Japanese Anime

Yesterday (3-21-2009), I took my son, daughter and her boyfriend to an anime convention down in Fort Lauderdale to a beautiful Japanese Garden called Morikami Museum . Now I know Jack Diddly about anime, in fact I think it is totally weird, but then again I am a Trekkie, and I know how we are perceived. With that said, I was a bit concerned with what our food choices were going to be when we got there.

So, we packed a lunch of sub sandwiches just in case our potions were limited. Well, we had soooo many choices. Usually there is cultural food at these events, whether it be Japanese or Mexican, or German, but there is always your good old vendor with a slice of pizza, or a hot dog or burger. Well this time the tables were turned. I went up just to check out some of the food and all the ethnic food vendors were lined up. You had vegetable tempura, Japanese cabbage salad, and a plethora of other items. So us vegetarians, and yes, even vegans could have survived for one meal.

My sister treated me to lunch, which was actually quite affordable for the amount you were given. So I opted for the eggplant and rice (which was white). Well well well, I no know what to do with Japanese eggplant. It is so cool when you eat somewhere and eat something and you have a good idea what ingredients are in there (Go River!). This dish was so delicious in its simplicity.

If I had to say, it was sauteed in a mixture of Hoisin and some soy sauce. But it was not too salty or too sweet, so it was the perfect blend of the two. It was a great day despite the downpours. Here in Florida we needed the rain, but it would have been nicer if the skies had waited until we left the Gardens. We are already planning our next years convention.