Hunger for adventure spices up Games menu
Savoury, salty soups with fish so tender it falls off the bone, thick slabs of grilled pork and beef backed with spicy kimchi may be common dishes in South Korea, but not so much for some of the visitors descending on Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics.
South Korean officials have tried to provide menus in English and other languages at thousands of local restaurants, while the Korea Tourist Organization has published a brochure and set up a hotline in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese that outlines “must-eat” dishes and where to find them.
Some visitors embrace the exotic: “I was impressed with the little fish, the eyes and everything,” Julie Thibaudeau told The Associated Press as she celebrated at a Pyeongchang eatery, after son Mikaël Kingsbury won gold for Canada in moguls. “I tried and it was salty, but it was good. And after that I had a good glass of . . . beer.”
Others did not: “We found Papa John’s (pizza) today, which was literally lifechanging because . . . we haven’t eaten a lot for the last few days,” said Rachel Basford, who’s from England but teaches in Shanghai. “I’m not that adventurous when it comes to trying local foods. I just like to eat British food in various places around the world.” Asked if she planned to try Korean food, she said with a laugh: “No, absolutely not. We’re going to Seoul tomorrow, so there’s the McDonald’s at Seoul Station, so that should be good.”
As for what the athletes themselves should eat, Susie Parker-Simmons, a sports dietitian with the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, told AP they should be playing it safe, especially until they’re done competing.
“This might happen once in a lifetime. You don’t want to blow it with just having an upset stomach because you’ve eaten something that’s different to what your body’s used to,” said Parker-Simmons. “I say, as soon as the Games is over, go at it — enjoy, be adventurous.”
DOESN’T BODE WELL: NBC analyst Bode Miller wasn’t feeling the love on the day devoted to it. During women’s slalom coverage, broadcast partner Dan Hicks brought up a knee injury that hurt the chances of Austria’s Anna Veith, who married her longtime boyfriend. Miller’s response: “The knee was an issue. I want to point out that she also just got married and it’s historically very challenging to race in the World Cup while trying to raise a family or after being married. Not to blame the spouses, but I just want to get that out there that it could be your husband’s fault.” Miller apologized an hour later, calling it an ill-advised attempt at a joke: “On Valentine’s Day, I did not mean to throw spouses under the bus.”
TOPPING POINT: If they held an Olympics for eating, American luger Chris Mazdzer might take home the gold. Mazdzer, who won the first U.S. luge medal of any kind on Sunday, feasted on pizza the night before his event. It was the way he did it — captured on video by American bobsledder Lauren Gibbs — that has people talking: stuffing an entire slice into his mouth. “I’m going to take it down,” he said on the video, posted on Twitter, before folding the piece accordion style. Gibbs’ response in the background: “Oh my god, you’re a savage.” The 29-year-old Mazdzer, a three-time Olympian, has been getting the heartthrob treatment on social media and TV, where Saturday Night Live’s Leslie Jones, moonlighting as an NBC contributor, is clearly a fan. “He must be good,” she said on Twitter. “He is fine as hell, I know that much. That’s for damn sure. Chris. Why don’t you luge on over here to my place.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Don’t hit a tree and finish before they turn off the lights,” Tongan cross-country skier Pita Taufatofua — the shirtless flag-bearer — on his goals for the event. Taufatofua, who competes Friday, qualified for the Olympics despite having taken up the sport less than a year ago. With files from Star wire services