[Hoot Gibson]

Hoot, I am not sure I would know how to go about eating some of the stuff you eat.

When I was a young boy, my family was poor and my favorite breakfast besides pancakes and syrup, was a bowl of rice with milk and sugar - so I have always liked rice. As I got older and was introduced to Mexican foods, I started making tacos and chili at home. So, I liked the spicy rice dishes of India, Thailand, Vietnam, and other Asian countries as soon as I first tried them.

When I moved to northern Virginia, my office was located along a Washington Metro train/subway route, and it was just good luck that the most convenient place for me to make home is in the middle of one of the largest Asian population centers in the country.

Aside from the spices, most Asian dishes are not that much different than what I ate growing up in eastern Kentucky - lots of chicken, pork, beef, rice, and beans. The best healthy restaurants in this area are mom-and-pop Asian restaurants.

Last night's dinner was a shrimp burrito and a sope with chorizo (a spicy Mexican sausage) and a bottle of Jarrito's Mandarin Orange pop.