You know how sometimes you read a travel story on your hometown and you think - what? How could they pick Cafe A over Cafe B? What morons! Why did they feature that tired, touristy horror that no local ever steps foot in? What about the hidden gems? Did they even talk to anyone who actually lives here?

Well, when Rachael Ray came to the Twin Cities, she didn’t make that mistake. Right after the obligatory shot of the spoon and cherry, she headed to United Noodles, a hard-to-find Asian supermarket hidden away in an industrial complex by the light rail in the Seward neighborhood. It also has a hole-in-the-wall deli which happens to be my favorite place for noodles with the girls on weekends.

Zoe and Maya and I stumbled on the link to Rachael’s “Tasty Travels” segment on the UnitedNoodles web site last weekend. We watched, rapt.

Zoe, 5, is a foodie who loves Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain with equal passion. When I was home on maternity leave during those long winter months with Maya, we (Zoe, me, my visiting mom from Malaysia) watched endless segments of Rachael’s 30-minute Meals on demand.

When it comes to cooking, I am a resolute non-measurer (my husband is the opposite) and Rachael’s exhortations to “Eyeball it!” suited me just fine. As did her cheerful and unapologetic use of ready washed and cut greens and other handy short-cuts.

But wow, how I wish she’d not taken so many short-cuts with her United Noodles segment.

I realize that it’s the show’s producers who do all the research and prep and the star of the show mostly shows up and breezes through. But they could have spent a little more time actually matching what she said to the footage.

Instead of zooming in on the mountains of baby bok choy, 30 types of tofu, fresh and fermented, or the dried scallops, you know, the stuff you can’t get anywhere else in the Twin Cities, they panned rows of run-of-the mill apples and oranges.

And when Rachael waxed lyrical about the store’s stash of herbal teas, it was actually the canary yellow jasmine tea boxes (black tea!) the camera dwelled on. She did rave about the endless aisles of noodles, but why did she completely ignore the numerous varieties of dark and light soy and sesame sauces and oils? Not to mention black vinegar and cooking wine?

Worse, when she stopped by the deli, where my family and I spend many a weekend slurping on bowls of Taiwanese beef noodles ($4.95) and nibbling on barbecued pork ($6 a pound), she referred to the little tasting portions as something to tide you over in between meals.

Was she really suggesting you should mooch off the store with free portions?

She gobbled down the little portion (something indescernible in green and brown) she was handed, nodded approvingly and moved on, without even explaining what it was! 

When MPR caught up with the story last year, they noted snidely that Rachael had called the place “Union Noodle Company.” I know, I know, she’s got a food show, a travel show, a talk show and a magazine to put out. She’s busy.

MPR itself could have used a copyeditor. They quote a United Noodles manager saying “ex-patriots” instead of “expatriates.”

No matter, any publicity is good publicity, I suppose.

Just remember, Rachael, if you’re heading back to the Twin Cities, give me a call. I’ll be your local food guide. Really.

Cribsheeters, where would you take Rachael for 1) cheap 2) tasty and 3) off the beaten path?

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 6:47 pm and is filed under Food, Related Articles, TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.