Tonight I have been watching a food competition and have been having some thoughts about some of the foods that I have been missing around the world.

I often get these thoughts when I watch food shows.

I thought of this great Massamum Beef Curry at my favorite Thai food restaurant in North Ryde, NSW.

I thought of the oldest restaurant I have eaten at. This restaurant in Jena, Germany is over 500 years old. When I go there I almost always have the Thuringer Rostbratchen, which is a pork steak served with potatoes, roasted onions and spicy mustard. This is one of my favorite meals in Germany.

I also miss sharing a whole fish in Shanghai with my students.

I also miss eating at Nando’s. I have eaten at Nando’s a few places around the world. Why can they not make it to California? They are in the Chicago and Baltimore markets, but nowhere else in the USA. However, they now sell the sauces here, so I can at least get a taste of the spices.

One of the things I really miss is Birnen-Pfanne at Restauration Stilbruch in Jena, Germany.

This is one of my favorite dishes around the world.

Here is the description from the menu: Schweinefleischstreifen angeschwenkt mit Birnen und Kartoffeln, gewürzt mit frischem spanischen Pfeffer (scharf!!!), mit Gouda gratiniert

For those of you who do not know much German, the name of the dish in English would be Pear Pan. The ingredients are strips of pork, pears, potatoes, Spanish peppers and Gouda cheese.

I am now hungry.

Steven