America is known as the melting pot, right?
One great thing about our country is that everyone came from somewhere else–sometimes way back on the family tree and sometimes directly. China, Korea, France…the list goes on and on.
This variety of culture has led to a variety of food. If you ask someone their favorite type of food, I seriously doubt they would say American. Nope. It’s Italian or Chinese or, more popular recently, Thai food.
And lately, Auburn has been embracing this culinary diversity. Along with a new Steak and Shake and the promise of Jim ‘N Nick’s opening in February, two new ethnic additions have also popped up recently: Sakura (Japanese) and Pho Lee (Vietnamese), both located on Glenn.
Both opened in the last few months and both represent the demand for more variety of available cuisine.
Personally, I’ve been trying to get a taste of Auburn’s lesser-known ethnic cuisines. A recent trip to Seoul BBQ on South College Street gave me a glimpse at something I hadn’t tried anywhere else–Korean food.
I tried something called Yukgaejang, which is a spicy beef soup with vegetables (pictured below).
On a cold January night, this steaming soup absolutely hit the spot. The waitress recommended I ask for it a little less spicy, or else it would burn my mouth. Thank goodness she did, because it still had quite the kick on the “less spicy” level. But I liked it.
In addition to the vegetables, there were a few strange, twig-like noodles (at least I think they were noodles) that gave a nice textural contrast from the simmered cabbage and shredded beef. It was definitely different from anything I’d ever had before.
And that’s the great thing about trying different cuisines: you get to do something different. You get to see how people from other parts of the world eat. Some dishes may seem odd (read: Korean fish cakes), but hey, you never know what you could like!
A Taste of the Plains 