London's Thai Cottage put the pow in nam prik pao on Wednesday when fumes from a huge pot of dry cooking bird's eye chilies sparked a terror alert that led police to break down the restaurant's door. Firefighters emerged from the eatery with a pot containing nine pounds of smoking peppers.

Soho residents had complained of a chemical burning their throats and the London Fire Brigade quickly dispatched a chemical response team. When I was a kid my chilihead father had the brilliant idea of making his own hot oil in the house by frying peppers in oil. So I can attest to the fact that vapors from smoking chilies do indeed take one's breath away. Thank god dear old Dad didn't use anywhere near nine pounds.

I will say however that smoking peppers do not smell at all like a chemical. Chef Chalemchai Tangjariyapoon agrees, "I was making a spicy dip with extra-hot chillies that are deliberately burnt. To us, it smells like burnt chili and it is slightly unusual."

Each of us hold in our hearts the secret crushes of our lives -- whether it's that barista who flashes you an adorable smile every morning with your nonfat soy decaf latte or an unrequited crush on some B-list celeb. I, however, am not so subtle, and proudly proclaim my utter adoration for Anthony Bourdain. I love the man.

So, I can't tell you how absolutely edamame-green with envy I was to read about LA foodblogger Dylan's encounter with the object of my affection. Dylan writes at Eat, Drink n Be Merry, and also has a food blog on the side dedicated to noodles called Noodle Whore. It was via a post about Sapp Coffee Shop in LA's Thai Town that Tony Bourdain found Dylan, and from there...the rest is jealousy-inducing history. Dylan got to meet Tony while the chef was in LA filming for an episode of his show, which included Sapp Coffee Shop.

Lucky.

Several years ago I encountered a Thai snack food that utterly captivated me. I was perusing the shelves of goodies that lined the counter at Queens' Sripraphai. This was back in the day when this wonderful Thai eatery had yet to undergo a slick renovation and was still a hole in the wall, but in a good way.

I spied a round container filled with fried garlic chips, huge dried (maybe fried) shrimp, kaffir lime leaves, dried hot peppers, peanuts and cashews. The cashier saw me eyeing it and told me it was a Thai snack that goes well with beer. I'd downed more than a few cold ones while munching on the Chinese beer snack of salty fried fish, chiles, black beans and peanuts, but I'd never seen anything quite like this. Immediately I pegged it as a great snack to munch on over a few cold brews. But what really drew me to it was the combination of classic Thai flavors it embodied. Hot, sweet, salty and fishy ... mmm. I couldn't wait to try it.

I noticed that Trader Joe's recently started stocking the type of noodles used for making pad Thai, and even though I now have a bunch stocked away in my kitchen, I can't get motivated to make anything with them. Thai cooking is time intensive and, while worth it in the end, you can't always dedicate a lot of time to cooking during the week. Quick & Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes delivers recipes that you can make even when you are relatively short on time that still have all the great thai flavors you are hoping for. The recipes are easy to understand, so it is also a good starting point for someone who wants to get a feel for the basics of Thai food and flavors. One of the best features of the book is that the author provides lots of substitutions, so you will be able to work with most of the recipes even if you don't have access to a well-stocked Asian market, though some staples (like fish sauce and sriracha) will definitely have to be added to the pantry. Recipes include Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, Green Curry Chicken with Zucchini, Spicy Cashew Salad with Chilies, Cilantro and Lime and Sticky Rice with Mangos.

For a less "quick and easy" look at Thai cuisine, try author Nancie McDermott's Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking, which offers a few more techniques, more curries and some more exotic/less common recipes.

Richard Vines, the London-based food critic for Bloomberg just posted a guide to dining in Bangkok that runs the gamut from cheap authentic Thai eats to more upscale Thai fare.

Vines is quick to point out that Thai street food has caused many a Brit food poisoning and cautions against it. For cheap eats he reccomends Suda, which lists a whopping 170 Thai and Chinese disheson its illustrated menu. And with an order of stir-fried tuna with basil leaves and chili costing only 80 baht ($2.10), one can see why it's a viable alternative to roadside stands.

For more elegant fare, his pick is Celadon at the upscale Sukothai hotel. It serves dishes from all over Thailand. Standouts include grilled beef sirloin served with dried chili and shallot sauce. Hotel buffets don't fare well in his roundup, with both the Marriott and Hilton getting called out for boring food.

And if for some strange reason you crave French or Italian food in Bangkok he recommends Lyon and Zanotti.

I don't know how this one slipped past me: The New York Times' Travel section spends 36 hours in Hollywood, but on a slightly different plan than the typical tourist. There is quite of activity, but of course, we here at Slahfood care all about the food, and were happy to see that they made it to some cool places that we have tried.

Friday night, dinner is at Palms Thai (which I have tried), where a Thai Elvis shimmies and shakes while you suck down frogs' legs and fried air bladder. Late night, Birds Cafe is a "scene"-less rotisserie chicken joint.

Saturday morning, roll out of bed and head to Square One for eggs. A late lunch? Perhaps it's an afternoon snack? They recommend hot dogs, either from Pink's or Skooby's. Ice cream afterwards has to be from Mashti Malone's. For late night eats, Magnolia and The Bowery and right next to each other for your choice.

Last stop on Sunday morning is for brunch at Off Vine.

 

 

Three Thai Restaurants from today's Telegraph. We have a rather popular Thai eatery in my home town and, despite my love of Thailand, I regret to say I have never eaten there. These three recommendations are in Cadiff, Oxford and London -

• Thai House 3-5 Guildford Crescent, Cardiff "when it opened its doors in 1985 it was the 1st Thai restaurant outside London" [website]
• Chiang Mai Kitchen 130a High Street, Oxford "Inside timber frames and creeking oak stairs co-exist with Buddhas and Oriental antiques. Food is superb." [website]
• Isarn 119 Upper Street, London "The restaurant is sleek and chic, with black tongue-and-grove wood panelling to flatter the narrow space... Food is Thai with a twist" [details]

When one sets out to create a list, it is important to set standards. What criteria will be used to rule out inappropriate items? Why is this item on the list in the first place? The BBC's list of the top 50 things to eat before you die seems to be lacking some of these standards. Apparently, viewers and readers voted on food items, which were narrowed to a field of 50 based on the number of votes received. The top 10 were:

1. Fresh fish
2. Lobster
3. Steak
4. Thai food
5. Chinese food
6. Ice cream
7. Pizza
8. Crab
9. Curry
10. Prawns