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Talk of the Town: Scorpion on a stick — the other white meat?
  
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ColumnsIn last Sunday’s “Talk” I wrote about Olympic star Michael Phelps’ extraordinary calorie-laden diet and his love of pizza and chocolate chip pancakes. Now, let’s see what fast-food the Chinese eat on the run. Western reporters have enjoyed reporting on some of the strangely translated dishes on offered at restaurants throughout Beijing. Even the official Beijing Olympic Web site has made effort to correct the strange translations. I love Chinese food, so I am not making fun of centuries of culinary tradition? — I do agree that some of the language is funny. Some menu examples include: What is that stuff, anyway? There is a Cantonese saying that the Chinese eat everything that flies, has four legs and swims. Visitors to Beijing’s fast-food market during the Olympic Games have learned they eat some things Americans would never dream of gorging on. A stroll among the food stalls of Wangfujing Snack Street, not far from Tiananmen Square, reveals delicacies of every conceivable kind. Laid out in trays and boiling in cauldrons are everything from starfish-on-a-stick, to scorpion brochettes, seahorses on skewers, iguana tails, dung beetles and silk worms on a stick, by way of fried sparrows, grilled snake and turkey vulture schnitzels. The locals insist that Western visitors shouldn’t be put off the food on sale on this street — after all, it is mostly “conventional” Chinese cuisine and great for lunch or dinner. Indeed, even though dog meat is off the menu for competitors during the Games — they’ll be filling themselves up with high-protein drinks and masses of carbohydrates — tourists can still sample dog brain soup or dog liver with vegetables. But Chinese chefs insist they do not cook pets. They say the dogs are specially raised for cooking, “just as cow, lamb or chicken would be in the West.” As the official Beijing travel guide points out, Westerners should not turn up their noses at these dishes. ‘While you might consider things eaten in China to be distasteful, you must bridge the cultural gap and look at it with an open mind,” it advises. For as the guide also points out: “There have been times of severe famine (in China), even as recently as the late 60s, when tens of millions died of starvation in the Great Leap Forward. Back then, you would have been glad to have had what’s on today’s menu.” The half-a-million visitors from around the world who have flooded into the Chinese capital during the Olympics will have the opportunity to try these home-grown specialities — if they have the stomach for it. So the visitor must put their ideas of good taste on hold for the duration of their visit and try a freshly fried and seasoned skewer of farmed scorpions, one of the most famous of the delicacies on offer, which costs about 50 yuan ($7.25). OK, loyal readers — hit me on the head with a rolling pin, why don’tcha! Thank goodness we won’t be eating any starfish on a stick here in Green Valley. I haven’t seen any fried scorpions served up, either. Many locals have been very loyal to the Arizona Family Restaurant, which by the way, was voted the No. 1 restaurant in Green Valley for the “Reader’s Choice Award.” Not only has the Arizona Family Restaurant been a Green Valley tradition since 1977, it was most generous recently when it hosted, along with the Green Valley Fire District, a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. From 6 a.m. until 10 p.m., the Arizona Family Restaurant opened its doors to the public with members of the GVFD taking orders and serving food — and all the tips went to the MDA. I want to personally thank owners Don Herk and Kathy Wagner for their generosity and their understanding, especially when I referred to their venue as both the Arizona Family Restaurant the “American” Family restaurant in the same column. My most humble apologies for such a gaff. The only thing I can say is that I’m certainly glad that you are the Arizona Family Restaurant and that you are truly a grand example of American generosity and spirit. The Arizona Family Restaurant motto: “We treat you like on of the family” certainly rings true with customers and Green Valley visitors alike. Green Valley residents Hank and Dixie Fisher are very proud of their granddaughter, eighth-grader Casey Fisher, who attends Wilson K-8 School in Oro Valley. Casey is catcher on the Pusch Ridge All-Star junior softball team, a group made up of 13- and 14-year-old girls who represented the West Region in the 2008 Junior Softball World Series and won the final championship game 10-4 on Aug. 16 in Kirkland, Wash. In the semi-finals on Aug. 15, Pusch Ridge was leading 3-2. In the last inning, the opposing team was at bat, according to the Fishers, and the bases were loaded with one out. “The hitter tried to check swing, but hit the ball,” the proud grandparents recalled. “Casey jumped out and caught the ball and fired it to third base and got the third out. Casey’s effort sent their team to the final game the next day.” In the end, the U.S. West team from Pusch Ridge broke open a close game to defeat Latin America, 10-4, for the Junior Softball World Series championship. The game will be aired on ESPNU and be rebroadcasted Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. You know who will be watching! Hank says he’s finally “someone important ?— he’s Casey Fisher’s granddad.” rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740
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