Fried Beef with Spicy

When I woke up this morning, I did what I always do; reached for my iPhone and scrolled through my Instagram feed. Before I start my day, I need to be well-informed of current events. One particular event that caught my attention was a photo of “Asian Bowl” by Dave Cook @eatingintranslation. It appears that many Instagrammers I follow have been there.

It’s a Burmese restaurant but you wouldn’t know it. Google Maps categorized it as “Chinese restaurant.” I wouldn’t blame them; it serves Pad Thai, sushi, lo mein, General Tso’s chicken, samosa, “Asian Buffalo Wings,” beef curry, as well as Burmese dishes. Wait. Maybe I should blame them because I’m not sure what is “Chinese” about this list.

What intrigued me, however, was a dish called “Fried Beef with Spicy.” The preposition “with” followed by an adjective is a cool construction. By “cool” I mean hip or trendy; I could see it becoming trendy. Instead of “Lamborghini is a cool car,” you would say, “Lamborghini is a car with cool”

In any case, I wanted to see what the difference is between “Fried Beef with Spicy” and spicy fried beef. I checked Google Maps to see what my subway situation is from LES to Rego Park. I’m in luck; the F train is running a weekend special that would take me there directly. But still, it took me an hour on the train.

To order, I ignored the menu and showed the man behind the counter Dave’s photo. The beef was quite good. I see why they described it as “with spicy.” “Spicy fried beef” would sound like ordinary beef that just happens to be spicy. It’s not. And, “fried beef with spice” would not be appropriate either because “spice” is not necessarily spicy. So, for real, this beef is chilling with spicy, side by side, with equal emphasis on both. Sometimes people say, “Hello beautiful,” when someone looks particularly beautiful. It’s like that. When something is particularly spicy, you say, “Hello spicy.” Now, you should be able to see how poetic “Fried Beef with Spicy” is.