Wednesday, June 29, 2011

1524 Thai'd Up

The American food industry isn't afraid to try new combinations. Ever since the success of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, culinary creators have lived up to the melting pot ideal.
People forget that when peanut butter was first introduced, no one was sure what to do with it. It was obviously a salty treat, so attempts were made to package it as a dinner alternative. Sort of an early tofu.
Instead of being packaged in jars, it was sold in chubs or rolls. Not unlike liverwurst sausage. Early versions even included peanut butter chubs laced with bacon bits. To those accustomed to PB&Js and the combo of sweet and salty that implies, bacon bits sounds a little too savory. But it's good.
Likewise the donut shops now purveying maple bars with bacon bits on them. Also unheard of not long ago. But think about its inspiration. Pancakes with maple syrup, bacon on the same plate catching the mapleiferous drippage...
Yum...
So I expect the new pizza I just saw in an ad from Papa Murphy's will be as good. They don't come up with a bad combination. But I confess, at this point it seems like a taste clash. On the order of green olives and chocolate milk.
The delicacy in question is the new Thai Chicken deLITE Pizza. Sounds weird somehow. Thai Pizza. Like two food categories not completely compatible. Like chipotle lime lasagna or salsa-slathered Boston Baked Bean burritos.
You expect some food categories to establish certain territorial borders. Pizzas kind of Italian, Thai food kind of Thai. You wouldn't imagine, say, a borscht enchilada.
Still, Papa Murphy's has no doubt hit another one out of the park. And why not bring countries together through their cuisine? Culinary fusion...
And pizza for peace.
America, ya gotta love it.

1 comment:

Scott Haley said...

Try the Thai chicken pizza at Wagner's Pizza Annex on Capital Way.