passion...schmassion

Day 9912: Closet foodie...

I'm a-slumping. Been in a food slump, a restaurant slump, a yum-yum slump - whatever you want to call it. No desire to eat, no specific food craving... what the hell is wrong with me? It's odd. Face it, it's downright strange. For someone as food motivated as I am, I cannot find anything that tickles my fancy. Except Kraft macaroni and cheese and even that is... ehhhh... whatever. It'll be a while before I give into that minor temptation. I'm already butt heavy as it is, don't need anymore "natural" padding to drag me down on my heelside turns.

I am quite perplexed and even peeved that I'm experiencing this slump. In all rights, going to fancy-schmancy restaurants with great presentations and luscious desserts should whet my appetite and make those little taste buds of mine tingle. Nope. Doesn't do it for me. Dunno why. Dunno how. Just dunno. Not Indian food, not korean, not japanese... definitely not chinese... just dunno...

I used to be a closet foodie. Okay. Maybe not so much closet, so much as an ignoramous foodie. I watched FoodTV, read cookbooks, dreamt of one day owning my own restaurant, tried to replicate every single fancy-schmancy meal that I've ever had...and trust me... there was one phase where fancy-schmancy was a way of life. Ick. Explains a lot. Buttery sauces, steak that melts in your mouth... mmmmm... would salivate at the thought like that that damned Pavlovian dog.

So the other day when I went to Terra North 44, I was still a-slumping. Kept staring at the menu waiting for inspiration to hit, but somehow it didn't. Ended up ordering halibut with buttered spinach, fingerling potatoes, and steamed carrots and green beans with a funky roast pepper salsa on the side. Don't get me wrong. It was good. But it missed the "oomph." Alright, frankly, it missed more than "oomph," including a lighter hand with the salt. But it was a good time, the wine was better than the food, the company better than the wine, and it was just a downright great evening. Dessert was someone elses' banana bread pudding with wisps of caramelized spun sugar - a little too caramelized as the bitterness of the burnt sugar was just a little heavy and overpowering. Serves me right, though for trying to eat the decorative touches. Strange, huh... that even the dessert menu didn't speak to me, I didn't even order my own. If I never have another piece of chocolate in my life again... welllll... maybe I won't finish that sentence while I'm a-slumping.

Tonight I'm going to Boba. Kannan's choice. He's been talking about it for years. Reputably a great Mediterranean-fusion type thing with funky vegetable sushi etc. etc. Seems interesting. Somewhat. Checked out the menu online this morning... still not speaking to me. Well, maybe they'll have some specials or something. So long as it doesn't have Scotch Bonnet peppers in it and doesn't send someone to the ER, I'll go along with it. I'm flexible.