Thursday 13

Thirteen Unforgettable Meals I Have Had

1. In college I was visiting my then boyfriend in San Francisco in 1999. We found a really great sushi place in Palo Alto that offered an ALL YOU CAN EAT sushi lunch buffet for $8.95. No, really. It was awesome. We went, like 3 times.

2. Paris, 2002, having dinner with an old friend who was living in France at the time. He took me to this adorable restaurant where I had duck breast with rosemary and honey. Holy shit was that delicious. Probably the best thing I have ever eaten that wasn't chocolate.

3. My first adult dinner party. Gargamel made pad thai and invited me to have dinner with him, his roommate Jones and Mr. and Mrs. Upstairs (their landlord and wife). I have to say this was the best pad thai I have ever had.

4. Lincoln, NH, the end of the 2004 climbing season. 7 of us dirty, ravenous climbers pillaged a Chinese restaurant after a full day of sport climbing. This place serves General Gau's tofu and it is just so. freakin. good. (We also managed to offend just about everyone in the place with our dinner time conversation, but that is another story.) Then we camped out in 6 inches of snow near Cannon Cliff.

5. Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Boston, 2003. I was returning from my cousin's wedding in Scotland. Maybe it was because I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours, but the beef pie they served ON THE PLANE was incredible.

6. A few years ago, my BFF, Emily, had a "Retro Dinner Party" and made, among other things, meatloaf. I have never, ever, ever liked meatloaf. I think it was because my mom couldn't make it to save her life and used like, really lean meat that got all dried out and overcooked. Blech. Anyway, Em's meatloaf was DELICIOUS. It was everything meaty and good in the world. And the gravy... don't even get me started on the gravy, I would drink it for breakfast.

7. On Thanksgiving a few years back, myaunt and uncle deep fried the turkey. They had one of those turkey fryers that occasionally explode and dump scalding oil all over your garage and kill like, 6 people a year or something. I had heard about this from an old redneck boyfriend (Hi, Trey!) and was eager to indulge my passion for anything fried. Yum. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Best turkey ever.

8. Winter of aught one, middle of nowhere Colorado, The Good Reverend Carson, myself, and a Brit named Hugh took advantage of a near empty Dude Ranch and had dinner in the Guest Dining Room. (The place was a Mobil 4 star resort and known for it's cuisine.) Grill Bill T., one of the chefs offered to make us ANYTHING WE WANTED, which, after months of crappy staff meals was a dream come true. I had some kind of salmon and the boys had big slabs of steak. The best part were the "Heart Attack Potatoes" made with equal parts potato, cream, butter and cheese. I am getting chest pains just thinking about it.

9. When I waited tables at the Tatyuck, I was on good terms with all the kitchen staff and they were always making me treats of one kind or another. Anyway, one of the cooks, Jose, made this White Chocolate Curry, which sounds gross, but was in fact delicious. I have no idea what we ate it with, but god was it good. Spicey, sweet, creamy... *drool* (Now that I think of it, we probably just guzzled it down from a trough or something)

10. Last night, I cooked a Cornish Hen. It was on sale at the Big Lie for, like 3 bucks, and I thought, hey, why not? (Sidenote: I really like saying "Cornish Hen", it makes me want to laugh. Try it. Cornish. Hen. Wheeee!) I roasted it in the oven with a Lemon Beurre Blanc and a bit of wasabi mustard. WOW! Really nice. Tender, juicey, fattening. (The B.B. uses an entire stick of butter.) Perfect! I also made rice pilaf that was yummy but unexciting.

11. Grasshopper Restaurant in Allston, MA, an Asian-Vegan restaurant. I have to say that their Sweet and Sour "Chicken" is the best ever. I want some right now. Oh. God.

12. Mike Hanson's Peach Pie. I have a thing for peach pie, and I always thought mine was pretty damn good, but Mike's TOTALLY KICKED MY PIE'S ASS. He made the perfect, flakey, tender crust, lovely spiced peaches, attractive lattice top... Yes, I ate enough to make an entire meal of it.

13. Death Burger Feast 2004. Gargamel and I cooked up a batch of the greasiest, yummiest burgers this side of the emergency room for a bunch of friends. We had a myriad of toppings, all of which, including the sauteed veg, were cooked in bacon fat, a fact I "forgot" to mention to my terrible hippie roommate and let her go on and on about how good they were. (Yes, I am a terrible person. Who loves bacon.)

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