Andrea MacMichael

Food and Travel Seminar

10/31/16

The Omnivore’s Dilemma Into and Part I Reading Response

            In my first year seminar Roots in the Earth, we watched the film Food Inc. which is a documentary about corporations that have taken over the food chain in the U.S. This documentary included interviews from Michael Pollan himself. Many of the issues that Pollan raises in Part I of The Omnivore’s Dilemma were also touched upon in the film and yet, I was still equally as disgusted and amazed after facing the information a second time when reading this book. Pollan’s voice, scathing and didactic at most points, is distinct from the very first page and makes these serious, highly important stories about the food industry laughable and almost enjoyable to read about.  Scathing and didactic, though, do not serve to fully describe his tone. I think the Los Angeles Times says it best on the back cover, calling the tone “one of gleeful irony and barely suppressed outrage.” Pollan explains dense topics with ease to readers who are not well informed (ironically, because hardly anyone is truly informed about where our food comes from in this country), and along the way he points out the absurdity of decisions people in the food business have made, and I think he is an extremely skillful writer in this way. In short, I loved every part of this reading not just for the insights I gained on the topic of “the omnivore’s dilemma,” but also for the way in which this information was presented.

            Part I covers a plethora of interesting points surrounding the omnivore’s dilemma, but the few that stood out to me were the American food culture (or lack thereof) and the corn surplus. As Pollan points out, humans have the unique ability to choose what we eat for every meal, and to choose from many more options than any other creatures. In other cultures where food traditions are more prevalent, people don’t face as great a dilemma as Americans do. I find it astounding to think that, being such a rich mixture of different cultures, we have been driven to health issues based on the idea that we don’t have a strong food culture to ground us. As Pollan argues, we have been pushed as a society to change the way we eat, and this change is not turning out to be healthy. On top of this, we have an entire food system that is “out to get us” in a sense. While we try to eat healthy, food engineers and farmers are stuffing as much corn (cheap calories) as they can into everything we consume. I agree with Pollan when he says we are corn people, because corn is one of the main ingredients that makes up our diet, whether we know it or not. We are what we eat. I believe that we have a right to know what we are eating, but our food system keeps this from us. I think there is a sense of pride in knowing from where your food comes, and food should be a form of identity in which we can understand a certain culture. However, I believe, based on this reading that food identity in this country is almost nonexistent because we need investigators to tell us what we’re eating. The rich diversity of cultures in America does not come through in our food as it does in other countries. Sadly, looking at our country in this way makes us seem like a society of little cultural interest or tradition.  

Andrea MacMichael

Food and Travel Seminar

Intended publication: The Index

Restaurant Review of Crow’s Nest

            Don’t get confused. That skinny staircase is actually the way to the restaurant. That lady wearing khaki pants up there is one of the waitresses, and those glass doors to your right, well, even though it’s so tempting to push through them, they won’t get you to a table at Crow’s Nest any faster. What they can give you is a warm cup of tea or coffee to sip on as you wait for the line on the staircase to move.

            Crow’s Nest is a cozy breakfast spot that is nestled amongst a café, a tattoo parlor, and various other establishments in the diverse Vine neighborhood of downtown Kalamazoo. It truly is nestled—other than the prominent black banner on the outside of the brick building bearing the words “Crow’s Nest” in a cute font resembling chalk, maneuvering through the crowd outside the entrance requires some experience. If you’re like me, you’ll quickly end up in the café, that is, Fourth Coast Café, on which Crow’s Nest sits. It turns out, however, that grabbing a drink a Fourth Coast isn’t so bad, and is actually a common practice when waiting in line on the stairs for Crow’s Nest. Usually a line reaching the sidewalk outside sends people running for another place, but these savvy Crow’s Nest goers gently sipped from their coffee cups and acted as if standing on a crowded staircase for 30 minutes waiting to eat brunch is normal.

            Despite my raging hunger, the long wait was surprisingly manageable. We were greeted at the top of the stairs by a friendly hostess who took us to a table approximately two steps away that met up with the railing of the staircase. After standing on the dark, slender staircase, I expected the top to open up to a vast sea of tables and chairs. It was the smallest restaurant I have ever eaten at, but, as I hoped, the top of the stairs led us to a bright, inviting space. As we took our seats, the waitress already prepared with water glasses in-hand, I couldn’t help but revel at how interesting it was up here, in the restaurant. Colorful vase-patterned half-drapes decorated the many windows and complemented the golden yellow paint and wooden trim of the walls. Every single table was full—large families and couples were represented in the small space. There was enough room for conversation, and enough room for the high volume of people dining there.

            The menu was simple, but intriguing. Nearly a whole column was devoted to eggs—all kinds of scrambled egg variations, omelets, breakfast burritos, and more. They had all the basics, oatmeal, pancakes, and they had more. They had burgers, salads, sandwiches, and somehow it all sounded incredible. I decided to go for the banana bread French toast with a side of scrambled eggs and bacon. Not long after we ordered, my plate arrived. A beautiful, thick hunk of banana bread with a lovely fluff of whipped cream sat in a thin pool of sweet brown syrup sprinkled with tiny nuts. My fork couldn’t help but dig in again and again. The banana bread was superbly moist and tangy, perfectly complemented by the sweet syrup and crunchy nuts. The whipped cream provided a light and refreshing taste to the wonderful flavor blast that entered my mouth. It was only a passing though that it tasted nothing like French toast. It was a delectable piece of warm banana bread taken to the next level. I also tried the berry cream pancakes. The fluffy golden brown discs were a delightful taste of sweet, strawberry softness, but the small pile of strawberries left me wanting more. Where are the other berries? It was a tasty, however disappointingly simple plate consisting of pancakes, some strawberries, a dollop of whipped cream, and a dusting of powdered sugar. On the savory side, I tried the biscuits and gravy with potatoes. This starch heavy dish was extremely satisfying, despite its mediocre presentation. The chunky gravy looked as if it had been left to dry on top of the biscuits, however the taste was beyond my expectations. The buttery, fluffy biscuits mopped up the thick, creamy gravy with sausage bits, while the small potatoes chunks on the side bursted with flavor. The potatoes were crispy on the outside, producing a satisfactory crunch in the mouth and made up for the strong pepper and salt seasoning that the gravy lacked. My friends and I ate in record time, devouring our food delightfully in the cozy glow, not even noticing that the waitress never came to ask us whether we were enjoying the meal. Oh, the side of scrambled eggs and bacon I mentioned earlier? Yeah, I forgot about those, too. They looked like a sad afterthought on the oversized plate they were served on, and tasted mainly of butter and glistened with it, too. But, the price of the food being so reasonable, it wasn’t that upsetting.

            I would go back today to order the banana bread French toast. There are clearly some sparkling dishes on this menu that set Crow’s Nest apart from other breakfast restaurants in the Kalamazoo area. The artsy, quaint atmosphere is unique, cozy, and fun. The service is appreciable, but more than anything, the food is worth a try. People come back again and again and wait in long lines because it is special to get a spot in the limited seating they offer, and it is special to taste dishes that are better than your average pancakes and sausage. If you’d like more privacy from the constant flow of people coming in and out, and constant service, maybe there is a better place. You will most likely have to wait in line, or plan your trip out to brunch if you’re on a tight schedule, because waiting in line seems to be part of the gig. As for the food at 2 am? Well, I guess that is a reason to go back.

Andrea MacMichael

Food and Travel Seminar

Restaurant Expectations: Crow’s Nest

I really want to eat at Fandango. The tinted windows and colorful inside lighting of this corner tapas restaurant in the Kalamazoo Mall have enticed me ever since my dad and I spotted it on our first walk together through downtown Kalamazoo last year. I wanted to experience the seemingly exclusive, lively, and fun Spanish dining experience but, alone with a few of my friends, we decided we’d rather try out something more “fit” for a college student- a place a little more casual. We chose Crow’s Nest. After anticipating a long awaited meal at Fandango (my dad and I have tried to go there many times, and every time it has to be closed), I am less interested in going to eat breakfast food, but, I’ve heard that everybody loves Crow’s Nest. Everybody is surprised that I haven’t been there.

After doing some research into the restaurant, my expectations have risen. I am going to eat at “Kalamazoo’s Favorite Restaurant,” as it is described on the restaurant website. My advisor says she meets there frequently with professors from Western Michigan University, my friends have, on multiple occasions, gone there on a Friday or Saturday for pancakes at 2 am, and I’ve read that it’s been around for almost ten years. I am excited to eat at a restaurant that keeps local people coming back again and again, and one that has been a part of the community for such a long time.

I am skeptical, however, about the fact that it is open for 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays. The description of the restaurant on the website creates an image in my mind of a small, trendy, cozy, breakfast café, while the long hours on these two days make me wonder about the quality of the food. I don’t usually associate quality food with late hours, or breakfast restaurants, for that matter. I venture that maybe the food is slightly above average, while the service and home-like atmosphere are excellent. I’m expecting, therefore, that the service and atmosphere have given this restaurant a special spot in the Vine neighborhood of downtown Kalamazoo and in the hearts of people in the Kalamazoo area.

I am expecting that the dining experience will be similar to the one I had at Sophia’s House of Pancakes. Last year I ate there with the softball team before we left for our spring training trip in Florida. The food was nothing especially exciting- heaping plates of pancakes, oversized omelets, and orange juice all around. It was food my family could make for Sunday brunch, with portions doubled. It felt like a small-town diner. The service was great, the atmosphere casual and cozy, and it had decent food. I hope Crow’s Nest lives up to the rave reviews it has, and I hope the food is more unique and flavorful than that of Sophia’s House of Pancakes and my general idea of brunch-type restaurants. That is, I hope the food is at least as good, if not better, than the service. I want Crow’s Nest to stand out.

I am excited to eat at Crow’s Nest because it is a big part of the city of Kalamazoo. I am from the Detroit area, so coming to college here, I did not know much about the city of Kalamazoo. In a way, I want this experience to be a sort of tourism for me. I have not explored the area outside of campus very much other than by eating out at the local restaurants with my parents. This has been my way of getting to know the area, and I believe that the more restaurants I try, the better I will understand and appreciate this city I now live in. As is brought up in the Culinary Tourism piece by Lucy Long, food is a great gateway into other cultures, and I think eating at a long-time favorite restaurant such as Crow’s Nest will help further immerse me into the Kalamazoo community. It may not be Fandango, but I think it will be fun.