Ethnic Festival offers new tastes for many

Published 12:00 am Monday, July 9, 2001

It’s not surprising that people were eating on the last day of a festival dedicated to food.

Monday, July 09, 2001

It’s not surprising that people were eating on the last day of a festival dedicated to food.

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"I already had Tex-Mex chicken, and I’ll go to the fajitas next," Luis Espinoza said.

He knew what he was in for. Jeff Hofius did not.

"I’ve never had corn with salsa before," Hofius said.

Austin native Mike Judd, who had a very clean plate, likes "this different culture stuff." His son, Aaron, said he liked Mexican food, which he says "wasn’t Americanized. It wasn’t spicy, though," he added.

Milka Prodanovic, who spent time in Bosnia and Germany, makes her own sausage and sauerkraut. That was spicy, but meant to be, and delicious. Other Northern Europeans were on hand to talk about their regions delicacies.

"I’m a half-Swede, so I can eat Swedish meatballs," said Lloyd Swenson, who came to the SPAMTOWN USA Festival’s Ethnic Festival as a Son of Norway. His friend and fellow singer Arnie Sater is one of the few in Mower County who actually like lutefisk.

"I’ve been raised on it," he said.

Carlos Quirindongo grew up in Saudi Arabia and can speak fluent Arabic. In the Air Force, he learned Russian, and now works for the United Food and Commercial Workers, where he speaks to both Spanish and English members.

Like Sater, he loves the food he grew up eating.

"As a Puerto Rican, I grew up on rice and beans," Quirindongo said.

Orlando Reyes spoke through his daughter while making steak for tacos.

He says that the food grew up on is becoming more accessible, unlike when he first moved to Austin 15 years ago.

"I wouldn’t have been able to find anything from Mexico," he said through his daughter, who had to interpret while he served up steak tacos.

Ernesto Rodriguez, from Cuba, agreed.

"We buy it, we eat it," he said.

"Come on, Dad, I’m hungry," said his son, who pulled Rodriguez through the crowd.

Everyone liked the ethnic food available, but some missed stuff that was hard to come by.

Lonnie Sauber, who comes from northern Minnesota, misses quality elk meat.

Juan Ignacio Lopez, who has worked at Quality Pork for seven months, won the singing contest at the Ethnic Festival. He misses sheep meat and Mexican barbecue.

Saleh Alrajhi came to Austin less than two weeks ago as a doctor at Austin Medical Center. He misses Saudi bread, which is like pita bread, but is as large as a medium pizza. He says that quality middle eastern food is hard to find here.

"I’m trying to get a friend to come to Austin to open a Lebanese restaurant," he said.

Masuaka Magambo concurs. She moved to Austin when her husband, who she met in elementary school in Nairobi, Kenya, got a job in Hormel Food Corp.’s purchasing department.

"You can find the passion fruit juice, but you can’t find the fruit. It’s like drinking mango juice and eating a mango. It’s just not the same," she said.

She also misses roast goat, which she says tastes really good "if you’re a beer drinker, which I am not."

Magambo really likes Thai food, which she discovered in America, but can’t find in Austin.

She should talk to Nitaya Jandragholica, who was eating Mexican corn on the cob.

"I can cook the best Thai chicken, curry peanut sauce in Austin," said Jandragholica, who is half-Thai and half-Chilean.

For all the diversity, however, many immigrants and local residents like what foods they have found here.

Magambo loves American barbecue ribs, Maria Pocanegra’s grandchildren like pizza, and Carolina Salazar likes American home cooking.

"I love roast beef and mashed potatoes," she said.

Call Sam Garchik at 434-2233 or e-mail him at newsroom@austindailyherald.com.