Night Market was a phrase tossed around the office, and pretty much any time I’ve gone out with some office mates and their local friends. It was a category under “Thing You Must Experience” that often came up in conversations. One of the joys of being a foreigner is that people feel compelled to show you the better parts of their city, and do their best to “convert” you to actually liking it. Granted the “welcome reception” was less than stellar, and the first few months were incredibly rocky, and hard, but I’ll admit Vancouver is kind of growing on me.
And then I experience something like Night Market, and realize Chicago is far ahead.
Let me back up a step, though, as I have learned that there is more than one Night Market and, as with Bubble Tea, they are not equal.
The Night Market I went to last night is apparently the “original.” The one most are familiar and had all the glory until the new on opened this year and stole all its thunder. Or so I was informed after providing my honest opinion of how underwhelming it seemed, especially after all the talk the past few weeks. “Gong show” was often used to describe it, though with caveats that the phrase didn’t fully encompass the hordes of people who would be in attendance. I couldn’t help but think of Taste of Chicago or Lollapalooza. Hordes of people crammed into a small space in 90 degree weather. Not for the faint of heart or people who prefer to not have their “dancing space” invaded.
With that mental image in mind, it was underwhelming.
Moving around was easy. The vendors didn’t contain anything that seemed particularly unusual, except samurai swords for under $50. The food vendors seem to be the most popular, and this is where I was befuddled by the utter obsession, hype and high interest in something called Hurricane Fries.
As you can tell from the photo above, it’s a potato, cut in a circle, placed on a stick and fried. It is then dipped in a seasoning of your choice. Since there was a deal going on, we got two. One dipped in BBQ, the other in Sour Cream and Onion. The line snaked around the place, and there was more than one vendor. For the life of me, I couldn’t, and still can’t, figure out the attraction.
They weren’t bad. And there is something to be said about eating what essentially amounts to a potato chip, fresh.
Asians have struck on gold, though. Take an ordinary American food, like the potato chip, cut it in a similar fashion, like circles but don’t break the circle. Instead, string it along a stick, deep fry it and viola! A popular food item is born. With a fair amount of success, it seems. The other popular item of the night seemed to be what amounted to a hot dog, coated in corn flakes and deep friend. There was a line up for that, too, though I can’t remember the name of it.
I did wonder where the potato’s came from, and discovered that Idaho Potatoes are not as common as you’d think. That was interesting.
The other Night Market is apparently the one to go to, and I’m quite curious to check it out.
And the sun is out, so out I go.
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