Burger time
So, today we got to do some real journalism. It's a story Joh and I have been cooking up for a couple of weeks now.
What's something that the average American would eventually miss during an extended stay in Beijing? Baseball? Sure. Apple pie? Probably. Youtube? Fair enough.
Even more would be that crown jewel of the American menu -- the hamburger. (Not that I dislike Chinese food. I just started hankerin' for a burger somewhere around week four here...)
You basically just read my script for the story. Joh and I are touring the city and stopping at the restaurants that serve American-style hamburgers. We do stories about the restaurants, get some shots of the kitchen, talk to the chef, interview a few customers, and, of course, we eat their hamburgers. Today was our first installment - the Blue Frog.
Pretty cool place. It's in the Sanlitun district, which is pretty heavily frequented by expats. There are all kinds of Western stores there, bars, restaurants... Going there on a Saturday night is like leaving China for the weekend. Just about the only Chinese people out there are the bartenders and street vendors. And in a lot of the bars drinks are probably more expensive out there than they are in the States.
Anyway, Joh and I rolled up today with our liaison, who comes with us any time we do stories - just in case we need to interview someone who can't speak English. Her name is Susie and before today she had never eaten a real hamburger. Actually, while we were interviewing the restaurant manager, who is British, we learned that he had never eaten a real hamburger until he moved to Beijing. Kind of an interesting tidbit.
So we ate the Montana Burger, which is an imported beef patty with imported bacon, homemade barbecue sauce, imported cheddar cheese, lettuce and onion rings on a toasted bun. And it came with french fries. It was like heaven on a plate.
If I could have done more stories like this, I never would have left journalism.
Joh loved hers too, though I don't really know how she ate it. The thing was about eight inches tall. I had trouble taking a bite and I can fit my whole fist in my mouth. I'm pretty sure the burger was about as big as her head.
Susie, on the other hand, didn't seem to like hers. She just had a regular hamburger - gotta start with the basics. She was so nice and she told me she liked it because she knew how excited I was to see her take her first bite, but she could only eat about half and she took the other half home.
So, we're hoping to do two more restaurants this week. I have to figure out how to keep the stories from getting redundant though - nine or 10 stories about hamburgers will get a little old if I don't spice them up somehow. It's kinda like how Ferris Bueller had nine sick days in one semester and figured that if he were going to go for a 10th, he would have to barf up a lung...
As long as I keep getting to do stories about food, I think I'll be happy...
What's something that the average American would eventually miss during an extended stay in Beijing? Baseball? Sure. Apple pie? Probably. Youtube? Fair enough.
Even more would be that crown jewel of the American menu -- the hamburger. (Not that I dislike Chinese food. I just started hankerin' for a burger somewhere around week four here...)
You basically just read my script for the story. Joh and I are touring the city and stopping at the restaurants that serve American-style hamburgers. We do stories about the restaurants, get some shots of the kitchen, talk to the chef, interview a few customers, and, of course, we eat their hamburgers. Today was our first installment - the Blue Frog.
Pretty cool place. It's in the Sanlitun district, which is pretty heavily frequented by expats. There are all kinds of Western stores there, bars, restaurants... Going there on a Saturday night is like leaving China for the weekend. Just about the only Chinese people out there are the bartenders and street vendors. And in a lot of the bars drinks are probably more expensive out there than they are in the States.
Anyway, Joh and I rolled up today with our liaison, who comes with us any time we do stories - just in case we need to interview someone who can't speak English. Her name is Susie and before today she had never eaten a real hamburger. Actually, while we were interviewing the restaurant manager, who is British, we learned that he had never eaten a real hamburger until he moved to Beijing. Kind of an interesting tidbit.
So we ate the Montana Burger, which is an imported beef patty with imported bacon, homemade barbecue sauce, imported cheddar cheese, lettuce and onion rings on a toasted bun. And it came with french fries. It was like heaven on a plate.
If I could have done more stories like this, I never would have left journalism.
Joh loved hers too, though I don't really know how she ate it. The thing was about eight inches tall. I had trouble taking a bite and I can fit my whole fist in my mouth. I'm pretty sure the burger was about as big as her head.
Susie, on the other hand, didn't seem to like hers. She just had a regular hamburger - gotta start with the basics. She was so nice and she told me she liked it because she knew how excited I was to see her take her first bite, but she could only eat about half and she took the other half home.
So, we're hoping to do two more restaurants this week. I have to figure out how to keep the stories from getting redundant though - nine or 10 stories about hamburgers will get a little old if I don't spice them up somehow. It's kinda like how Ferris Bueller had nine sick days in one semester and figured that if he were going to go for a 10th, he would have to barf up a lung...
As long as I keep getting to do stories about food, I think I'll be happy...
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home