Omnivore - A spin around the globe for dinner

• Brad Kaplan
• A point on the globe

My 8-year-old son is not what you would call an adventurous eater. His tastes veer heavily to chicken fingers and Kraft mac and cheese. Given the choice, nine times out of 10 he would prefer to stay home for dinner rather than head out to a restaurant, happy to get by on a bowl of cereal. At least when we do go out, he can usually find something to eat no matter how exotic the cuisine - fortunately, rice and basic grilled meats are staples in many of the world's cuisines (even if mac and cheese is not).

The other night it was just me and him, and I was eager to go somewhere interesting. We had just been to Nam Phuong a few nights before (he got the BBQ pork and rice, perfect!), so Vietnamese was out. I floated Mexican ... "no." Burgers? "Nah." Indian? "Let's just stay home." I needed a hook. Something to slap any thoughts of Kraft processed cheese into submission. Then I remembered the globe up in his room.