Will Banh MI Be The New Take Out

 Vietnamese food is fasting becoming an integral part of American cuisine. Now it may become part of American fast food thanks to the creativity of Vietnamese American entrepreneurs. Will it replace burger and fries? Possibly. 

Regular contributor, chef and cookbook author Priya Krishna wrote about this phenomena in today's New York Times Food section. It's starting in Texas where there is has always been a huge Vietnamese population.Paul Pham is leading the way with this, starting a chain called Hughie's.It's much more than a McDonald's or Burger King with offerings of wine to accompany the food. One of his in an old Dairy Queen and he does make that chain's famed chicken tenders., complete with their buttermilk brine and thick crust. The menu features such Vietnamese classics as pho soup along with shaken beef - a quick savory and sweet wok fried meat dish and banh mi - the famed sandwich using baguettes, meat and pickled veggies. In recent years several Vietnamese eateries have opened with that same intent - take out. They all have drive throughs which helped a lot during the pandemic. They hope to expand beyond their community and reach other Americans who love the cuisine.

Fast food and the drive through is a great way to introduce a particular cuisine to Americans. The drive through emerged in the mid Twentieth Century  and flourished in the Seventies. It started with burgers and fries thanks to Mc Donald's and Burger King. Mexican fast food chains like Taco Bell and Taco Cabana have also widely accepted it. The pandemic only emphasized the need for it, with no contact for food pick up. Vietnamese dishes such as banh mi and spring rolls are portable and easy to package. However for Kenny To, co owner with Hien Nguyen , owners of To me Vietnamese Sub, the food is much more labor intensive than just the average taco or burger. He bakes the subs himself and creates the marinades for the meat. These can be limited too. A condiment like Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce can be hard to find in non Asian American communities. At least one Vietnamese fast food has already figured out how to deal with a national audience. One of the oldest,Lee's Sandwiches started in 1983 by Ban Le and Hanh Nguyen expanded into Vietnamese neighborhoods across California and eight more states.

Vietnamese fast food will be as ubiquitou as other fast food cuisines. The food is tasty and filling, a level above the usual drive through fare. It will be a refreshing change from the usual.

Helping The Hurricane Victims

There have been three devastating hurricanes in the last month . Homes have  been demolished and with them the heart of any house - the kitchen. It's ,time to step up in our kitchens to generate money and items that are crucial to starting over. Charity does begin at home, but with our ovens and pantries.

One of the easiest fund raisers to organize is a bake sale. Nothing beats homemade cookies and cupcakes. These are simple to make and fun to vary. Bake giant chocolate chip cookies instead of the usual smaller ones. (Try the recipe from Wednesday's New York Times Food section.) It's a good idea economically because you can charge more - think three dollars a cookie  instead of two dollars for six. They can also be made in sugar and peanut butter flavors too.  Since it's fall, think about a fun batch of caramel apple cupcakes. Bake them in muffin tins for a rounded apple look and then ice with caramel when cooled. Finish by sticking popsicle sticks in them to look like the real thing. Again, these can be priced at four  dollars a piece to bring in more money. To honor those hit by Hurricane Maria on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, bake  Pueto Rican cakes. These are a delicate mix of an egg and butter rich cake soaked in a homemade rum syrup.They're then decorated with a  syrup soaked meringue. Another cake to celebrate the island is a yummy pineapple rum cake which is sure to be a best seller. It's a pineapple upside down cake spiked with the Caribbean spirit. Squares of it would sell well.

A second way of helping is going through your pantry and donating any duplicates.It's easier to donate cans and foodstuffs to the Houston and Florida victims.It's not so much for those on Puerto Rico.  If anything donate water and diapers to those hit by Hurricane Maria.  When donating, try to aim for canned items that are versatile. Tomato sauce and  can be used in making a great pasta dinner but it can also be used for making chili as well as soup. Canned green beans can be used both in salads and as a side. Canned potatoes are another must donate. They are great in thickening up soup but the sliced ones can used in scalloped potatoes.Corn is another versatile canned veggie because it can be added to salads or served on its' own. Canned chili, although not as good as homemade - yet makes for a  satisfying meal They're not as donated as much as other canned goods but canned fruits are always welcome. Kids. love canned peaches and these make for a change up from the usual processed snack cakes for dessert. Just remember to get the ones that are low in syrup and sugar. Try canned grapefruit which is loaded with Vitamin C along with canned mandarin oranges also packed with Vitamin C and fiber. Fruit salad is also good. It can even be eaten for breakfast and canned cherries make for a nice snack.

We have to open not only our hearts, but our Kitchens and pantries too. Organize bake sales. Start a can drive . Bring those hurt by these wicked hurricanes closer to returning to their own kitchens and pantries.

Come Food Or High Water

A hurricane is a devastating event for anyone A super hurricane like Harvey or Irma that left five to six feet of water is catastrophic - especially to a home chef passionate about cooking. Yet many Houston residents made do and persevered. They were inventive and resilient,  still creating tasty dishes despite hardship.

 Kim Severson, a Southerner herself visited several Houston homes and interviewed residents, including the mayor's wife who had suffered the wrath of Hurricane Harvey. Kitchens were completely torn apart, soaked to ruin by flood waters. Some were even visited by alligators! One famed local cook, Al Marcus, managed to wipe down surfaces with a bleached rag and cook up a brisket for the All Hands Volunteers who ripped out the sheetrock from his home and countless others.He is known for his big Thanksgiving meals and will not disappoint. He plans on hosting this year, even if it means eating in a hollowed shell of a dining room. Francine Spiering, a food writer and recipe developer lost everything. Her favorite knives are gone along with forty cookbooks, plates and platters. Her home office was also  located in the kitchen.She is salvaging as best she could - but restoring the kitchen could take up to six months.There is hope , though. A Dallas woman has raised enough money to send dozens of Instant Pots, slow cookers, that will be used as ovens.Others who understand what it's like to go through disaster have donated, food, cutlery, and coolers.

Some home chefs are ingenious. Dana Karni, a lawyer, who loves to cook transformed her kids' playroom into a makeshift kitchen. She and her sixteen year old son carried a small chest freezer up to the  second floor. The contents were precious - the salmon she had caught with her dad on a trip to Alaska.Also upstairs her set of good Japanese knives which would have had another use had the waters risen more. She had planned on using them to cut a hole in the roof so she and her children could escape. Their linen closet is now the pantry and there is an espresso maker on master bath vanity.A few Houstonites like Aimee Ally Taylor and her family bounced around to four different homes before finding a nearby house with a working kitchen. Many have lost a lot, from beef that was eaten by gators to casks of homemade vinegar and vanilla.  All of them have dreams of what their new kitchens will look like.The mayor's wife , Andrea White,wants a cookstove against the wall, and not on a kitchen island as it previously was.Perla Moncivais, thinks about an open concept with a table , big and roomy enough for her four children .It will take a while as witnessed with Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Houston will survive, So will the home chefs who cook phenomenal meals. A hurricane won't stop these dynamos - not when it comes to cooking.