Fan Tang – Albuquerque, New Mexico
For “city dwellers” Chinese restaurants are ubiquitous. There’s one in every corner Most urbanites were weaned on Chinese food. It’s as much a part of their diet as “American” food. Those of us who grew up in the “sticks” during the stone age had to travel great distances to find Chinese food…and when we did find a Chinese restaurant, we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Everything we knew about that mysterious, exotic cuisine came from television programs in the days long preceding the Food Network. Every once in a while, mention was made on one of those television shows about egg foo young. I’m thinking maybe Maxwell Smart may have mentioned egg foo young during in an episode in which he battled his nemesis “The Craw“, er…The Claw. As chronicled on Gil’s Thrilling…my very first experience with Chinese food transpired in Lexington, Massachusetts within easy walking distance of the famous Lexington Minuteman Statue. My friend (and boss at the time) Paul Venne enjoyed my bumpkinly naivete. I literally had no idea about Chinese food other than the little bit learned from television. He recommended starting out at the Chinese Food 101 level. That meant egg…
