Meal Resume - a weekend worth remembering

It doesn't seem right to have so many sensual moments in the span of a mere 24 hours, but with the right hosts it can be done, and quite shamelessly too. From Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening I experienced what I imagine is an ideal weekend for a true gourmand (though I would still classify myself as a wannabe foodie, slowing working my way up the "food-chain", by eating my way higher and higher...). Here's 3 remarkable meals to add to my resume:

Dinner @ Bluefish Grill (sushi)...a smorgasbord of rolls (can you use a German word to describe a Japanese meal?), the most memorable being the Dynamite: a California roll (truly boring and very 1990s, I admit) but completely covered - and I mean unrecognizable as the roll it once was - in a soft shell crab gratin. A gooey, glistening mound of topaz-tinted seafood. Mmmm... The plate was a mayonaissey mess when it arrived, but like all fat-laden foods, the taste was simply irresistible.

After-dinner drinks @ ZaZa Bar...Kir Royales, Cranberry Martinis, and a mysterious caffeineated pick-me-up that tasted far too virtuous to be an alchoholic beverage. But my nap on the toilet seat proved that it was clearly an adult apartif...whoops! Always a sucker for free drinks. Or, the "scholarship program", as our drink sponsor for the night so graciously put it. Unfortunately for him though, he ended up buying drinks for "the mom and two virgins"!! Better luck next time, buddy!

Breakfast buffet....the detox menu included 2 cups of tea, 3 asprin, some fresh pineapple, watermelon, almond croissants, Scottish crumb cake, and buckwheat pancakes. Hoping to flush out the remnants of raw fish and hard liquor from the night before and make room for another round of fine dining to come. Very soon, actually...

Lunch @ La Duni Latin Bakery...When you have limited stomach space, it's crucial to read the dessert menu first. This we did, and determined to allot enough room for a slice of tres leches. Passing on this authentic - not to mention award-winning - delicacy would be like going to Vatican City and not paying a visit to the Sistene Chapel. Even if you're not Catholic, or religious, or artsy, you just do it because it's the right thing to do. Much is the same with an opportunity to taste real tres leches cake. So, after my fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and huevos y salsa (keeping it simple, anticipating more decadence to come) we made a final decision on dessert. We abandoned the idea of the always-incredible tres leches -- which was actually quatro leches at La Duni - and seized the day by ordering the Panque de Limon; a tantilizing combination of Vanilla Matecade Sponge Cake, Lemon-Lime Citrus Curd, topped with Carmelized Swiss Meringue and...yes, AND...drizzled with Rasperry Coulis. I was dizzy with delight just reading the description. Each tart, soggy bite lived up to my lusty expectations.

Dinner @ Mi Cocina....my cake & egg lunch had hardly settled when we decided on Mexican for dinner. Pace yourself, I thought...you can do this...just have a bite of whatever and take the rest home. Impossible! When the plate of individually-piled nachos (beef and beans and cheese, oh my!) and the glorious vatt of guacamole was staring me in the face, I had to at least find out what all the fuss was about. Then, once my mouth was burning from the "medium" heat, and the waiters neglected to replenish my water, I was forced to neutralize the burn with chips and more salsa. And more and more...By the time my grilled tilapia and green rice arrived I was able to follow my "just one bite" rule. Not so much because of willpower but physiological restrictions and belt-hole limits.

Oh, what a night...and morning, and afternoon, and night again! Sometimes I feel like my life can be documented in meals. Which I suppose is the purpose of this whole blogging thing anyway. I always had a reason to eat well, but now I reason to remember every little detail. That side sauce, or those fresh-out-of-the-oven rolls, or the liquid/ solid texture on the bottom layer of that cake...if I'm not careful, the devil might start sneaking into the details. Moderation; someday I will learn the art. For now, practice makes better!