I believe the food gods are trying to tell me something. Lately, my dinner outings have varied from middling to highly disappointing. Several of my formerly dependable favorites have failed me. Still, I held out hope that some of my old standbys would come through and deliver the positive dining experience I desperately needed. And so, yesterday, after dropping Akemi off at her class, I decided to venture out for a solo lunch. The service was terrific. The food…fantastic. I enjoyed a platter of lamb ribs. Lamb ribs! Hell, the last time I sat down to lamb ribs was years ago when the Memphis Barbecue House used to prepare them on the rare occasion – so rare, in fact, that, back then, I was on what I called “the lamb rib hotline”. Whenever I got the call, I would drop whatever I was doing to drive down and pick up a rack before they sold out. They were delicious. And, yesterday’s platter was equally great. As I sat back, satisfied, I eyed the lone rib sitting on my plate. It seemed a shame to let it go to waste. I picked it up, stripped it clean and, as I was finishing up the last bite – CRUNCH! Lamb bone met tooth – and lamb bone won.
I went to the bathroom to check and, sure enough, one of my teeth was broken. Fortunately, it was a molar and not one of the front teeth, the loss of which would have seen me walking around town sporting a gap-tooth hillbilly grin. And, fortunately, my dentist had an opening that afternoon.
Yes, I think the food gods are clearly trying to tell me something: “Eat at home!” Which is what I plan to do – after tonight because I already have dinner reservations. My recent outings have graduated from bad food to bad service to injury. What’s next? Am I going to eat a toxic mushroom? Bleed out on account of a mussel shard? Choke on a fazzoletti? I don’t mind telling you that I’m VERY nervous.
I should just go back to the days when Akemi used to cook for me, preparing those adorable bento boxes with the peanut butter bears and egg yolk chicks. Though, given my luck of late, the bento boxes would more than likely run along the lines of something like this:
Or maybe I should just stick to chocolate. My new fave chocolate shop, Beta 5 (http://shop.beta5chocolates.com/), has been pretty damn consistent in its sweet, sweet offerings. The other day, Akemi and I dropped by and picked up a new-for-June banana split chocolate bar (containing chocolate, banana, and cherries), and a “box of rocks” –
I figured we’d start with a box and come back for more next week when we were done. As it turns out, we were done by the time I pulled into my garage.
Finally – received a text message from my buddy, Ivon, the other day. “Perogie food truck,”he wrote. “1o different kinds like “Thai curry” and “classic”. That’s a money maker!” and “It would rule the food truck wars.” “Holy Perogy,”I texted back. “Love the name,”he replied. “No,”I texted back. “That’s the name of the Perogie food truck in Vancouver. It exists.”
Oh well.
Wish I’d known about Richmond Night Market before I booked last week’s trip. It’s literally walkable distance from the River Rock Casino Resort. We could have met at one or the other.
Had an interesting food experience at Curve Lounge in River Rock lobby; baked Brie with apricot chutney, garnished with ground pepper. Interesting sweet /savory combo.
Gilder
I hate that kind of bad luck. Maybe sticking with chocolate is a better idea. Hope everything is going well with the mini-series.
Have a great night!!!!!
Lisa R.
Careful, my hubby’s a real West Virginia hillbilly. Granted, he goes to Burning Man and wears a kilt, but he’s mountain born and bred through and through, bushy beard and all.
And he’s delivering steel to Beverly Hills tomorrow. Go on, make the jokes. You know you want to.
So, did the tooth get properly fixed? Anyways, bad luck about the dining experiences, that’s for sure. Eating at home is probably better for you anyway.
The more I see Beta5’s chocolates, the more I have to consider it a must stop the next time I’m in Vancouver. They still look amazing!
I had to laugh about the perogie truck. Every time I (think I) have some kind of brilliant, innovative idea for some new product, I wind up searching on the Internet to see if something similar exists and of course it’s already been researched, designed, manufactured, marketed, and probably already passé. Drat. Ivon, I feel your pain!
Those lamb ribs look to die for delicious! Sorry to hear about the tooth!
And Holy Perogy, they even have a facebook page! And the 3 comments since it opened were all positive. Now if only they delivered to Burnaby! 🙂
Ouch Joe, unlucky about your tooth.
Anyway those chocolate rocks look almost like real rocks lol, also that creepy face bento design. Imagine not expecting that when you open the box, I bet that’d make anyone jump LOL.. stuff of nightmares.
Could Joe actually plan out a full day of meals with chocolate? Start it off right with chocolate waffles tomorrow.
It sounds like to me that Ivon is suggesting you two partner up and buy a food truck. Joe that would be an excellent idea!!! Here is why:
1. Not as big an investment as a restaurant
2. You could actually work in it when you had time
3. You could make your own hours
4. You could only bring it out during lunchtime
5. You could do breakfast and Akemi make Bento boxes to sell
6. If you didn’t like it, the truck would probably resell easily
7. You could work your way and reputation up to a restaurant
8. You could hire an up and coming chef
9. You could make your own menu
I could go on and on and on. Do it!! It is a great start in the food industry. What do you think?
Sorry about your tooth . . . poor baby. I’ve been there.
while a perogie food truck sounds interesting, i’ll just stick with the potato & cheddar ones.
Speaking of food trucks I ran across this interesting creation.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/08/photo-of-the-day-maximusminimuss-pig-truck.html
Joe, I won’t laugh about your tooth. That sucks. I have to get some dental work done (as soon as I have the money), and I’m not looking forward to it. The older I get, the more fragile my teeth become. The last tooth I broke was on a fork. It was a molar, and I got a patch for the time being, but I need at least three caps. That’s not cheap. Blargh. I wanna be 19 again!!!!
Anyone watch the transit of Venus tonight?
das
Bull. It wasn’t the food gods, it was the picture I posted on yesterday’s entry of fresh fruits and veggies, wasn’t it? 😉
Whenever I walk into a farm market with all the fresh produce in all the pretty colors all I want to do is cook, cook, cook! But when I come home from work at the end of the day, cooking is the last thing I want to do. So we get take-out, or eat out. And I get fatter. So I’m determined to eat in more this summer (saving the eating out for special), and eat more fresh produce, too. Let’s see if my grand plan makes it through the week. 😛
das
I’m having similar dining out experiences. Where the places I am used to getting good meals are suddenly not so good anymore. What gives? Even some items I buy in the store are not so good anymore. What I have discovered is places are cutting back in labor, putting more on the remaining workers (and they make mistakes) as well as using cheaper ingredients. Other places are trying ads like 2 for $20 or some other stuff, but then on that deal cheaper items, not the good meal I would want to order. I guess it is a sign of the times: finding a way to survive.
I broke a tooth once eating pizza! I must have weak teeth. 🙂
The lamb ribs look good. I’ve never considered eating lamb ribs but it sounds great. I will talk to my butcher today!
Alas, it was cloudy here in England for the transit of Venus. 🙁 Still, at least all I had to do was look out the window at 4am, see it was cloudy and go back to bed. Rather than get dressed, haul my telescope, solar filter and DSLR out of the cupboard and drive somewhere I have a clear eastern horizon to see the sunrise. Would have been nice to see it, though.
Das: I loved your veggie pic yesterday. My brother has been sending me fresh beans from his no pesticide garden. They were so good!
So sorry about your tooth Mr. M. I hope it’s not hurting too bad. Very glad the doc could fit you in so soon!
You can always try out restaurants on the road. Don’t you have a couple of trips coming up? Maybe, you need to find out what a new town has to offer.
That bento box is pretty scary!
Sorry to hear about your tooth. I’ve broken a tooth before, and twice I’ve broken caps already on my teeth. Most of my money seems to go to the dentist. Some of it goes to books, though. I see you’ve recently read Robopocalypse and Dark Places. How did you like them? Yesterday I picked up the latest from each author, Amped and Gone Girl. Started Gone Girl last night and like it so far. Seems to feature two fairly twisted characters, so I’m all in!
My son (looking over my shoulder) thought the bento box was an impressionist painting at first 😉 Great art Akemi!
I’m in Cheesecake making mode this week because there is a church picnic on Saturday (and I was “Volunteered” to bring two ‘cakes), and my son promised to bring a Cheesecake to his next scout meeting on Tuesday (without asking me first of course). So the next two nights will be spent making the ‘cakes.
Then next week, I’m off to Vancouver to visit customers (and have a mini restaurant tour). Should be fun!
I looked at Beta 5 Chocolates and might check them out next week. Do they have “White Chocolate”? Milk and Dark Chocolate gives me skin rashes, so I may only be able to try their caramels.
So sorry to hear about your molar, Joe, and everyone else’s tooth troubles! I’ve had too many memories & lots of dental pain & treatment since childhood. Last fall when having extraction surgery (a tough molar), was in incredible pain. They wouldn’t stop to give me enough pain relief. It was literally torture. Had tears streaming down my face, and they acted like *I* was the problem. Then came dry socket and weeks more of pain. *shudders*
Am doing everything possible to avoid future trauma!
* Avoiding things that bathe teeth in acid and eat away enamel: soda, fruit juices, wine, etc. If you still like them (like me), drink lots of water afterwards.
* Flossing with floss picks (easier) in front of mirror, to make sure everything is clean
* Brushing w/ enamel-building toothpaste–Colgate, not Crest (thanks, Ponytail!)
* Rinsing with enamel-restoring rinse, like ACT
* Especially doing all of the above right before bedtime. You don’t want any extra bacteria incubating all night! 😛
Remember:
Floss! Brush! Rinse! Or it’s the CHAIR!
(Apologies to Shirt-n-Tie, our blog dentist on the Emerald Isle.)
🙂
Joey! Don’t give up on restaurants, there’s still hope, and it lies in Brett Ottolenghi! Just saw this guy on CNN (can’t find the news story up on their site yet, so did some research so you didn’t have to…which should, I believe, earn me one chocolate chip cookie 🙂 ). Of course, you’ll have to go to Vegas, but I’m sure you can swing it.
Here’s his blog: http://www.artisanalfoods.com/shop/learn/
And here’s an article about what he does for the chefs in Vegas:
http://www.danagoodyear.com/dana/thetrufflekid.html
Going to Vegas? Just pick a fine restaurant, request a special item or three, and you just might have the meal of a lifetime.
Also, I suggest maybe you looking into food purveying as a possible career move. Sure, it doesn’t rake in the dough like, say…being a tv writer/producer…but this kid says he’s never had to take out a loan. And I’m sure you have wicked supervillain phone skills that will insure you – and only you – can secure that rare pig bladder for the discriminating tastes of foodies the world over. Or, at the very least, in Vancouver.
So, go on! Give it a try! What can you lose? 🙂 And who knows, you might even learn something along the way. 😉
@ Tam Dixon – It was much prettier in person. I did take a picture with my regular camera, but just didn’t have time to load it in the computer (my computer is old and doesn’t have the right port, so I have to load it into hubby’s laptop first, then put it on a flash drive so I can load it into my computer – pain in the arse).
Also, some sad news… sci fi great Ray Bradbury has died. 🙁
das
Poor Joe. I think you need Akemi with you when you go out to eat. At least…if you have a not-so-good time…she can be there for moral support. 😉
Holy Perogy! 😀 Love love love Perogies!! 🙂 My faves are potato cheese with spinach with sauteed onions and mushrooms. Yummy! 😀
Yaaay!! Akemi’s bentos! Love Akemi’s bento creations! 🙂 Love the goblin! Made me giggle. The teddy bears are just adorable. ^_^
It’s finally up – here’s the video about food purveyor, Brett Ottolenghi, in Vegas: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2012/06/06/cm-las-vegas-caviar-king.cnnmoney?iref=allsearch
das
Hey, Joey…a little something to share with Alex!
http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/how-to-piss-off-a-german/
🙂
das
@Das:
sitzpinklers??? 😯 I learn the most…um…interesting things from you.
😉
Hey Joe, you might find this funny. An endless Canadian arguement from South Park..
Entirely worksafe, and a very funny depiction.
@ JeffW – Sitzpinkling actually makes sense. Sitzpinkle in the privacy of your own home so that there’s no dribbles on the floor, and there’s no argument with the missus over leaving the seat up. But when out with the guys do the whole macho fire hose routine and no one will be the wiser that at home you’re a setter, and not a pointer. 😉
das
@Das:
I’m familiar with the concept…I’ve got a wife and two daughters (as well as a son). I just wasn’t aware there was a specific term, let alone one called “sitzpinkling”. It sounds like a vaguely dyslexic description of…well…the act itself.
Regardless, I don’t think I’ll be adding that word to my regular vocabulary. 😉
Sorry to hear about your tooth. I will keep reading in future blogs as to what happened.