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Shit Asian Moms Say. (My kids pretending to be me). 

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TJ and Stefanie were our very first customers at Ba & Me. They've been loyal patrons ever since. They’re better known around town as the owners of Ridgeback Sports, a sporting goods store on the other side of Main Street in Callicoon. Though they lived and worked in the city, the couple recently made the bold move upstate full time to enjoy a simpler life. Stefanie happily admits to owning a few chickens, pigs and lamas on their property. 

1) How long have you lived here in Callicoon? TJ was raised here and I (Stefanie) have lived here full time for 2 years now.

2) What do you love most about living up here? What's not to love? 

3) Where is your favorite place to go?  Our fire pit. 

4) Why did you decide to move to Callicoon? We always wanted to be here, and starting our business gave us a reason to move, full time. 

5) Where will you be in five years? Right here, at home. 

6) Lastly, what’s your favorite item at Ba & Me? The Kimchi Beef, the Five-Spice local chicken, the summer rolls, you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. 

TJ and Stefanie also organize a weekly group run in town. You can find out more about this by visiting their Facebook page. 

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Robin is definitely one of our favorite customers. He owns (in our opinion) the best local wine shop in the area called Callicoon Wine Merchant. We love seeing Robin because he’s easy going, knows what he wants and is totally patient and understanding. Plus he’s a skilled chef (he works at Mathews on Main once a week), so it’s a huge compliment to have him as a loyal patron. 

7 Questions for a Local:

1) How long have you lived here in Callicoon? Full-time, seven years. 

2) What do you love most about living up here? The fresh air. 

3) Where is your favorite place to go? My deck. 

4) What did you do before you moved to Callicoon? I owned a restaurant called the Market Cafe on 9th Avenue in NYC.

5) Why did you decide to move to Callicoon? My wife and I wanted to raise our daughter here. 

6) What’s your favorite item at Ba & Me? I love the summer rolls. The kim chi beef is fantastic; and that curry soup you made… ahh, that was fantastic. 

7) Where will you be in five years? Right here. 

We'll be covering more interesting Callicoon locals like Robin here on the Ba & Me Blawg, so be sure to check back soon! :)

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I recently got in touch with my uncle, a former US Air Force operations specialist who married my aunt during the Vietnam War. I was trying to compile a library of family photos for Bà & Mẹ to use at a later time and asked him to send me as much as he could since my own parents had left everything behind when we escaped Vietnam. These images were taken in around 1969 in Nha Trang, the city I was born in. It was interesting for me to see Vietnam captured through the eyes of an American.

In my uncle's words below:

I joined the Air Force in August 1964 and volunteered for Vietnam about 1.5 years later.  I was sent to Thailand in August 1966 instead. After a year tour, I again volunteered for Vietnam and was assigned to the Fifth Air Commando Squadron in Nha Trang, Vietnam.  I was an Air Operations Specialist who filed flight plans, maintained navigational materials, prepared operational reports, made coffee and sometimes filled in as a load master for flights to our detachments at Bien Hoa and Bien Thuy.  The squadron had U-10 and C-47 aircraft to conduct psychological warfare and aerial flare missions. We had periodic mortar and rocket attacks and occasional ground attacks that never breached the base perimeter. Worse was the Tet Offensive in 1968 when the town was partially overrun.  I was a naive kid who didn't know better and I was not in the field with a rifle. Your aunt worked as a receptionist and cashier at the USO in Nha Trang.  My best friend Raymond and I spent a lot of our free time there and that's when she and I met.  Our dates were visits to her home, to the beach at Sao Bien near the Po Nagar ruins, and also to Fergauts Restaurant for lobster. I extended my tour another six months for a free 30-day leave. I think your aunt was surprised I actually returned from home a month later. We were married in a civil ceremony at Nha Trang on February 14, 1969 (Valentines Day).  Your grandmother and and uncle were witnesses.  We ended up renting a small house from a young man's family who also worked at the USO.  We eventually left Vietnam for the States in April 1969.

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If you’re like many New Yorkers, you’ve probably never tasted the Vietnamese noodle soup called hu tieu (pronounced: who theo). Guess what, hu tieu is AMAZING, arguably better than its cousin, phở. No, those are not fighting words, it’s the truth. Hu tieu has a subtle elegance about it. When done right, this pork based soup boasts complex undertones of seafood, onions and other aromatic notes that phở just can’t compete with.

It’s pretty rare to find a good bowl of hu tieu anywhere in New York, as there just aren’t enough old school Viet mamas around to make it (they’re all on the West coast enjoying the warm weather!). But if there’s one thing you should seek out while you’re dining at a REAL Vietnamese restaurant (not Chinese owned), it’s one of these delicious bowls of heaven.

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I grew up in the Midwest, so I appreciate the all-American diet. I love burgers, biscuits and gravy, BBQ ribs, country friend steak and of course, grilled hot dogs. Bánh mì style hotdogs is a delicious idea that marries the two cuisines that I love so much. Simply add Sriracha, cucumbers, pickled carrots, jalapeños and cilantro. Try it, it's a hit with both adults and kids!

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Day #1: SMELL TEST Café Du Monde: Nhi: This smells bitter, burnt. I think I smell the chicory. Michael: It just smells old, flat... kind of dry. Trung Nguyen Group: Nhi: I love this smell! It feels soft, sensual, buttery, almost nutty. Michael: Definitely better. Smells like mocha. SMELL TEST WINNER: Trung Nguyen Coffee Day #2: TASTE TEST Café Du Monde: Nhi: Wow, this tastes really balanced, even. The strength of the coffee is well suited with the sweetness of the condensed milk. It's as if they were made for each other. Michael: I agree. I like how Cafe Du Monde tastes like good, strong coffee. Trung Nguyen Group: Nhi: This is interesting, a little sweet, complex. There is a slight buttery caramel aftertaste. Michael: This is good too. It's a totally different experience. Cafe Bustelo: Nhi: I decided to add Cafe Bustelo just to mix things up. Though this is my favorite morning coffee, it clearly doesn't work Vietnamese style. The condensed milk totally overwhelms it. It's way too sweet. Michael: Yes, it's really flat and kind of weak. TASTE TEST WINNER: Cafe Du Monde. Even though Cafe Du Monde lost the smell taste, we both realized that it's unique qualities complemented the condensed milk. We found that the Trung Nguyen coffee, though complex and nutty, competed too much with the condensed milk. When you drank the Trung Nguyen coffee, there was just too many things going on at the same time; whereas with Cafe Du Monde, its simplicity and strength along with the sweetness of the condensed milk felt very balanced. They complimented each other and brought out the best in one another. I guess there's a reason why so many Vietnamese restaurants offer this brand. Cafe Du Monde is the clear winner.

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Balancing flavors lies at the heart of Vietnamese cooking and is hard to do. Even I’ve struggled with blending the perfect batch of nuoc mam (fish sauce). It may seem easy, but making nuoc mam is very complex, as it combines all the primary flavors (sweet, salty, sour and spicy). Learning to balance these flavors takes time and memory. Here’s my family recipe to help you get started. Click on each image for the measurement of each ingredient.

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French influence took root throughout Vietnam in what was known as Indochina in the late 1880’s. These influences gave an entirely new taste to traditional Vietnamese food and left Vietnam with a love for baking, beef and coffee beans.