Category Archives: Food

Dog Yum-Yum

The islands of Ternate and Tidore had been the destination of European explorers seeking to circumvent the Ottoman Empire’s spice trade monopoly . Only one ship from Magellan’s fleet returned from their historic voyage around the world and the spices purchased on these islands paid off the cost of the trip and enriched the investors […]

The Sweet Smell of Durian

Many Asian foods are alien to westerners. Insects, horseshoe crab eggs, and sum tam or spicy mango salad easily come to mind as foreign to the tongues of farangs, however the most unacceptable Oriental delicacy remains the ever-malodorous durian. The stench of this squishy fruit is so disagreeable to non-aficionados that durian joined hand grenades […]

A TRAIN STATION WITHOUT TRAINS by Peter Nolan Smith

A TRAIN STATION WITHOUT TRAINS is a collection of four stories set in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Millions of tourists come to view one of the largest open air interiors in the world and while I’ve traveled north from the station, I’ve also spent time eating and drinking at the fabled Oyster Bar and […]

Imbiss On Cambodian River

Back in 1971 I hitchhiked through the Northwest with Cliff Tyson Gorr. We were hippies. Loggers and cops didn’t like longhairs and rides were hard to get, especially since Interstate 90 was under construction from the Idaho Stateline to Butte Montana. The same was true for the road winding through the Cardamom Mountains between Koh […]

KOSHER CHINESE FOOD by Peter Nolan Smith

After Valentine’s Day business on 47th Street slowed to a halt. The rich were vacationing in St. Barts and Palm Beach. Oil bills bled normal New Yorkers to the bone and purchasing a diamond was the last thing on most people’s mind in a bad economy during the harshest winter in modern memory. Hlove the […]