This is Henry, and this is me Keith.
And today we're calling cabs, Ubers, and Lyfts hoping to find someone who isn't native to the U.S. to take us to the restaurant in Los Angeles that reminds them the most of home.
We start out adventure with Lyft. HENRY: We have Ronald coming in a Ford Edge.
But Ronald doesn't quite fit our specifications and in Henry's words...
That guys was a very bland white guy.
So we call a cab company. But while we're waiting we hear someone calling out Henry's name.
HENRY: Who said my name?
Turns out we left some of our equipment in the back of that bland white guy's car and he's really more of a bland, white hero.
Our cab arrives and we meet Felix. HENRY: We're wondering if we could interview you.
But, Felix wasn't into it. So, we call an uber, load into this guy's car, I grab some sweet footage of his belly, we find out he's from Chicago.
And we head back to Hollywood to try for another taxi.
We see our guys coming and we hope this is the one, I'm excited.
HENRY: What's up, man? I'm Henry. Your name is Shaikh?
HENRY: Where are you from?
HENRY: Bangladesh? Oh cool.
HENRY: How long have you lived in the states for?
HENRY: What we want to do, is we'd love to have you take us to the best Bengali restaurant in Los Angeles and show it to us and just interview you.
It takes some more convincing, but he ends up going along with it.
HENRY: Why did you come to America?
HENRY: And do you ever go back to Bangladesh?
HENRY: Every year you go back and see your family? SHAIKH: Yeah.
HENRY: Why'd you guys pick LA? Why'd your family come to LA?
HENRY: Really? Is it this hot in Bangladesh?
And as we continue talking, we learn a lot about Shaikh.
HENRY: Wait, so you have been driving cabs 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, and studying to be a computer engineer? And raising your family?
HENRY: That's so much work. That's crazy, Shaikh.
HENRY: I guess so.
Also in his 15 years here, he has become a true Angeleno because when we asked him what his favorite fast food chain was, he said...
Nailed it.
We arrive in Little Bangladesh and Shaikh leads us into the restaurant where we're going to try Bangladeshi food for the first time.
Shaikh picks out a few essential dishes and we sit down to eat.
First up is goat biryani. It's a dish with goat meat, rice, vegetables, and South Asian spices. It also comes as chicken, but Shaikh insisted on the goat.
Scoop it in your fingers and shove it in your mouth, Liz
HENRY: It's really good. KEITH: I don't have goat a lot. HENRY: It tastes like lamb but more tender.
LIZ: I have had goat before, that's why I was surprised this is goat. It takes like, more beefy.
HENRY: It almost takes like it's more buttery. SHAIKH: Yes, goat is like that. HENRY: I have nothing else to say except, it's amazing.
Next, chicken roast. A rich, moist, chicken roast with a curry like spice to it.
Shaikh said this is normally a much spicier dish in Bangladesh but they tone it down here so more people can enjoy it. HENRY: This is the best chicken I've ever had.
HENRY: Sweet, but it has just a little bit of Asian kick to it. SHAIKH: Yep.
LIZ: Very oily. You can like, draw with it.
HENRY: It's like a sweet curry, almost, is how I'd describe. SHAIKH: Yes.
HENRY: Another question, am I only supposed to eat with my right hand?
SHAIKH: Yes. HENRY: Okay. Sorry. Sorry, Bangladesh.
Next time, dal, which was lentils stewed with beef. Shaikh said this is traditionally eaten with a flour tortilla but this restaurant didn't have any. So, we didn't eat it that way.
KEITH: Oh, this is so good. HENRY: There's beef in here? KEITH: It's like beef shank. It's right up my alley. This is a big ol' piece of bone.
HENRY: Yeah, I give it 10 out of 10. Bangladeshi food.. *nods* SHAIKH: Thank you.
And finally, Ilish, the national fish of Bangladesh. It's a type of herring but it's typically not deboned.
So I call this chapter, "Henry Chokes On A Lot of Bones."
HENRY: There's bone in here? SHAIKH: A lot of bones. There's a lot of bones, so watch out, that is going to be stuck in your neck and you'll have to take it out.
SHAIKH: Watch out, there. HENRY: I got a bone, I had a bone, there was a bone in there. Oh my god. SHAIKH: There's a lot of bones, especially in this fish.
*Henry coughs* KEITH: They're like razors. So these sort of like, can get in your throat.
SHAIKH: Watch out.
HENRY: I'm sorry, I think there's one more bone in there. I'm sorry, I like, spit everywhere. KEITH: That's okay. You had a bone in your throat.
HENRY: It's so delicious but it's so hard to eat... Alright, I think I'm full.
After this, we get up and walk around the store, snacking here and there, until it becomes evident that we're really no longer welcome, so we leave.
And as Shaikh drives us home, we're all way too stuffed to do much more talking. But we couldn't have asked for much more...
...He already told us all about his life and he took a couple hours out of his day to help us learn more about his culture after he's spent 15 years adjusting to ours.
Every cabbie has a story, and today, thanks to Shaikh, we got to experience one.
KEITH: It's hard because we're like, "everything is great, it's all so good," but it really is, really good. It seems like we're not being honest.
HENRY: I've been in dozens of taste test videos and I'm always like oh, there's at least a couple gross things... there's nothing gross.
KEITH: You did almost die. HENRY: I did almost die from choking, that wasn't great. KEITH: He warned you. HENRY: He warned me, and I still almost died.