EATING THE CITY: MOHAI IN SEATTLE, WA

A MUSE BOUCHE

BY: ERIKA ROBERTSON

Look, the logo even has a little spoon! Photo by Erika Robertson

I’ve been looking forward to talking about MOHAI’s temporary exhibition, Edible City, for months. MOHAI is a unique Seattle institution located in a beautiful park on South Lake Union. This exhibit about the city's food industry fit perfectly within the museum’s mandate. In fact, it’s in the title: Museum Of History And Industry. My friend Emily and I spent hours exploring the galleries, only stopping because we were hungry!

But wait, what's this? We're here to talk about food, but there's "no food or drink." Again conservation efforts clash with interpretive goals. Photo by Erika Robertson.

The exhibit began by locating the subject of food within the museum’s vision of innovation and diversity. Introductory panels and videos seem to claim ‘this is Seattle.’ When a video of Valerie Segrest, a member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, discussed the importance of food sovereignty, it was rooted in both historical and contemporary issues. The Big Idea situated Seattle's cuisine as young and multicultural while staying true to local ingredients.

Looks like food won: this jacket is made from used hamburger wrappers with real French fries! I wonder how collections staff handle that challenge. By artist Dorothy Rissman. Photo by Erika Robertson.

My only critique is that the celebratory tone could have been more critical by addressing current issues that directly impact the museum’s audiences. According to the National Restaurant Association, 10% of America’s workforce is in the restaurant industry. That's 14.7 million employees. This labour, often performed by immigrants, is vital to Seattle's culture. It’s also undervalued, as shown by the resistance to a $15 minimum wage in Seattle. (For a time, I was one of those workers. It's not glamorous, but I wouldn't call it a low-skill job). That’s an example of a critical conversation that museums could facilitate.

The exhibit gives an overview of the food industry within a historical context: from harvesting and foraging, through processing, to serving. Considering how much ground it covers, Edible City has surprising depth through interactive elements. The online component offers many ways to become more informed and involved in food issues. Emily and I were both excited to make the “signature recipes” later. She loves to bake while I’m more into vegetables, and we both found recipes we wanted to try.

Emily enjoys her tomato soup and "South Lake Grilled Cheese." Photo by Erika Robertson.

After several hours, rumbling stomachs pulled Emily and I out of Edible City and into the South Lake Café. Like the exhibit, its menu celebrated local flavours with all their international influences. I couldn’t resist Tim’s thick-cut jalapeño potato chips, which brought me back to lunches shared with my mom when I was little. The café also features locally roasted espresso and beer from Pike Place and Fremont breweries (two of my favourites, incidentally).

What's "Cascade style" about jalepeño chips? Who cares, they're delicious. Photo by Erika Robertson.

In short, MOHAI’s Edible City hits the Venn diagram of my interests: Pacific Northwest, food, and museums. As LeVar Burton says, “but you don’t take my word for it.” Next week you’ll be able to hear what the hilarious hosts of Spilled Milk Podcast think of it.

Have you worked in the food industry? How would you like to see those experiences discussed in museums?

LOCAL COLOUR: COLLECTIONS CAFÉ AND CHIHULY GARDEN AND GLASS IN SEATTLE, WA

A MUSE BOUCHE

BY: ERIKA ROBERTSON

“Did you visit any museums over break?”

“Three or four. One was all about this artist who… well, you know Chihuly.”

“Oh, cool!”

Detail of Nijima Floats. The glass spheres were inspired by Japanese fishing net floats that drift onto Washington Beaches. Photo by Erika Robertson.

 How many contemporary artists get that kind of instant recognition? Growing up in the Northwest, I feel like I’ve always been aware of Dale Chihuly’s work. He’s an innovative glass artist, entrepreneur, and collector. But until I moved to Toronto, I didn't realize how much he contributes to Washington’s culture and reputation abroad.

Born and raised in Tacoma, Chihuly brought the practice of art glass from Italy back to his hometown. He’s very visible there today, as shown the Chihuly Bridge of Glass at the Museum of Glass. Today, Tacoma is a former industrial seaport that is reinventing itself as a funky, innovative, coastal city. Walking through Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle Center, I traced regional connections from the artist’s hometown, through his museum, to the café.

Glass Forest, a collaboration between Dale Chihuly and James Carpenter. Photo by Erika Robertson.

Visitors to the ROM’s recent exhibition, CHIHULY, know it’s almost impossible to take a bad photograph of those glass sculptures. The camera loves those vibrant, smooth surfaces against black backgrounds. The museum’s lighting technicians illuminate the bold, yet delicate material. The sculptures remind me of the urban Northwest’s optimism, new modernist style, and reverence for natural forms.

Glass blowers interpret the process of hand blowing a glass bottle. Photo by Erika Robertson.

From the galleries, I was drawn outdoors to the Community Hot Shop. The mobile glass studio is designed to look like an airstream trailer. It reminded me of a food truck, but the ‘cooking demo’ consisted of two glassblowers making a bottle. According to Conor McClellan, the hot shop was a response to popular demand: guests wanted to see the process of glass blowing alongside the finished artworks.

While turning, heating, and shaping the glass, Conor explained that Dale Chihuly was once a gaffer, working from the bench like him. When the artist lost his eye, he moved to a designer role. This allowed him to hire more skilled workers, expanding the range of possibilities. As an institution about a living artist, Chihuly Garden and Glass feels almost like a showroom; guests can even buy a slumped bowl in the gift shop. Can those who don’t take home an original Chihuly carry away a piece of the Northwest in their memories?

Now that's a souvenir! Photo by Erika Robertson.

Beauty is a theme throughout the exhibition. Wall texts say as much, but tombstone labels for individual pieces are absent. The café’s menu quotes the artist as saying, “I love to find the beauty in everyday objects.” Vitrines in the restaurant tables display pieces from Chihuly’s personal collection. Mine happened to contain strings of glass beads, but others held ceramic animals and bottle openers. Other than a few sentences in the menu, these displays are presented without context.

Certainly an innovative approach, but I wonder who beaded these and how they came to the artist's collection. Photo by Erika Robertson.

Like the galleries, my meal is full of bright flavours and Pacific Rim fusion. The café offers Ste Michelle wine from Woodinville, Washington and local Beecher’s cheese curds next to meaty clam chowder. I tasted the char siu (Cantonese barbeque) sandwich with miso aioli and pickled slaw, itself a reference to Southern barbeque with a hint of báhn mi. (Ironically, the one thing you can’t get in this Seattle eatery is espresso. I overheard staff sending more than one customer across the square to Starbucks.) The flavours seem to say ‘this is the Northwest: funky, international, and irreverent.’

Is this sandwich a product of tasty, tasty cultural appropriation? According to author Soleil Ho, the answer may depend on who's in the kitchen. Photo by Erika Robertson.

Collection Café’s curation embraces regionalism: “the distinctive local character of a geographic area, or to a people's perception of and identification with such places” (source). To me, the practice of taking things, whether objects or foodways, out of context and remixing them characterizes Tacoma culture. Tacoma’s recent past, filled with boats and red brick, is thrown together with fragments gathered from around the world and mixed with enthusiasm for anything innovative. It’s flavourful, but we need to consider where it all comes from and how it arrived on our plates.

In a globalized era, is it possible to define regional flavours and cultures? Is it worthwhile? In my next article, I visit MOHAI’s Edible City, which attempts to capture Seattle’s complex cuisine and food industry.

CAN FOOD MAKE BETTER NEIGHBOURS? THE WING IN SEATTLE, WA

A MUSE BOUCHE

BY: ERIKA ROBERTSON

This week I’m showcasing the extraordinary museum where I work as a collections intern. Like every museum I’ve visited so far, the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (the Wing for short) keeps food and drink out of the galleries. They don’t even offer a restaurant or café for hungry visitors! 

It turns out this is a intentional choice. The Wing staff think of themselves as ‘concierges’ to Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Staff love recommending local restaurants (where they can often be found ordering their own lunches). Rather than competing with their neighbours, the Wing collaborates with local businesses to organize food tours. My mom and I had the pleasure of taking their “Not Just Tofu” tour together.

Mom, wait up! 
Photo by the author. 

From beginning to end, "Not Just Tofu" was about building empathy. Our guides, Doan and Jintana, asked us to introduce ourselves "before we eat a meal together." These brief introductions broke the ice. By the end of the first course, we felt comfortable bringing up difficult topics such as economic stresses facing the historic neighbourhood. Doan connected the museum's mission to foodways: both the Wing and food are ways to preserve and share stories. 

Doan pauses mid-story.
Photo by the author. 

So how was the food? In a word, amazing. Our "progressive dinner" began with Vietnamese-style lemongrass chili tofu from Chu Minh while Jintana shared historic images of the tofu-making process. Next, we enjoyed tea, eggplant in garlic sauce, and crispy tofu at Henry’s Taiwan Kitchen. Seoul Tofu had the greatest variety of flavours with its many banchan, or pickled side dishes. As our guide explained, the Korean American community is a relatively recent addition to Chinatown-International District. The dishes had been thoughtfully selected to weave together many flavours, experiences, and histories.

Henry's signature crispy tofu has a light, aromatic quality.
Photo by the author.

Somehow, we found room for three creamy shaved ices at Bambu. Doan said she felt more at home at this last stop, which offers wifi and caters to a younger generation. Our two-and-a-half hour dinner concluded with a gift. We were presented with lovely “Eat Sheets” with a list of more vegetarian dishes to try and unique recipe for each of us. Soon we were all sharing stories about our favourite recipes and what we wanted to cook next. 

Jintana enriches the Thai tea-flavoured shaved ice with history and culture.
 Photo by the author.

Food can be a delicious introduction to a neighbourhood. As an intern at the Wing, I’m proud that my host institution is taking a leading role in building relationships. Many people are joining the conversation and finding creative ways to encourage cross-cultural understanding. Three groups caught my eye because they’re using food to discuss immigration, place, and cultural identity in innovative ways:

1) The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) in Brooklyn values the universal nature of eating: “Food is culture. It is more than simply what is on our plates: it is a common denominator of human relationships” Source. They have partnered with local restaurants to open conversations about immigrant chefs’ contributions to New York Source. 

2) Torontonians may have seen the Toronto Ward Museum’s new food tours featured in Huffington Post recently: “the Toronto Ward Museum has already begun to tell the city's local stories in an unconventional way—through food” Source.  You can learn about the experiences of Arlene and Leo Chan on their “Wok Through Chinatown” tour. Their goal is to introduce visitors to the stories of Chinese immigrants through food Source. 

3) Culinaria Research Centre at University of Toronto, Scarborough just launched their mobile app. Scarborough, A Little Taste (SALT) helps you navigate the stunning diversity in their city’s restaurant scene.  Source. If you want to try something new but you’re not sure where to start, they can point you in the right direction. Check it out here.

So find a food tour or try a new cuisine near you! If you’re in Seattle, check out the Wing’s upcoming Game Day BBQ tour. (Pro tip: museum staff encourage you to bring a container for leftovers.) Stay tuned next month to hear about changing perceptions of First Nations dishes as I bite into fry bread.