Tanya Tandoc

The Wichita Asian Festival is coming up this weekend, and I’m excited about it.  I have attended nearly every year since it started 32 years ago.  What began as a small celebration with a smattering of food vendors and a beauty pageant has grown into a huge multicultural event.  There’s still a pageant, but now the entertainment ranges from East Indian dance troupes to martial arts demonstrations.  It’s a blast, but the best part for me has always been the food.

When you work in a restaurant, sometimes the only thing you want to eat is something that you, yourself, did not prepare. You could be surrounded by delicious food all day long and desire none of it. I know the feeling well.

Sometimes I’ll go out and get pizza or tacos for my staff, just for a change of pace. I did that yesterday, when I went out to check on my friends at MMM Sandwiches, a food truck serving… sandwiches. Really good sandwiches. Sandwiches we didn’t make ourselves. I ordered one of everything and got an appetizer just for kicks.

I will admit, very readily, that when I heard about the “gluten free” diet a few years ago, I thought it was a trend or just another weird excuse for an eating disorder. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and their cousins. Gluten intolerance makes drinking regular beer or eating soy sauce impossible. For the gluten intolerant, eating regular bread or pizza or pasta is simply not in the plan. The horror.