HUNGRY GERALD

One of HG’s favorite food blogs is LauHound.com. LauHound writes about food and restaurants (primarily Asian) in New York, California, Singapore, Hong Kong and other regions. His prose is detailed, straight faced and totally devoid of humor or irony. Lau concentrates on the food (without overwhelming you with his personality) and illustrates the blog with mouth watering photos. Lau is not prolific (unlike HG). You can expect a new LauHound post once a month (or at longer intervals). HG’s only complaint about Lauhound is that there is a lot of reporting on Chinese bakeries. HG is not a fan of Chinese cakes and pastries. In HG’s opinion, this is a culinary art best left to the French, Danes and Viennese. Log in to LauHound’s new post on a New York Thai restaurant called Somtum Der. It will make you hustle down to Avenue A. (New York has changed. Yesteryear, Avenue A was a venue for drugs and violence…not savory dining).

www.LauHound.com is one of HG’s and SJ’s favorite food blogs. While it is indispensable for lovers of Chinese and other Asian food, the reviews touch on a wide range of deliciousness (even introducing HG and SJ to the best Greek pastries in NYC). Lau’s restaurant reviews have unusual depth, analyzing anywhere from six to a dozen of a restaurant’s offerings. But, like any restaurant reviewer, Lau is not infallible. He recently called Hong Kong Cafe the best restaurant in Chinatown. Based on that praise, SJ (and famille) and HG’s Restaurateur Daughter Victoria dined there. Their unanimous verdict: Ungood; however SJ’s faith in Lau is unshaken — every restaurant can have an off night, and SJ will give Hong Kong Cafe a second chance. What makes reading Lauhound a delight is his straightforward prose, devoid of any hint of irony or humor — a sort of Friday (from Dragnet) of culinary delights — “Just the food ma’am.” He can be unconsciously funny. HG was beguiled and amused by his recent review of Main Street Imperial, a Taiwanese restaurant in the Flushing neighborhood of New York. In particular Lau discusses a dish of “Putz Fish” with seemingly no mention or understanding that “Putz” is the Yiddish word for penis (turns out the Taiwanese “Putz” is a berry or fruit — in Lau’s own words “The thing that I ended up liking the best about this dish was the putz; it reminded me of a sweet olive”). Irregardless of Lauhound’s lack of Yiddish skills, HG and SJ will continue to look forward to his posts and discovering wonderful food based on his acute observations.