Ben et Nate: The Book?

[Nate sez]: 8 countries, 6 long plane rides, countless hours of attempted zen enlightenment on bus rides, and more noodles than is legal in an average lifetime. That's right everybody - the epic adventure across most of the eastern nations of the culinary mecca that is Asia is coming to an over-designed, self published coffee table book near you.

Ben and I sat around arguing many a Tuesday night about what to blog. We generally had a massive abundance of absolutely fantastic new flavors and dishes we wanted to talk about, but alas, a blog should not be too wordy or long. So we decided to write an entire book about it... and risk a crap load of our own money to do it too!! Imagine our blog, with much more detailed information and sensory analysis, more stories of being practically killed on sidewalks, more righteous rants about Thai mangoes, and 10 ways to get revenge on Tuk-Tuk drivers. We'll also include tons of appetite inspiring food porn photos and hunky, flattering portraits of Ben and myself.

It is tentatively scheduled to be released December 2007 - January 2008. I give it about a 90% confidence interval that we will succeed in publishing by this time, but I make no promises. We do however promise to keep you all religiously updated about the progress of the book, and to keep you entertained in the meantime.

This blog will continue to exist as long as Ben et Nate are eating, drinking, and being jackasses. Instead of focusing exclusively on the Asian cuisine paradigm, we will explore the incredible world around us, searching out the best noodles, the best wine, and expose the biggest food crimes being committed in the name of a profit motive.

One thing we both realized coming back to America is that there is no other place in the world (with the blinding exception of Tokyo) where such variety and ingenuity exists in the world of cuisine. The American school of cooking knows no boundaries, and we intend to share with you the secret hideouts of killer food/bev adventures. Ben will be tackling Portland, Oregon in the coming weeks while Nate researches the depths of the Chicago chef scene and tries to eat in New York without taking out a second mortgage. We'll reconvene in the great Twin Cities to rally up a thoroughly incomplete survey of the current state of US food culture.

Deliciousness is sure to follow.