On Spring Break in Costa Rica the kids noticed a nice couple on the beach selling snow cones from a cart. As we queued up on the sand, I eavesdropped on the locals because I like to order food in a foreign language. I heard them say “con leche.” I thought that I misunderstood until the vendor poured a red can of condensed milk over a blue-juiced snow ball. I was surprised by this culinary option and eager to try it. Over the next week I would watch the Costa Ricans pour condensed milk on everything including cake, mixed drinks and soup.
I’m not as food adventurous at home. We don’t frequent local restaurants because I’m always saving for my next vacation, and we are busy with birthday parties/sports/homework. We eat the same 5 or 6 meals every week that everyone can agree on. And I can never, ever serve anything “too saucy.”
I purchased one of our favorite foods, bulk Polish kielbasa shipped FedEx from New Jersey, for a family hiking trip this past weekend. The weather in the mountains wasn’t agreeable, so I put the kielbasa rings in the freezer, and opted for a culinary adventure by the sea instead.
We visited the coastal town of Bluffton, SC, only 40 minutes from Savannah, GA, to bond as a family, get some exercise, and check out the new restaurant, Okan for dinner. We began with a walking tour of the boutique-filled historic district, and lounged under the enormous live oaks overlooking the May River. I attempted some fancy iPhone camera tricks while the boys played in the picturesque park that was also hosting a riverside wedding.
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After working up an appetite, we walked to Okan, a West African restaurant opened by James Beard award-winner Chef Bernard. The kids spent a solid 10 minutes discussing the menu amongst themselves, which doesn’t typically happen. The menu follows the culinary journey “through West Africa, across the Caribbean, and up to the South Carolina Coast mirroring the route of the transatlantic slave trade,” which sounded historic, exotic and local.
I suggested that we try something new but, upon reading the menu, everything would be new except the soda. I can’t bear food waste so I planned to eat the dishes that they didn’t like. The waiter described the specials with words like “Djon Djon”, “fufu” and “carrots in dirt.” He hooked us with the “Corazon,” a beef heart served on top of a medley of exotic ingredients. We asked for a plate of Coco bread, Roasted Oysters with “chado beni,” and fried mushrooms while we considered the entrée options.
The appetizers were amazing. Coco bread (little buns with local salt on top) was worth travelling for. The fried local mushrooms reminded me more of a restaurant in France than the Carribbean. The oysters were too fussy for my children who prefer oysters, and most all foods, to be served “plain”. The only exception to the rule is “flavor-blasted Goldfish”. It was nice to discuss food with them, and hear their thoughts about the appetizers and the menu. I felt like we were connecting over the adventure.
The kids egged me on until I ordered the Corazon entrée. My older son chose blackened fish over okra and an exotic grain, and the younger ordered the Djon Djon noodles. Unfortunately, Chef Bernard made the mistake of serving black noodles, and that is an unacceptable noodle color for this nine year old. He would only eat the chicken, then dramatically spit some of it out because it was too spicy. My older son ate his whole fish but wouldn’t eat the okra in tomato sauce or the black grain, so I got to eat all of that. The big hit of the night was the beef heart, and I’m glad everyone liked it because Chef Bernard approached our table to ask us our opinion of the Corazon. I only got to eat about 1/3 of the heart as they preferred it to their own food. They left me with the exotic puree and “something that is like a berry” that the cow’s heart rested on.
We discussed one of their favorite childhood books “Zombies in Love” about a zombie that puts out a personal ad for a date to the Valentine’s dance. The story ends with the new couple on a picnic in a graveyard eating a plate of heart with all the ventricles and arteries in tact. This West African cuisine heart looked more like a steak, and tasted like a steak. It wasn’t as expensive as a steak or I would have suspected that it was one. We also shared our feelings about ordering a cow’s heart. It seems that we got over our feelings before the entrée was served.
The first time that I went to a pizza place in Poland, I noticed patrons at the next table next putting ketchup on their pizza. Soon after I noticed a bottle of ketchup on a pizzeria table, and the only item on the menu was pizza. Polish pizzas also feature corn as a topping. I would never put ketchup or corn on a pizza, I just like to talk about it. And isn’t that the best reason to order beef heart or eat at an exotic restaurant? At Friendsgiving next week I get to say, “my kids won’t eat lasagna if it’s too saucy, but they want to go back to Bluffton, SC for beef heart.”
That’s an awesome story! I wonder if you could get Joshy to eat a beef heart. Do you accept the challenge?
What a great adventure! I'm surprised how hungry I am after reading this.