

I think food is art in a very unique way. Other types of art have unlimited forms but a limited number of interpretations before they lose their values. But with food – there are limited forms yet unlimited interpretations.

I’ll leave with this thought – food is probably the one art form that we also require to survive. It is the only art form that we can enjoy and consume only once, then never to be seen again. Doesn’t that give us the chance to try something new every day, improving, refining and creating our art each day?

Information is Power

The next big enemy has a name now.

Covid-19, or what most people just call coronavirus, puts us all in the middle of another time when knowledge of science and health can really shine.

I’m fortunate to know a (very) little bit about how viruses work and why it seems like stopping them is so hard – at least for now. This coronavirus is actually not the first coronavirus – as many know, it is the younger brother in the coronavirus family. Many years ago, a similar virus called SARS broke out, and this new outbreak is a mutation of that virus. Being so unstable, viruses are almost made to mutate, and every so often these strains become a problem for us.

Viruses are surprisingly just pieces of information: this one, in particular, is made of a material called RNA (which even we humans use to make proteins!). But while we are made of many machines and environments, viruses are just these seemingly harmless, lifeless codes of information. Unfortunately, these little codes are smart enough to trick human cells into being reprogrammed. As they don’t have their own machines, viruses like using humans as their hosts. This is why viruses are different from bacteria and also a little difficult to defeat – we need to defeat our own cells that have become hosts for the enemy. Pretty fascinating, if they weren’t so deadly!

Every day I hear about how the number of infected people are growing and of course, is getting worse. Although this is extremely bad news, it is at least worth realizing that viruses are “expected” to infect people at an exponential rate. In other words, the more people that are infected, the faster they spread. All this to say that we shouldn’t have extreme fear and panic but instead exercise caution and carefulness.

So is there anything that we can do to protect ourselves? We do, and better yet, a large part of this protection comes innately from within us. Every day our bodies are battling all sorts of pathogens. This virus is just one of them. Yes, it is a little more difficult to beat because it is a new enemy. Nonetheless, our immune system is the one responsible for neutralizing the threat before too much of it takes over our cells and we become sick.

At a time when health is critical, it is best for us to strengthen our immune system the best we can, because for now it is the only defense that we have against it. Since this is a food blog, I think one thing we can take from this alarming period is a heightened awareness for healthy eating. Our immune system would benefit from taking in more fruits and vegetables – nature’s gifts – to beat nature’s weapons. These fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, the precursors to many important defenses that our immune system needs.

In this tide of war we need to use their own weapons against them. They may attack us with deadly viral information. We need to attack back with our own information: knowledge of science, healthy eating and hygiene, that can counter these attacks.

Like they say, information is power.

Microscopic Marvels

Inside our bodies there is an entire world of systems and organs and cells.

Inside one of these particular systems – the digestive system – there exists another fascinating world of its own.

Countless communities of microscopic beings live within the tiny world we call the gut. We know this today as the microbiome. I am sure most people these days are aware of these “good” bacteria that live in our bodies aside from the “bad” bacteria. I remember my school days when my parents would pack me some medicine before I left for retreats (thanks Mom and Dad!). One medicine I always relied on was called Lactobacillus Acidophilus. I did not know back then that one of those little pills contained billions of bacteria. It might sound horrific, but there was no question that it worked wonders to save my stomach when things were getting rough down there.

The study of the microbiome is a relatively new field of biology that is growing and becoming more interesting by the day. In short, the microbiome is simply the combination of the gut environment and the many species living in it (mostly bacteria) that are alive and active, helping us to fulfill our needs.

It might come as a surprise that there are actually far more bacterial cells than our own cells living within our body – about 10 times as many! While they may seem like parasites, they are quite the opposite. Living inside us from before we were born, they are practically our best friends. They fight off bacteria and disease risks that will harm us. They help us to digest foods. They even create chemicals that affect our moods and behavior. You might even call the microbiome an organ of your own!

Like any other organ, it is living and needs nourishment. In fact, the better we take care of it, the better it takes care of us. Knowing this motivates me – and hopefully you too – to eat with an awareness of what is going on inside our bodies, though what ‘healthy’ food is remains a difficult topic. However, it is probably well agreed upon that diverse, raw foods are especially effective in developing the microbiome.

We talk a lot about personalized medicine and the possibilities it may bring for the future. We all want to have our own, customizable brand of medicine that understands our bodies’ needs. I think the microbiome is exactly that – and it even comes free of charge! It is a medicine that truly understands us from before we were born. It is basically a part of us. To me, the microbiome is the best preventative, personalized medicine there is.

It only comes with one condition – that we must take care of it.

~~~

I wrote this post mainly from a physiology class that I took with the amazing Dr. Elaine Hsiao as well as the inspiring talks posted on her website. They really opened my mind to the world around me and the world within me.

As she says: we don’t just live in a microbial world – we are a microbial world.

A Taste of Jazz

I had the privilege of visiting New Orleans this past Thanksgiving break. Even though I didn’t know what to expect, there were two things that I have heard about the famous American city – there was food, and there was jazz. I love music myself, maybe almost as much as I love food. But what’s interesting is I got to experience jazz not only in the music but in the food and the people during my trip to New Orleans.

We made a stop one afternoon for some hot chocolate and beignets in Café Du Monde, a place I’ve heard people call the world’s best beignets. To be honest, that was the first time I’ve heard of beignets. I found out that it was much like a donut, but it was a little more crunchy, a little dense, and had no holes. It did taste good, if not a little bit familiar.

I also learned of a coffee specialty around New Orleans – the café au lait, which I didn’t actually get to try myself. A friend of mine ordered the café au lait wherever we went throughout the trip. When I asked her what made it so good, she told me she didn’t even know what it was. After a while, we figured out that it was simply half coffee and half milk.

**Beignets and Cafe au Lait – Cafe Beignet**
*photo credit: Bella J Starlin*

So far I was still waiting for this so-called New Orleans food.

We tried some other foods over the next few days – in fact, that was pretty much all we did. I tried an oyster spinach dip, a crawfish mac and cheese. I also had some wood-fired shrimp as well as a grilled fish. They were all really delicious – and I enjoyed trying all of them – but where is the new, authentic food I went all the way here for?

**Oyster and Spinach Dip –** **Cafe Amelie**
*photo credit: Bella J Starlin*

I couldn’t believe that we decided to eat at Popeye’s for the final night. Popeye’s – an affordable, simple fast food chain that I’m sure a lot of people around the world would recognize. I got a chicken sandwich and a piece of fried chicken over biscuits and gravy, thinking: why Popeye’s in New Orleans, when I can try it anywhere else? Why didn’t we try to explore some more?

But then I bit in the chicken and slowly realized that this was indeed, the juiciest, tastiest fried chicken I had the entire trip. It is rightly called a Louisiana Kitchen. In fact, I really did love all the food that I have had in New Orleans, no matter if it was familiar to me or not.

I guess that realization finally hit me when, back in LA, I started looking at the photos and videos of the trip. Sure, I did get to try a few interesting new foods – alligator, for example. I very much enjoyed that experience which I couldn’t get anywhere else. It was new and it was great.

But if I were to be honest, I very much enjoyed the simple foods too – probably more so. They were comfort foods with little twists that were unique to New Orleans. Beignets may be just donuts, café au lait may be just lattes, and wood-fired shrimp may be just shrimp. But I certainly don’t remember them being just those foods – I remember how great they were, especially in the presence of amazing friends during an extraordinary trip.

Actually, that is what I think jazz is like too. Of course, jazz is full of improvisation, novelty and complexity. Those words work with musical notes just as well as they do with flavors and people. They are all things that spice up our lives, things to look forward to. But what I’ve taken out of the city of jazz is, underneath the many new things there is always something comforting in the familiar – the tried and true – whether it be singing a melody that everyone knows, eating a dish during Thanksgiving, or having an irreplaceable group of friends that does both.