Ben Hanna

I just wanted to give a shout out to my friend Ben who's on his own in the oh-so foreign lands of the East. He's been keeping his blog updated on his adventures in Korea extremely well and each of his posts have been great reads. I met Ben in Atlanta... still need to catch up on that trip. But, in the meantime, check out Ben's blog. You won't regret it! Here's a recent post of his I thought was particularly enjoyable:

Korean food is notoriously light on meat. It consists primarily of vegetables, spices, and rice. If you know me, you know that I am definitely a carnivore. It has been weeks since I grilled out, and had I known I wouldn’t have my fill here, I would have overloaded before I came. I have been eating a lot of bread during the day, and getting these little corn-dog type fried things in the evenings to try to satisfy my cravings. Tonight I was walking to the Dunkin Donuts that is around the town square because they have internet and it is cold here, so it feels good to get a coffee and sit on my laptop while watching people rush by the window. I suddenly smelled the distinct smell of someone grilling out. No crazy hot spices, no odd dog scent, just good old fashions cooking out. I froze, and then proceeded to do a full block grid search to find the smell. I finally located it up on a hill. it was a restaurant with pictures of meat all over it! I have since been told that Koreans are known for their barbecued meat, but it is not always easy to find, and they don’t eat it as often. Could have fooled me, This was the first place I had seen. I went in, planning on ordering the cheap w3300 pork strips, but got talked into getting the grilled sirloin. I said I wanted one, but the kid insisted that I get two - thus doubling my bill. He was right, I ate it all. They bring a bed of coals to the table, and grill it for you on the table. The smell of marinated meat was overwhelming. As usual here, they also give you a plethora of side orders that no man could ever finish. Of this were some sauted peanuts, a mix between boiled and pickled, but they were great. There was also an entire apple cut up and in a sweet yogurt sauce. Also great. I had to get the kid to show me how I was supposed to eat the meat, because he had chopped it up into bit size pieces. You pick them up with your chopsticks, put them in a lettuce leaf, add garlic and sauce, wrap it up, and enjoy. Whenever he wasn’t looking I just stuffed the pieces into my mouth. He was laughing with some people because I was a silly American who didn’t even know how to eat. I may be a silly American, but he is a 17-year-old guy wearing pink Hello Kitty slippers. The world says I win on this one. I end this day of rest full, content, and ready to travel again.