dad and I were moving furniture and cleaning up for pest control until after midnight. cats had me up at 4:30 and again at 5:30. mac was refusing to leave when pest control should up an hour before I expected him, and now he is refusing to go with his uncle. mac and dad are with me at my office and I am trying to do work while ignoring them 2 cubes away. my brother is on the way over and hopefully once mac sees that he will not be rejected by said uncle then he will go with them and I can begin the ritual crying. gnashing of teeth, and cursing...before my noon session with mac's therapist.
at least I did get my coffee this morning.
I've seen a few blog posts about this, so....
What Not to Order at Fancy Restaurants
New York Times Restaurant critic Frank Bruni has done a lot of thinking about whether New York City's fanciest dishes were worth their sticker price. He boils down his best menu reading advice into a few snarky-but-true lines.
Bruni is noted among the Times' food critics for having a keen eye, and a sharp word, toward restaurants that stuff dining experiences with artificial finery to justify ridiculous bills. His final piece for the Times answers a bunch of often-asked questions he received (or wished he'd received) during his tenure, including this revelation about what to avoid on any menu:
Scratch off the appetizers and entrees that are most like dishes you've seen in many other restaurants, because they represent this one at its most dutiful, conservative and profit-minded. The chef's heart isn't in them.
Scratch off the dishes that look the most aggressively fanciful. The chef's vanity - possibly too much of it - spawned these.
Then scratch off anything that mentions truffle oil.
Choose among the remaining dishes.
What's wrong with truffle oil?
Oh, msbelle. I'm sorry this isn't getting any easier. I'm so glad your dad and your brother are there for you.
Jeez louise, msbelle. What's up with the outpatient situation?
I'm sorry this is so difficult, msbelle.
I think the rap on truffle oil is that it's crutch to make things seem "fancy."
