[vinod]

Hi Folks,

American Folklife Festival has begun and it is an honor and privilege that Indique Heights has been selected to be the exclusive source of Bhutanese food for the festival being held at the National Mall from June 25 to june 29, July 2 – July 6th 2008. Stop by and say hello.

Vinod
www.indiqueheights.com
www.indique.com
www.chefvinod.com

[Palaver]

I tried the ema datsi (rice, cheese, onions, and slivers of jalapeno-like chiles) and nakey tshoem (chicken with fiddlehead ferns, cheese, chiles, onion, garlic, ginger, and special seasonings) yesterday and I liked them both quite a lot, though the ema datsi is not for the faint of heart. The chicken had a nice ginger flavor. I'm curious -- what are the dark reddish brown bits in the rice? Is that just red rice?

[MsDiPesto]

Palaver, on Jun 27 2008, 01:05 AM, said:

... the ema datsi is not for the faint of heart.

In other words, it's Rockwellian worthy!

[vinod]

Palaver, on Jun 27 2008, 01:05 AM, said:

I tried the ema datsi (rice, cheese, onions, and slivers of jalapeno-like chiles) and nakey tshoem (chicken with fiddlehead ferns, cheese, chiles, onion, garlic, ginger, and special seasonings) yesterday and I liked them both quite a lot, though the ema datsi is not for the faint of heart. The chicken had a nice ginger flavor. I'm curious -- what are the dark reddish brown bits in the rice? Is that just red rice?

Hi there,
I am glad you liked the dishes - I am going to tone down the heat a little bit tomorrow for the Ema Datsi - I do not know whether you noticed that we changed the chicken dish to jasha tshoem instead of nakey tshoem - nakey means fiddlehead ferns which are out of season and cannot get them.
Now to your last question - yes it is red rice.

I just learned that the red rice eaten in Bhutan is generally polished and is not that red. Whereas the red rice imported from Bhutan comes unpolished and hence is dark reddish in color.

Vinod

[goodeats]

DS and I went on Thursday and did not stay long due to the extreme heat. We shared a Mango lassi and Momos. The momos reminded me of xiao long baos, but a bit bigger and without the extra juices. The dough was nice and chewy. The hot sauce was a bit too much for me, but I have a bland palette.

DS really, really enjoyed the Mango lassi -- so much so that he got mad at me when I tried to drink some!

[NCPinDC]

Friday night my plans got washed away as the vendors had to shut down because of the storm. So yesterday I took a detour to the Mall to try the Bhutanese food. I went with the ema datsi and hope that it was incredibly mild yesterday. Why? because it didn't taste hot at all. In fact I didn't eat much of it because it was for all intents and purposes a thick cheese soup with chiles and other things in it. But I did eat all the rice. What is the yummy red accent to the rice?

I want to try the chicken dish with fiddleheads next....

[synaesthesia]

The ema datsi was slightly kicky and pretty delicious, but reminded me more of Tex-Mex for some reason with its soupy green chilis. Was less than impressed with the chicken, which I found to be a bit soupy and unextraordinary. Agreed that the rice was pretty delicious. The momos came with what basically looked like Old El Paso salsa. The mango lassi was super delicious, and has me thinking of getting out my jar of mangos in mango juice and some yogurt.

[Tujague]

Got the momos and mango lassi at the Bhutanese booth--the former okay, the latter delicious, though pricey at $5. My question is, Why were none of the food booths at the Folklife Festival selling bottled water today? Every one of them had it crossed off their menus.

I was disappointed in the Festival this year--some good music, but truly underwhelming exhibits--virtually nothing in the Texas section (and since when does NASA count as "folk life"?). Also, sparse crowds, given an overall not bad day.

[MC Horoscope]

I felt bad for the Asian vendor in the Texas area. I passed by their area Sunday around noon and later at one and there were so few people eating that the vendors were actually calling out to the crowd passing by to stop and eat. I have never seen that before!

I had the barbecue sausage in the Texas area and was surprised by how bland it was. Couldn't even finish it. I hope their ribs were better.

I'll try the Bhutanese area next time I go. The mango drinks looked tempting!

[NCPinDC]

MC Horoscope, on Jun 30 2008, 02:43 PM, said:

I felt bad for the Asian vendor in the Texas area. I passed by their area Sunday around noon and later at one and there were so few people eating that the vendors were actually calling out to the crowd passing by to stop and eat. I have never seen that before!

I had the barbecue sausage in the Texas area and was surprised by how bland it was. Couldn't even finish it. I hope their ribs were better.

I'll try the Bhutanese area next time I go. The mango drinks looked tempting!

Same on Saturday for the Asian vendor in Texas.

[MelGold]

I don't get why they are offering Asian food for TX...anyone want to help me out? If they really wanted this Texan to stand up & take notice, they'd have had a pastry booth with churros, kolaches and HEB sour cream donuts. And they could have flown in some Blue Bell ice cream or Big Red soda. Oh well...Asleep at the Wheel was great entertainment last night!

[MC Horoscope]

Houston has a large Vietnamese population (second largest in the country), and the Texas shrimpers are mostly Vietnamese, so the idea of serving Vietnamese food was a good one but maybe not well done. I thought there would be chili at the festival but they stuck to ribs, brisket, and sausage.

Anyway, this link covers the vendors:
http://www.folklife....oncessions.html

I guess there was no NASA related food.

[ScotteeM]

MelGold, on Jun 30 2008, 03:17 PM, said:

I don't get why they are offering Asian food for TX...anyone want to help me out? If they really wanted this Texan to stand up & take notice, they'd have had a pastry booth with churros, kolaches and HEB sour cream donuts. And they could have flown in some Blue Bell ice cream or Big Red soda. Oh well...Asleep at the Wheel was great entertainment last night!

From the Washington Post last Wednesday: "Texas Vietnamese : The state's coastal fishing and shrimping industries drew many Vietnamese immigrants in the wave after the fall of Saigon in the 1970s, and Houston is home to the second-largest community of Vietnamese Americans in the United States, according to the Smithsonian."

[Tujague]

ScotteeM, on Jun 30 2008, 03:56 PM, said:

From the Washington Post last Wednesday: "Texas Vietnamese : The state's coastal fishing and shrimping industries drew many Vietnamese immigrants in the wave after the fall of Saigon in the 1970s, and Houston is home to the second-largest community of Vietnamese Americans in the United States, according to the Smithsonian."

Of course, that wasn't something you could have learned at the Festival itself, given how half-assed the Texas exhibits were. Our nation's chief Texan must have been in charge of them...

[MelGold]

Ah...so you were supposed to learn something?! Appreciate y'all helpin' a girl out.

[goodeats]

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival starts tomorrow.

I am not sure why all the Asian Pacific Americans were lumped together, especially since they had one dedicated to Bhutan (see upthread, of which, btw, Chef Vinod is presenting again there) just 2 years ago.

But there is a class on Soba noodle making tomorrow at 12noon at the "Tea House" for those interested. Also interesting is tomorrow's 3pm "talkstory" session, FAQs: Was D.C.'s Chinatown Always So Small?

This post has been edited by goodeats: 23 June 2010 - 08:36 PM

[MC Horoscope]

Indique Heights had a concession! I tried the street food Bhel Puri from the menu of Indique Heights and a mango lassi. Their presence alone makes this a much better year than most recent years for food vendors, IMO. I didn't see what kind of Mexican food was offered. There was a Buddy's Barbecue stand over by the Smithsonian feature of the festival.

Bhel Puri is a street food of puffed rice, crispy gram flour noodles, onion, cilantro, and tamarind chutney

[goodeats]

MC Horoscope, on 25 June 2010 - 02:41 PM, said:

I didn't see what kind of Mexican food was offered.

I believe Casa Oaxaca was the vendor for Mexico. Menu.