Messy Chicago or Neat Marin

Chuck Cohen of The Christian Science Monitor compares the food of his native Chicago with that of his current home, Marin County in the San Francisco Bay area.  Chicago's foods are drippy, juicy, overflowing messes.  Marin's vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian (vegetarian plus fish) restaurants, on the other hand, seem to be prepared by the late Phil Hartman's Anal Retentive Chef.

California's consciousness-raising cuisine can be just too, too  much for someone raised on a soaked Italian beef and sausage combo with extra giardiniera.  He tells of one vegan restaurant with the following menu items (anyone with a delicate gag reflex should stop reading right here): "I Am Bright-Eyed" (this is pecan porridge) , "I Am Fun" (this is a slice of onion sunflower bread), and "I Am Passionate" (marinara pizza).  Of a hemp ice cream he tasted at the Marin Farmer's Market, he says, "surprisingly, it tastes worse than it sounds."

The full article can be found here.