The "World Famous" Label

I recently visited The Hat, a fast food joint with the best pastrami sandwich in town. So good in fact, the small chain here in California claims the sandwich is "world famous." I'll admit, I will drive the extra miles for a chance to get one because it is much better than the mom and pop burger joints closer to home. I also used to visit this little burger joint in La Habra, California called TS Burgers and they specialized in their "world famous" cheeseburgers. The burgers are good enough to have appeared in the column of a local newspaper. The newspaper clipping of the column is proudly displayed on the wall of the dining room--their justification for calling their cheeseburgers "world famous." As good as the pastrami and the burgers are, I don't believe the label "world famous" is appropriate because I doubt my uncle in Mexico City who has never set a foot north of the border has heard about the best pastrami or burger in the world. It is my extended family and friends in another country which helps me determine if something is indeed "world famous." All I have to do is pick up the phone. Only a few places can be worthy of the label: McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and KFC. These are only handful of brands which have dominated the world by building establishments in as many countries as possible. Their products and logos are instantly recognizable by people in the seven continents. Yes, even Antarctica because the territory hosts men and women from all over the world to study the harsh yet majestic ice world. McDonalds alone has thousands of locations all over the globe which, according to Morgan Spurlock, the golden arches are more recognizable than the Christian cross--that is truly world famous. The same "world famous" label could be attributed to people. From Michel Jordan, Queen Elizabeth, Obama, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lionel Messi, Julia Roberts and so on. Their popularity in the world of sports and entertainment have give them an intense popularity that they cannot go to the bathroom without someone taking a picture of them. I do like eating at establishments which serve a particular food loved by their hungry clientele. It is especially good to have the same people return for more and suggest it to a friend or family member. This is what a business wants to be a superior player in the highly competitive market. Even if a city is fortunate enough to have a restaurant with the best pizza, sandwich or whatever the stomach desires, I think the "best in town" label is more appropriate. I will never forget the time I asked a ten-year-old girl from Norway what the best part of visiting America was. She responded with the most interesting answer of all, "I can't believe you can buy fifty chicken nuggets for ten dollars. We don't have that in Norway." Once again, world famous.

Chef (2014)

I am not a big fan of movies about cooking. I guess when I watched Julie and Julia (2009), with Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, I felt like I needed a break from cooking movies. The movie was not horrible. I just didn't like the dramatic performance of Amy Adams. Then, several years later, I rented Chef, starring Jon Favreau, John Leguizamo and Sofia Vergara and immediately placed it on my top favorites. Writer Jon Favreau's writing and directing made this movie enjoyable from start to finish. The movie is about an awesome chef in a fine dining restaurant who quits after a confrontation with the owner and decides to start a food truck business with his son and friend. The comedy and drama is well balanced. You have jokes, insults and cursing which I believe was the reason it was given the "R" rating. On the other hand, you have the professional chef who realized the best thing he can do was the only skill he needed to connect with his son and the people around him. We can't forget about the food. The food featured made me salivate like I had not eaten in days. The culinary tour of dishes and specialties form several regions in the United States makes you think the basics like sandwiches, beignets, and barbeque is what bring people together. Who needs fine dining and sugar-coated foods like sweetbreads and lamb fries when you have the basics with beer chasers and good music in the background. All this is featured in Chef. I highly recommend it.

The Most Wonderful Food in the World

"The Most Wonderful Food in the World" 

by Daniel Silva Valencia

Plastic and acrylic paint on board (20" x 30") 

February 2020

"The Most Wonderful Food in the World" is the result of something I saw in one of my dreams. I am a bartender by profession. I do art and write in my spare time (as you can see in my blog). I did completed several art and architecture courses during my studies at Fullerton College. Some of my favorite artists include: Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Andrew Wyeth, Georgia O'Keefe, Eugene Delacroix, Jacques-Louis David, David Hockney, Wassily Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Juan Gris, Roy Lichtenstein, and Giorgio de Chirico. They were my inspiration to be artistic. I immediately began collecting bread ties the following day at work. Once I had a substantial amount, I bought all the materials to complete it. The most difficult part was finding the right glue and board to attach the bread ties securely and straight. After a few trials, I chose a white, heavy-duty art board I found at the local art store (Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster, California). This material worked best for the non-porous surface of the bread ties. The paint was the best part. I used glossy acrylic paint and spent several hours in the application. The colors were chosen to represent a popular and historical brand of bread in America. Some of the dots were strategically placed to further emphasize the brand. Over the course of a week, I applied some of the dots by hand and cleaned up some of the paint which bled on the bread ties. Once it was completed and cured, I applied a micro signature with a special pen. The result is a  juxtaposition of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. This is a unique work of art and I am quite please with the result.