{"id":337080,"date":"2021-01-21T06:05:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T20:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=337080"},"modified":"2021-01-21T06:05:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T20:05:42","slug":"food-on-my-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/food-on-my-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Food on my mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Empanada Vs. Crispy Pata<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A fierce debate rages on the tables of Saipan.<br \/>\nWhich is the superior dish? a plate of crispy pata,<br \/>\nIt\u2019s succulent skin making an excellent dinner plan,<br \/>\nOr that popular pocket full of flavor \u2013 empanada?<\/p>\n<p>We went to the island\u2019s judges to get the score.<br \/>\nWhether they preferred the varieties of empanada<br \/>\nOr was it something more meaty they adore<br \/>\nLike the greasy pork bones of crispy pata?<\/p>\n<p>The stage was set, the audience was elated.<br \/>\nAs the preparations were laid, one for crispy pata<br \/>\nWith a pig that was clearly decapitated<br \/>\nWhile there was little to support the empanada.<\/p>\n<p>The sun that day was hotter than ever before,<br \/>\nAs if the sun itself had stopped overhead to see.<br \/>\nThe crowd was getting antsy out there on the floor.<br \/>\nIn anticipation of the culinary winner to be.<\/p>\n<p>An official carried out proudly a box of crispy pata.<br \/>\nOnly to be astounded when it was opened \u2013 it was empty!<br \/>\nAnother official entered with his box of empanada<br \/>\nExcept they were all gone too, the contest was a mockery!<\/p>\n<p>Now we don\u2019t really know which is the better fare,<br \/>\nNext time, make sure the staff eats before the contest.<br \/>\nOne suspicious kitchen worker had grease in his hair,<br \/>\nOh well, maybe he could tell us which one is the best.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chicken Kelaguen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Coming at you as a friend,<br \/>\nGotta say that every now and then<br \/>\nI feel a rise in my gut, a yen<br \/>\nFor oh so tasty chicken kelaguen.<br \/>\nIt always makes me say, \u201cAmen!\u201d<br \/>\nAnd it does that time and time again.<br \/>\nYup, talking about chicken kelaguen.<br \/>\nI don\u2019t care if it\u2019s one, five or ten.<br \/>\nGo put that on tv, show it on CNN.<br \/>\nAs long as I get my chicken kelaguen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hey, What You Say, Eskebeche<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Fried fish invited Green Beans to the scene<br \/>\nTired of hanging around, Green Beans agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Ginger was smothered by Vinegar.<br \/>\nVinegar turned a whiter shade of pale.<br \/>\nTimid Turmeric didn\u2019t say anything.<br \/>\nNo one knew Ginger\u2019s last name.<\/p>\n<p>Eggplant arrived naked unexpectedly,<br \/>\nEagerly embraced, thrown in gingerly.<\/p>\n<p>Upset with current events, the newfound<br \/>\nCompanions in the Pan stewed in their own juices<br \/>\nUntil the oven opened and they heard the words:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey, What You Say, Eskebeche!\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>***<br \/>\n<em>Bob Coldeen is a longtime TV journalist in the CNMI and is news director\/reporter of KSPN 2.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Empanada Vs. Crispy Pata A fierce debate rages on the tables of Saipan. Which is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":327594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[208,26,11257,406],"class_list":["post-337080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-bob-coldeen","tag-cnmi","tag-crispy-pata","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}