Food and Frivolity

On Saturday (yesterday), my wife and I decided to go our for lunch, but were having a tough time deciding where to go. We got in the car and headed toward a strip center that has become a conglomeration of Asia restaurants. We weren't sure where we would go, but knew we would have lots of options if we stopped there. And so we did.

We parked out among the sea of cars in the always-jammed parking lot and walked up and down the sidewalk in front of the restaurants. We poked our heads into one or two places, but for one reason or another they did not strike our fancy. Finally, we stopped at a place that had at least a bit of English on the signs in front. We popped inside and discovered that the place offers a weekend Chinese breakfast and dim sum buffet. This is it, we decided.

After we were seated, we went to the buffet and wandered around, looking at all manner of foods with which we were no familiar. We're no shrinking violets when it comes to trying new things, so we began piling "stuff" on our plates. At the dim sum station, I picked out several items, including some meat-filled steamed pastries, some translucent pastries filled with green veggies and seafood, and some things that looked, to me, like strips of clams that were coated with a thick dark brown batter.

As it turned out, the "clams" were actually duck feet in a thick sauce. I've not had duck feet before and probably will not again, at least not intentionally. The taste isn't bad, but they are full of bones and cartilage and such, making it very tough to eat.

Later, in the main buffet, away from dim sum, I put a bit of dark brown meat of some kind into a small bowl. When I got around to trying it, I learned it was trip...beef, I think...that was very, very hard to chew. Fortunately, it did not have the aroma nor the taste I've come to associate with tripe (via menudo); but, it was damned hard to eat.

All in all, the lunch was hard to eat and was less than top-notch, at least from my perspective. I've often thought the best way to eat foods with which one is utterly unfamiliar is to be instructed by "native eaters." I'm willing to go back, but I need some instruction.

After lunch, we did our daily errands, including one that I've put off for a long, long time: replacing my watch. I had been hoping my old Seiko simply needed another battery; unfortunately, that was not to be. Its electronics had died, requiring replacement. So, I am now the owner of a new Citizen watch. It's far too fancy for my taste, but as my wife points out, I did not buy it for myself, I bought it to polish a tarnished image (i.e., I bought it for my clients). I got a good deal on it, spending only $189 instead of its $250 price tag. I think watches that cost more than $50 are showpieces; you're buying the form, not the function. But so it goes. I now have a watch that doesn't embarrass my wife when we go out.

Later, following our errands, we went out to a musical entitled The Great American Trailer Park Musical. It was funny in places, but my overall impression was that it was not particularly good (all the reviews I've heard about, though, give it dazzling ratings, so maybe I'm the odd man out). An advertising agency with which we sometimes do business invited us and bought the tickets, so I can't complain too bitterly. And my wife found it enjoyable; she notes it was not meant to be particularly thought-provoking.

Today, I'm heading south for a meeting in Austin. I'll leave later this afternoon and will drive part way, staying overnight in a relatively inexpensive place somewhere near my destination, a resort that costs far too much. I'll miss their dinner tonight, but will be no poorer because of it. Tomorrow, I have meetings beginning at 8:30 am, with another half day on Tuesday.

And so it's unlikely I'll blog much any time soon. But I just had to record this stuff for the record. I'll come back here and use it one day.