Wrapping Up in Mexico

[der meister 2,910]

               Ryuji Sakamoto is lying on his back on the floor, left knee steepled, right foot dangling. In his hands is a thick manga novel. His foot bounces in rhythm to a song only he can hear. Even though it's March, it's hot in the tiny apartment in Mexico City; a fan is inserted into the open window, circulating what passes for cool air on a day like today. It’s only been a few days since the Mexico City Kings tasted defeat in game seven of a hard-fought battle with the Houston Bulls, but Sakamoto seems to have moved on quickly, a fact that surprises me to no end. Sakamoto lets out an abrupt laugh and turns the page. From my angle, I see a black and white illustration of a buxom girl in a school uniform, blushing furiously. I hesitate to interrupt his reading – a very rare activity, indeed; in fact, he’s never read a single piece I’ve written about him – but I clear my throat and speak anyway.

 

               “I’m surprised you’re not more upset,” I say gently, trying to avoid the typical Ryuji Sakamoto loss of temper. “I would have thought you’d be spending all of your time at the gym, pounding on the speed bag or something like that.”

 

               “For real?” Sakamoto only looks away from the manga for a moment, giving me a wide-eyed expression. Turning back to the book, he says, “No way, man. We did what we could and almost made it. We lost in double overtime, beat them badly a few games, and we fell short. It’s not like it was life and death out there. We gave it everything we had, and we just couldn’t seal the deal, man. Besides, this is just phase one, you know? Next is Europe! I can’t believe I’m going to fly around the world. Japan to Mexico, Mexico to Europe, and then back home to Japan in the summers? That’s some wild shit.”

 

               Sakamoto brings up a good point. His next stop will be the VHLE draft, a profoundly different experience I’m sure. In all of my years doing these sorts of embedded assignments, I’ve never followed a player into the VHLE. Personally, I don’t care where he ends up, but I’m eager to sample some of the local delicacies in the various European cities that make up the league. Even as I’m writing this, I find myself salivating at the thought of a hot Bavarian pretzel in Köln, or a nice falafel pita in Istanbul. Ooh! Or some rösti and la croute au fromage in Geneva. I’m letting myself get carried away and force my attention back to my immediate surroundings.

 

               Glancing at the contented youth with a comical grin plastered on his face, reading his shōnen manga – somehow the buxom girl slipped in a bathhouse and found herself face-first in an equally-buxom young lady’s bosom in a moment of absurdist fan service - I let him return to his manga, curious about where Sakamoto’s journey will take him – and me – next.

 

Is there a plate of rösti in my future?

[Daniel Janser 1,981]

I really like this series. Just an inside information (and it is a very forgivable 'mistake' (for the lack of a better word) to make)... In Switzerland, we have the so called 'Röstigraben' (roesti-vault). This is a slang word for the perceived disconnect between the French-speaking part of Switzerland (for example Geneva) and the German-speaking part (for example Basel and Zurich). It is also a rough indicator for polls where the French native speakers have a tendency to vote pro-Europe, whereas the German native speakers tend to vote more conservatively in that respect. It is called that way, because the German speakers 'Nationaldish' is indeed 'Rösti' whereas in the French-speaking part it is more melted cheese in any shape or form. I am not saying that you won't be able to get rösti in Geneva but it is not as popular of a dish in this part of Switzerland (of course individual tastes vary). Having said, that it takes nothing away from your excellent series about this up and coming Japanese VHL-Star, I just thought I throw some trivia in for the fact fans of your series. No offence intended of course.

[der meister 2,910]

13 minutes ago, Daniel Janser said:

I really like this series. Just an inside information (and it is a very forgivable 'mistake' (for the lack of a better word) to make)... In Switzerland, we have the so called 'Röstigraben' (roesti-vault). This is a slang word for the perceived disconnect between the French-speaking part of Switzerland (for example Geneva) and the German-speaking part (for example Basel and Zurich). It is also a rough indicator for polls where the French native speakers have a tendency to vote pro-Europe, whereas the German native speakers tend to vote more conservatively in that respect. It is called that way, because the German speakers 'Nationaldish' is indeed 'Rösti' whereas in the French-speaking part it is more melted cheese in any shape or form. I am not saying that you won't be able to get rösti in Geneva but it is not as popular of a dish in this part of Switzerland (of course individual tastes vary). Having said, that it takes nothing away from your excellent series about this up and coming Japanese VHL-Star, I just thought I throw some trivia in for the fact fans of your series. No offence intended of course.

 

I actually really appreciate the insight. In this case, I just did a search for popular foods in Geneva, and that one in particular caught my eye. But I'm always down for learning interesting things like this, so thank you!

[Daniel Janser 1,981]

1 hour ago, der meister said:

 

I actually really appreciate the insight. In this case, I just did a search for popular foods in Geneva, and that one in particular caught my eye. But I'm always down for learning interesting things like this, so thank you!

Yeah some German speakers would say that the preferred food in Geneva is liquid and comes in the form of squashed and fermented grapes... the shores of the Lake of Geneva are renowned for their vineyards... I personally am a big Rösti fan and would recommend it anytime. One of many specialties is 'Zuercher Geschnetzteltes mit Rösti'... it is Veal on a creamy mushroom sauce with crisply fried Rösti... and normally some veggies (green peas and carrots for example)... I am drooling right now... here a picture for the culinary interested amongst your readers...

 

[Shindigs 1,771]

And then you somehow end up in Västerås and get to enjoy the culinary black hole that it represents.

[Daniel Janser 1,981]

34 minutes ago, Shindigs said:

And then you somehow end up in Västerås and get to enjoy the culinary black hole that it represents.

I seem to recall that amongst Swedish specialties are Köttbullar (which I like), smoked eel and moose jerky (both of which are okay) and Lakrits (licorice), which I cannot stand and of course canel gifflar which I like in small dosages as the cinnamon taste to me gets old quickly... 

[Shindigs 1,771]

8 minutes ago, Daniel Janser said:

I seem to recall that amongst Swedish specialties are Köttbullar (which I like), smoked eel and moose jerky (both of which are okay) and Lakrits (licorice), which I cannot stand and of course canel gifflar which I like in small dosages as the cinnamon taste to me gets old quickly... 

The thing with almost all traditional Swedish food is that you won't find it in restaurants here. Or if you do it's only as part of the kids menu (aka. it's barely seasoned and just generally awful). If you want actual proper Swedish meatballs you'd probably need to go to someone's house at Christmas, since that's usually the only time we bother making them for realsies.

 

Oh and smoked eel isn't really a "Sweden" in general thing, it's a west coast specialty. But since you were in Gothenburg it makes sense that you'd have it, if you go out in the archipelago there it's smoked fish, shrimp and eel anywhere you go. Even though Västerås is on a relatively big lake, there isn't much of a seafood tradition there.

 

Moose jerky is primarily just to bait Germans into buying anything Moose themed, we barely ever eat it ourselves.

 

We are all about those cinnamon rolls though, you couldn't miss them if you tried. Most bought ones are pretty shit though, as is usually the case with baked goods.

 

If you want to eat out in Västerås though you're either looking at generic upscale pubs with overpriced underwhelming food, or any and all varieties of cheap Asian food*. I can't name a single restaurant there off the top of my head that actually does traditional Swedish food. Which is a bit sad tbh, but it's just what eating out is like in Sweden in general. Actually there is one really quite good restaurant down in the harbor area on a pier. But still literally no actual Swedish food to be served, some of the best fancy burgers I've ever had though.

 

*The food has always been "Swede-ified", which is to say all the spices were removed. Because you average Swede considers anything that isn't salt or pepper some kind of black magic.

[Daniel Janser 1,981]

11 minutes ago, Shindigs said:

The thing with almost all traditional Swedish food is that you won't find it in restaurants here. Or if you do it's only as part of the kids menu (aka. it's barely seasoned and just generally awful). If you want actual proper Swedish meatballs you'd probably need to go to someone's house at Christmas, since that's usually the only time we bother making them for realsies.

 

Oh and smoked eel isn't really a "Sweden" in general thing, it's a west coast specialty. But since you were in Gothenburg it makes sense that you'd have it, if you go out in the archipelago there it's smoked fish, shrimp and eel anywhere you go. Even though Västerås is on a relatively big lake, there isn't much of a seafood tradition there.

 

Moose jerky is primarily just to bait Germans into buying anything Moose themed, we barely ever eat it ourselves.

 

We are all about those cinnamon rolls though, you couldn't miss them if you tried. Most bought ones are pretty shit though, as is usually the case with baked goods.

 

If you want to eat out in Västerås though you're either looking at generic upscale pubs with overpriced underwhelming food, or any and all varieties of cheap Asian food*. I can't name a single restaurant there off the top of my head that actually does traditional Swedish food. Which is a bit sad tbh, but it's just what eating out is like in Sweden in general. Actually there is one really quite good restaurant down in the harbor area on a pier. But still literally no actual Swedish food to be served, some of the best fancy burgers I've ever had though.

 

*The food has always been "Swede-ified", which is to say all the spices were removed. Because you average Swede considers anything that isn't salt or pepper some kind of black magic.

It is ironic that I enjoyed the Swedish delicacies in.... Switzerland. There is a fancy restaurant next to my workplace where they have 2-3 times per year themed weeks where they 'import' a chef of the respective country to introduce us to the typical food of the featured country. As we have kids, we took the save bet in Gothenburg and went to McD's (I know, but at least the products are standardized and you do not spend a fortune on food your kids may or (more likely) may not like)...

 

Be it as it may, thanks for the culinary introduction to Vasteras. And I was not aware of the 'Moose-tourist trap'... I do not like game that much, but I thought that I owe it to myself to at least try, once I had the opportunity to do so...

 

It is a pity though about 'neglecting' your countries more traditional food. It is not quite as bad in Switzerland. Yes, there are tourist traps where they offer overprized fondue in a setting which tourists think to be typical Swiss. Avoid them at all cost. Upscale restaurants by and large offer international cuisine (which is not bad per se) but at very hefty prices. If you ever make it to Switzerland, I recommend to visit a 'blue collar' restaurant which we normally call 'Beiz' don't look for a sign spelling that though as it is slang. Just wait for lunch usually between 12-1300 hours and follow the construction workers or truckers. An other indicator for a typical 'Beiz' is small, mostly green carpets hanging on the wall near the entrance, they look like this: 

 

They are used for playing cards. Once you spot those, you know you are in an affordable, down-to-earth place where the portions are plentyful the products generally local and where you will be able to get hold on some of the mainstay of 'typical' Swiss food (I put typical in brackets because we have so many regional dishes that typical Swiss food does not really exist)...

Edited March 23, 2022 by Daniel Janser

[Shindigs 1,771]

2 minutes ago, Daniel Janser said:

It is ironic that I enjoyed the Swedish delicacies in.... Switzerland. There is a fancy restaurant next to my workplace where they have 2-3 times per year themed weeks where they 'import' a chef of the respective country to introduce us to the typical food of the featured country. As we have kids, we took the save bet in Gothenburg and went to McD's (I know, but at least the products are standardized and you do not spend a fortune on food your kids may or (more likely) may not like)...

 

Be it as it may, thanks for the culinary introduction to Vasteras. And I was not aware of the 'Moose-tourist trap'... I do not like game that much, but I thought that I owe it to myself to at least try, once I had the opportunity to do so...

Yeah, the Germans just love moose so much. I have no idea why, there are literally tourist shops that sell dried moose droppings. And yes, the Germans do buy it. It's just unreal.

 

Honestly, when eating with kids McD just makes sense. Like I said the kid menus are just depressing at most restaurants anyways, while still costing more alone than your entire order at McD's.

[der meister 2,910]

3 hours ago, Shindigs said:

And then you somehow end up in Västerås and get to enjoy the culinary black hole that it represents.

 

At least I could look forward to the road trips