It’s been an hour or so and Alex Hanesakda (owner of SapSap) and Chuy Gonzalez (owner of Zócalo Food Truck Park) and I are about one beer and a last word deep at the Zócalo bar. The bartenders present a round of shots. Chuy and I protest, making some vague comments about having to get home soon. “They can’t hang with the Chino,” Alex says.
What ensues is a conversation about Mexican and Lao culture and the idea of what we should or shouldn’t be able to talk about. “Chino” is a term that many Latino folks use to refer to Asian people. I tell Alex about how I no longer use that word, and he tells me that he considers it a sign of respect since “Chino” is a term of endearment when Mexican uncles fed him.
This conversation, as well as the very concept of talking about cultures openly and freely, is at the heart of the Lao BBQ that Alex is hosting at Zócalo on October 5. It comes hot off the heels of the Pho 1 Pho battle that Alex recently took part in, going home with the championship.
“There hasn’t been much connecting through cultures in Milwaukee, and I think it’s high time we start celebrating our similarities instead of talking about what divides us,” Chuy tells me.
The BBQ will start at noon at Zocalo, and will go until the food runs out. Alex will bring “Ubon” (the smoker he lugs around with him to every event, named after a notorious refugee camp) and will be serving up a platter that includes smoked sausage, wings, riblets, sticky rice, and an array of sauces. There will be Lum dancers and music, which incorporates a “heavy groove where the strings of the fin are just whacked upon incessantly,” according to Alex.
“Food is the great communicator. It unites people in a way that absolutely nothing else can, and that is the reason I do everything I do,” Alex explains. His menu is not considered traditional because protein is not the center of Lao cuisine. “Growing up, we had protein, but if it was buffet style we had a million different vegetables and herbs to choose from. The meat was always cooked just enough so it was edible, but outside of that, the star was what was grown. Lao culture is farm culture.”
Growing up in the Midwest is where Alex took to barbecue, having learned from the owner of Iron Grate BBQ. “Aaron [Patin] taught me the beauty in the simplicity of smoking meats, and I guess because of that my food is considered not traditional,” he says. I argue that the spices used are traditional and while his food may not stick to the old ways, they are a mutant of tradition. He accepts that.
Too often in Milwaukee, cultures tend to stay separate from one another; they never really come together in a way they can all be enjoyed. Alex seeks to smash that notion and bring everyone together in a way where everyone can celebrate their differences over a platter of food that makes you pause and look at your food thoughtfully before saying “Man…that’s no joke.”
Zócalo is the perfect venue for this because it has been around for a while and has made its name as a place where people come together under the banner of shared experience. Indeed, Latino culture and Southeast Asian culture share a lot of similarities: farm culture is deeply ingrained in our upbringings, and there’s a friendly rivalry between mainlands and islands.
“I am looking forward to having more BBQs at Zócalo and really showcasing what a rich tapestry of cultures Milwaukee is,” Chuy says. He immediately follows this up with “Cholos and Chinos! That should be the name of our show!” followed by a sip of his Pacifico.
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