The box makes the meal
Add this to the list of things we don’t learn in grade school. Foods can be improved by packaging. Let me tell you a little story about that.
For years, TV has shown us that Chinese/Thai food is delivered in special containers. A form of box that immediately tells the audience what the menu of the day might be.
See: immediate identification. Except that the restaurants in this area don’t use this format of box. Or anything vaguely similar. In fact, the chop suey and the poutine containers are identical (on the outside).
This has caused a certain level of angst around the house. Why can’t our world be more like the TV world? And knowing that other Canadian cities – Toronto, for instance – do just adds to the perceived injury.
Until today. Someone at work was eating from the right form of box. I don’t know if it was real take away or supermarket ersatz, but I had to ask the assembled diners. Does someone in the city actually use the magical container. And it turns out that one small restaurant does.
Working from Google Street View, I had a name. Three telephone numbers later, we had affirmed the fact, and we were off. Forget the chicken breasts I’d prepared (there’s always tomorrow) and get thee to an eatery.
I’ve eaten my first meal from an authentic take away container. We ate, in the restaurant, but the symbolism was still there. I now can say, with experience, that Pad Sew in a box is great. As for the chopsticks… another story. Half way through I gave up and got a fork.
