Example: I went to the origin of those cat statues in every Chinese/Japanese restaurant
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Mastication Monologues
A Place To Find New Food For You and Your Brood
- Home
- African Cuisine
- Asian Cuisine
- Central
- Far East
- China
- Beijing (Day 1)- A Bug’s Life (McDonalds, Donghuamen Market, Beer Mania)
- Beijing (Day 2)- Go Duck Yourself (Dong Lai Shun, Wangfujing Market, Lao Zhai Zhuan)
- Beijing (Day 3 and 4)- I Got a Black Magic Chicken (Black Chicken, 24 Hour Eatery)
- Beijing (Day 5)- Bruce Lee and Me (Real Kung Fu, Xianlaoman Dumpling House)
- Drop It Like It’s Hot Pot! Part 1 (Hot Pot Dinner)
- Drop It Like It’s Hot Pot: Part 2 (Hot Pot Dinner)
- Furama Is Fureal (Furama)
- Happy Is the Stomach That Wears the Crown (Triple Crown)
- I Fell Into A Burning Ring of Fire (Lao Sze Chuan)
- MSG’s Alright With Me (Oriental Taste)
- Number One Sun, Wah You So Good? (Sun Wah)
- Some Really Mean Cuisine (MingHin)
- Three’s Happiness Too (Three Happiness)
- Whatever Floats Your Goat (Duck Duck Goat)
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Cuckoo for Coco Ichiban (Coco Ichiban)
- Impressive Intragalactic Intercourse (Lemongrass Asian Bistro)
- Loco For The Yoko (Yokohama Sushi)
- My Neighbor Tokoro (Tokoro Sushi)
- Tokyo (Day 1)- The Money Shot (Torafugu Tei)
- Tokyo (Day 2)- Whale of a Tale/Silent but Delicious (Matsuya, Kujiraya, Ninja Akasaka)
- Tokyo (Day 3)- Ainu Where The Good Food Was At (McDonalds, Harukor, Dairy Chiko)
- Tokyo (Day 4)- Having My Japanese Pancakes and Eating Them Too (Tsukiji Market, Monjayaki, Kyushu Jangara Ramen)
- Tokyo (Day 5)- A Sobering Soba Sayonara/Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto (Soba noodle house, Robot Restaurant)
- Macau
- Mongolia
- North Korea
- South Korea
- Egg and Rice That’s Really Quite Nice (Tomato Kimbab)
- Flick and Swish (Yoree Shabu Shabu)
- Food Porn and Cheating Death (Jagalchi Fish Market, Poisonous Blowfish Soup)
- Freude Durch Essen (Joy Through Food) (Andong Jindak, Schneeballen)
- Get Your Roll On (Kimbap)
- Heavenly Wings (Crisp)
- Hell Hath No Fury Like a Pork Cutlet (Onnuriye Donkatsu)
- I Believe I Can Fry (Geongdeok Fried Food Town)
- I See A Bowl of Noodles, I Want To Paint It Black (Jjajangmyeon)
- It’s Easy Being Green (Myeongdong Gyoja)
- Last K-Days (Part 1)- Something’s Fishy in Ulsan (Mulhoe and Samjetang)
- Last K-Days (Part 2)- Life’s a Beach (Hotteok, Kimbap, Drug Chicken Soup)
- Last K-Days (Part 3/Finale)- The Long and Delicious Road (Spicy Kimbap, Moju, Chocopies)
- May the Odds (and Ends) Be Ever In Your Favor (Cactus chocolate, jokbal, walnut cakes)
- Meat and Greet (Gangnam street food and lamb skewers)
- Red Bi Bim Bap, I Eat You Up (Dol sot Bibimbap)
- Ssam Bap A Lup Bop Wop Bam Boom (Ssam Bap)
- Sundae Bloody Sundae/Jjampong All Night Long (Sundae Sillim, Maeun Jjampong)
- The Heart and Seoul of Chicago (Del Seoul)
- The Sooper Gift of Gab (San Soo Gab San)
- Woosah at Yeowoosai
- Achin’ For Some Bacon On A Lazy Sundae (Sundae, bacon chips, baby squid, fake pizza, yuja cakes)
- Taiwan
- Taiwan (Finale)- I Got Too Ducked Up/ In the End, Everyone Pies (Rose Pie, Stinky Tofu, Intestine Vermicelli, Duck Heads)
- Taiwan (Part 1)- Sh*ttiest Dinner Ever (in a good way) (Modern Toilet)
- Taiwan (Part 2)- Delicious as the Dark Side of the Moon (National Museum Food and the Moon Cake Feast)
- Taiwan (Part 3)- Hot Pot to Trot in Taipei (Taiwanese breakfast, shaved ice, hot pot)
- Tibet
- China
- Pan-Asian/Fusion
- South
- India
- A Meal Fit For A King or Queen (Taj Palace)
- A Sumptuous RePass (Khyber Pass)
- London (Day 6)- Taken to Tasca/Dressed to Empress
- No Sticky Wickets
- No Sticky Wickets (Wickets)
- On Top of Mt. Everest, All Covered With Cheese… (Bihanee Restaurant)
- What Can Brown Do For You? Answer: Delicious Food (Little India)
- Nepal
- India
- South-East
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Good But Not Gr8 (Pho 888)
- Gooooooooooood Afternoon, Vietnam! (Portland, Part 5; Food truck village, Banh Mi)
- I Got Tanked In Uptown (Tank Noodle)
- I’ve Seen and Eating Things, Man…Delicious Things (Nha Hang Viet Nam)
- Not Phonomenal (Pho Mein)
- Somewhat Hoarable (Pho Hoa)
- Un-Ba-Le-Vable Flavors (Ba Le Cafe)
- Bar and Grill Food (Chicken, Steak, etc.)
- A Capital Idea! (Capital Grille)
- A Place Drinkers Hold Beer (Beer Market)
- A Real Brew Ha-Ha (Portland, Part 6; Bridgeport Brewery)
- Bring Money to Get This Honey (Honey Butter Fried Chicken)
- Buffalo Joe’s Fo’ Sho
- Come On Baby Light My Fire (Wildfire)
- Everytime A Cowbell Rings, A Devil Gets His Wings (Jake Melnick’s Tap House; Spicy Wing Challenge!)
- Getting My Goat On (Girl and the Goat)
- Grilled Cheese That’s Sure To Please (The Big Cheese)
- High Steaks Dining (Somehow I Survived)
- I Like the Cut of Your Rib (Chicago Ribfest)
- Kicking Ass and Eating Wings (J.R. Pub)
- Last Action (Grill) Hero/Which Came First: Toast or the Egg? (Action Grill; Korean Street Toast)
- Living High on the Hog (Peckish Pig)
- Man’s Stomach’s Best Friend (Dune Dog Cafe)
- Off Cue (Q-BBQ)
- One Tasty Mofo (Mother Hubbards)
- Raising the Bar (Jimmy’s Grill)
- Shack Attack (Chicken Shack)
- Smoking the Competition (Green Street Smoked Meats)
- The Fattest Steak In The West (Longhorn Steakhouse)
- The Hub of All the Hubbub (Hub 51)
- The Saint Baby Back Rib Day Massacre (Twin Anchors)
- Tierra del Fuego (Firehouse Grill)
- Too Good To Leaf (Hopleaf)
- Bizarre Food
- Cajun Cuisine
- Desserts/Snacks/Drinks
- Alcohol
- CBIK? Once In A Brew Moon (Part Deux; Castle Praha, Ben’s Cookies)
- Craft Beer In Korea? Once In A Brew Moon (Castle Praha, Ben’s Cookies)
- Hair of the Waygookin (Soju, Dugyeonju, Korean Beer, Bokbunja wine)
- Punch House: A Real Knockout
- Seoul Food Festival
- Sitting in Sand and Sippin’ Something Sweet in Seoul (The Bungalow)
- Bakery
- Bits and Bobs (Korean berries, Spicy Pringles, Cereal Milk, Poop Popsicle)
- Getting Our Just Desserts (Chicago Dessert Fest)
- Ice Cream
- Cole World (Collection of Three Visits)
- I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Red Beans! (Red Bean popsicle, Korean Ice Cream)
- It’s Nuts How Sweet Life Can Be (Kilwin’s Chocolates and Ice Cream)
- Make Your Own Froyo? YOLO! (Snow Spoon)
- Nosh Pit (North Korean Black Bean Chocolate, Rice Wine Ice Cream, Chinese Bread)
- Once You Go Black, You Don’t Go Back (Black Dog Gelato)
- The Italian Job (In Sevilla) (Las Rayas Heladeria)
- Alcohol
- European Cuisine
- Eastern Europe
- Northern Europe
- Southern Europe
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Greece
- Italy
- 79 A.D. (Always. Delicious) (Italian Village)
- Aiming to Cheese (Papa Joe’s)
- Everything’s Coming Up Roses (Rose Angelis)
- Getting All Sazzed Up (Sazio)
- In the Garden of Eatin’ (Buona Beef)
- Laissez Les Bons Boeufs Roulez! (Mr. Beef Italian Beef)
- London (Day 4 and 5)- When the Disco Hits Your Eye Like a Steak and Kidney Pie (Bunga Bunga and Meat Pies)
- Multum In Parvo (Quartino’s Ristorante)
- Pane and Pleasure (Pane’s Bread Cafe)
- Pizza
- A Nest Above the Rest (Crow’s Nest Pizza)
- Apart of Something Delicious (Apart Pizza)
- Bittersweet Symphony (Paisan’s Pizzeria)
- Call Me Delishmael (Pequod’s Pizza)
- Catching Some Delicious Zzzs (Zazzo’s Pizza)
- Dude…Mellow Out…Try This ‘Shroom (Mellow Mushroom Pizza)
- Hauntingly Delicious (Portland, Part 3) (Old Town Pizza)
- Pie in the Sky Prices = Not So Apeeling (The Pizza Peel)
- Semi-Sad Strudel Time (Pompei)
- The Upper Crust (Eataly)
- It’s Alive…It’s Alive and Delicious (Monster Pizza)
- Bacon, Potatoes, and Pineapples, Oh My! (Pizza Etang)
- A Slice of the East (Pizza Maru)
- The Bomb Diggity Delight (Bombacigno’s/J and C Inn)
- The Quay To A Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach (Quay= Closed)
- Portugal
- Spain
- Hitting It Big on the Market (Mercat a la Planxa)
- London (Day 6)- Taken to Tasca/Dressed to Empress (La Tasca, Empress Indian)
- Picking Up and Eating the Tab(erna) (La Taberna Chicago)
- Take A Look At These Patatas (Cafe de Sevilla)
- Tapa The Heap Parte 1: Ze Background (Meson Sabika)
- Tapa The Heap Parte 2: Le Denoument Délicieux (Meson Sabika Tapas)
- Temenaks in Tenerife (Day 1: Noche de San Juan, Sunset Cruise)
- Temenaks in Tenerife (Day 2: Cannonballs and Cuttlefish)
- Throwback Post: Chocolatería San Ginés in Madrid
- Un Tapateo Muy Feo (A Very Ugly Tapas Dinner) (Que Tal Tapas)
- You’ll Love Olive This Food (Fig and Olive)
- Western Europe
- Hot Sauces
- Middle Eastern/Mediterranean Cuisine
- North American Cuisine
- Canada
- It’s A Good Day To Fry Hard (Poutine Factory)
- Toronto (Day 1): Sleepless Nights in Hogtown (Tim Horton’s, Insomnia)
- Toronto (Day 2): Falling In Love Is Just Peachy (Pizza Pizza, Momofuku)
- Toronto (Day 3): 10,000 Leagues Over the Jenga Sea (Steamwhistle Brewery, Amsterdam Brewhouse, The Wellington, The Banknote)
- Toronto (Final Day): Home Is Where the Heart (and ice cream) Is (Summerlicious, Ed’s Real Scoop, Di Giorgio’s)
- Caribbean
- Latin/Central America
- Costa Rica
- Costa Rica (Day 1): Eating With Royalty (La Princesa Marina)
- Costa Rica (Day 2)- Cruisin’ For Brews, Beans, and Bites (Costa Rican Breakfast, Isla Tortuga Meal)
- Costa Rica (Day 3)- Fruits of Our Travels (Costa Rican Bakery, Exotic Fruit, El Tobogan Restaurant)
- Costa Rica (Day 4)- Willy Wonka In the Jungle and Dining In a Drug Port (Empanadas, Chocolate Making, Chinese Food)
- Costa Rica (Day 5)- Sloth Sanctuary = BOO-YA, Grandma! (Sloth Sanctuary, Wood Barbecue, La Casa de mi Abuela)
- Costa Rica (Day 6/Final)- Chasing Waterfalls (Breakfast, Strawberries, Steakhouse, Zip Lining)
- El Salvador
- Latin Fusion
- Mexico
- Absolute Cero (De Cero Tacos)
- All Hail Cesar! (Cesar’s Killer Margaritas)
- At the Market With My Dawgs (Mercadito Counter)
- Barato? Creo que no Vato! (Vato’s Urban Tacos)
- El Gusto Es Mío (The Pleasure´s Mine) (Gusto Taco)
- Heaven’s A Place On Earth (North Korean Chocolate and Fell and Cole Ice Cream)
- How I Learned to Stop Wondering and Love the Bomb (Cemitas Puebla)
- Livin’ La Vida Salsa (Taco Grill)
- London (Day 3)- Feel De Riddim, Feel De Ride, Sit on Down, It’s Eatin’ Time! (Bamboula, Borough Market, Chico Bandito)
- Looks Like Hell Can Freeze Over…Sort of (Chino Latino)
- Nacho Average Restaurant (D.S. Tequila Company)
- Nuevo Sabor That’s No Chore (Nuevo Leon)
- Sea It to Believe It (Casa Margarita)
- There’s Nopal Like Home (Los Nopales)
- Tomatill-Oh So Good (Tomatillo)
- Topolobampo: One Bday at a Time
- Costa Rica
- USA
- Breakfast
- A Deli For a Happy Belly (Indiana U: Nick’s, Upstairs Bar, Village Deli)
- A Doughnut By Any Other Name Would Taste As Sweet (Juicy O)
- Ann Extraordinary Brunch (Ann Sather)
- Bongo A-Go-Go
- Bro-ing Out with the Apple of My Eye (Walker Bros. Original Pancake House)
- Cinful Prices but a Heavenly View (Cindy’s)
- Cinfully Delicious (Kanela)
- Flippin’ Awesome (Butterfinger Pancakes)
- I Found My Thrill (Blueberry Hill)
- Passed with Flying Flavors (Frying Pan)
- Stroop and a Pancake? Bacon and a Blintz? (Famous Pannekoeken House)
- Sweet Vinndication (Portland, Part 1) (Village Inn Breakfast)
- Too Much Flavor to Savor (M. Henry)
- Where Everyone Should Bee (Honey Bowl)
- Fast Food
- Burgerville: A Wonderful Place to Meat (Portland, Part 2)
- Five Fingers Full of Burger Fury (Five Guys)
- It’s Greek to Me (Margie’s Restaurant)
- Peckish and Picking a Perfect Pepper (Wendy’s Ghost Peppers)
- Which Came First: The Chicken Or The Hot Sauce? (Popeye’s Chicken)
- A Dirty (South) Korean Classic (Boor Chicken)
- A Lot(teria) of Food (Lotteria)
- Where’s the Kimchi (Korean McDonalds)
- First and Last Tine Eating Here (Knife and Tine)
- Hamburgers
- A Curse of Deliciousness (Billy Goat Tavern)
- Another Grand Canyon (Mother Hubbard’s)
- Baycation Gone Wrong (Burger Bay)
- Burgers That D-Fi Hunger (BurgerFi)
- Death Metal Delight (Kuma’s Corner)
- If You Like It, You Should Put An Onion Ring On It (Huey’s)
- Ribbed For My Pleasure (Westwood Tavern and Tap)
- Smash and Grab Burg(er)lary (Smash Burger; CLOSED)
- Solid Like a Rock (Rocks)
- Something Old, Something New, Something Fried, Something Brewed (George Street Pub)
- The DMK: The Most Flavorful Border in the World (DMK Burger Bar)
- Thinking Outside the Box and Eating Inside One (Charcoalo)
- This Foodie Just Keep Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along! (Red Robin Gourmet Burger)
- This Mary’s No Virgin (Hamburger Mary’s)
- You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But He’d Prefer a Burger (Au Cheval)
- It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time! (Burger Hunter)
- When Irish Stomachs Are Shrugging (O’Malley’s Irish Pub)
- Everything’s Bigger In Itaewon (The Wolfhound)
- Spice That’s Twice As Nice (Richard Copycat’s All American Diner)
- Hawaiian
- Hot Dogs
- San Diego (Day 1): I’m Going Back, Back To Cali (Yankee Pier, Lemonade, Phil’s BBQ)
- San Diego (Day 2): A Lambo, Gelato, and Rollin’ in Dough (Donut Bar, Nado Gelato, Village Pizza)
- San Diego (Day 3): A Sweet Sendoff (Il Fornaio and Phil’s BBQ)
- South Carolina (Day 1): Everyday I’m Husklin (Hominy Grill, Husk)
- South Carolina (Day 2): Hoppin’ John and a Carolina Fried Chicken Ring (Middleton Plantation Restaurant, High Cotton)
- South Carolina (Day 3): Going With the Grain (Granary, Vendue House, Griffin)
- South Carolina (Day 4)- Gettin’ Our Kicks with Nana (Nana’s Seafood, Kickin’ Chicken)
- Breakfast
- Canada
- South American Cuisine
- Special and Commemorative Posts
- An Elephant Never Forgets 100 Posts (Hong Kong Breakfast, Macau Egg Tarts, Restaurante Dumbo)
- Best of Mastication Monologues (200 Post Anniversary)
- Commentary: My Disdain for Pasta
- Food Convention Post: Taste Talks in Chicago
- OpenTable: A Land of Delicious Opportunities
- Taste Trekkers’ Publication
- The Mother of All Posts: 4 Great Mother’s Day Restaurants
- VizEat: Bringing People Together Through Food
- Why Do I Blog About Food?
