Spoon Thai in Time Out Chicago

The cover story in the current issue of Time Out Chicago (TOC) this week is devoted to "Cheep Eats" in our fair city. One of the sections asks a few students in various culinary programs in the city where they go for a cheep eat. The premise is that students, of course, are on a tight budget and know all the good places for a cheep bite. However, these are *culinary* students so they should be smarter than the average bear.

The second fellow they feature picks out one of LTH'ers favorite spots as a cheep eat mecca. So far, so good. I expected them to point out that the various rice plates or other one dish meals were an exceptional value and some truly authentic and unique food. However the dish held out as the beacon of value at this, one of the crown jewels of Chicago's exceptional Thai cuisine community was...... drum roll.... Crab Rangoon!

WHAT?

Yep, at one off the top spots to taste what you would have for dinner if you got on a plane for 20 hours and flew around the world, this fella sings the praises of a Anglo-Chinese dish. Now, don't get me wrong, I like fried pockets of cheese and seafood as much as anyone and I'm sure, given the overall quality and skill of the kitchen in general, they are superior crab rangoon. Still, one might think that if you were going to highlight a eatery in a "major" publication you might want to point to a dish that originates from the country that the restaurant takes its name from. Then again, I may just be a snob.

I, too was a bit taken aback by this until I read the profile of the young student in question a bit more thoroughly and found out he's from some extra-small town (in Indiana? I think?) and has never been anywhere except his town, and Chicago.

So, to him, Crab Rangoon is the height of the exotic--as it was, at one time, to many Americans.

Yes, he is a culinary student, but he is a culinary student who is not as worldly as some of us LTHers are, or at least like to think we are-- hence the affection for the stuff.

And, hey, it's deep fried cream cheese. Hard to argue around that kind of logic.

Deep fried cheese is heavy duty comfort food. I empathised with the Crafordsvillian.

I thought it was a ballsy and honest answer. He loves the crab rangoon. Personally, I love deep fried jalepeno cheese poppers - and if I was in love with one specific place that made them better than anywhere else, I'd want to sing its praises, too.

I am sure the crab rangoon quote was selected by some editor out of a much more lengthy interview. Who knows what else the guy commented on. It may have been the only dish the editorial staff was familiar with (or knew how to spell).

d4v3 wrote:It may have been the only dish the editorial staff was familiar with (or knew how to spell).

I'm fairly certain the editorial staff at TOC is very familiar with the nether regions of Spoon's thai language menu.

gleam wrote:I'm fairly certain the editorial staff at TOC is very familiar with the nether regions of Spoon's thai language menu.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Nothing I have seen indicates they are familiar with the nether regions of anything. Regardless, my point is that one should not blame the interviewee for what is put into print. The blame utimately lies with the magazine. No doubt they had dozens of quotes from a variety of sources, and they selected one about crab rangoon.

d4v3 wrote:

gleam wrote:I'm fairly certain the editorial staff at TOC is very familiar with the nether regions of Spoon's thai language menu.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Nothing I have seen indicates they are familiar with the nether regions of anything.

Except for maybe the big article they did about Erik's translated menus and the Chicago Thai food scene last year.

I've been pretty happy with Time Out's food coverage. I think they do a good job of helping broaden people's horizons.

Best,
Michael

d4v3 wrote:

gleam wrote:I'm fairly certain the editorial staff at TOC is very familiar with the nether regions of Spoon's thai language menu.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Nothing I have seen indicates they are familiar with the nether regions of anything. Regardless, my point is that one should not blame the interviewee for what is put into print. The blame utimately lies with the magazine. No doubt they had dozens of quotes from a variety of sources, and they selected one about crab rangoon.

Well, they did run an article a while back about Erik M. and his translations of the menus at Spoon, Sticky Rice et al. I seem to remember that the basic capsule review of Spoon mentions the thai menu as well.

Saw this article last night. I didn't get the impression that he was being ballsy or what have you. I just got the impression that he just really liked crab rangoon and - being a very young fellow, new to the city - was not aware that he "shouldn't" like it I don't think theres anything wrong with that and certainly don't think that anyone needs to be 'blamed' for anything.

LionRock wrote:Well, they did run an article a while back about Erik M. and his translations of the menus at Spoon, Sticky Rice et al. I seem to remember that the basic capsule review of Spoon mentions the thai menu as well.

I didn't know that. Sorry. I have some bad history with TO's parent publication from many years ago (long before they were in Chicago). I admit I hold a grudge. Consequently, I haven't paid that much attention to the Chicago version (probably unfairly). I do find it hard to get past the somewhat TV guide-like style and the whole twenty-something "trendiness" thing. But then again, it has been many years since I was in the target audience. (However, I find it more relevant than Chicago Magazine.)

I'm sorry, I have not caught the article yet, but as a culinary student (admittedly part-time, older and maybe a slight bit more particular), we normally grab the quickest thing before class. After class you are too exhausted to do anything but fall into bed (if you are a night student) or you are going to the next class. I have observed the younger students bring in food from nearly every fast-food place within a 5 block radius, chow down and then prepare foie-gras and other great things! It's a strange mentality that you live with while you are in school - you hear about the best places, you strive to cook like that but will grab anything that fills you up in the meantime. My personal favorite "cheap eats" are the cheap tacos at the hole in the wall places - none in particular. Why are they so good?

I should probably clarify, I didn't post this to be mean or harsh to anyone, it was more meant to be tongue in cheek. Often the meaning is lost in posts. I just seemed funny that at a place with so many unique and cheep offerings TOC wrote up a truely ubiquitous item. I really don't have anything against fried creamcheese and crab (nothing at all!) or a 19 year old culinary student. I just found the article ironic.

On the other hand, I'm sure the folks as Spoon Thai are happy for free publicity no matter what dish is featured. Given that man can not live by crab rangoon alone (though I'm sure many have happily tried) it is likely that some of the folks who came in looking for rangoons might be turned on to some great Thai food.

I promise, I didn't take it that way...I love crab rangoons too. And other things that probably aren't as healthy for me as one would like them to be... You would think that in culinary school, we would have a more refined taste, but if you saw what some students eat there, you would really have to wonder. I'm thinking of a time that I was sitting in sanitation class and watched a fellow student chow down three king sized candy bars, a bag of chips and two large bottles of Coke. In the one class. Whew!! Maybe it's good that she wasn't the one interviewed!!

Rosie wrote:I'm thinking of a time that I was sitting in sanitation class and watched a fellow student chow down three king sized candy bars, a bag of chips and two large bottles of Coke.

Welcome to LTHforum Rosie!

Oh to be young again when your metabolism consumed all your excess energy!

(Rosie - I gave you the LTHforum cards last night)

Regards,

rosie wrote:You would think that in culinary school, we would have a more refined taste, but if you saw what some students eat there, you would really have to wonder.

For what it's worth, I did work as a cook for 8 years on and off. I'm not at all suprised at what culinary students eat. I remember eating some mighty nasty McDonalds breakfasts while preping the garde manger station of a very nice upscale new american place in Hartford not all that many years ago Nothing like munching on a McMuffin while making foie gras terrines!

Cathy2 - thanks for the cards and the welcome! This board is awesome...and I agree with you about burning the carbs. Can't get away with that anymore....

Stagger wrote:WHAT?

If it's really an issue for you, see the latest (today's) issue of The Reader.

Therein, Mike Sula comes correct on Spoon Thai.

E.M.

Erik M. wrote:

Stagger wrote:WHAT?

If it's really an issue for you, see the latest (today's) issue of The Reader.

Therein, Mike Sula comes correct on Spoon Thai.

E.M.

Hehe.. I just logged on to post something about that actually. You beat me too it by an hour

I was about to kvetch about the use of the term "chowhounds" (isn't there a commercial site by that name?) when I saw the link-- er, the ugly clump of text that ought to be a live link-- in the text:

These dishes are now practically mainstream compared to the treasures on Spoon's greatly expanded Thai-language menu translated at lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=74762#74762. I'm a long way from reaching the bottom of this seven-page odyssey, but so far some of my favorite items are naem khao thawt, a tangy, crispy fried rice salad with peanuts, cilantro, and pressed ham; phat phrik sa-taw muu sap, minced pork and bitter beans; and Issan-style minced duck salad.

A vast improvement on the previous review in that space, I must say.