Restaurant Week

It’s here! The best time of year in the life of a foodie: Restaurant Week! Actually, it’s a bit of a misnomer because a few years ago, they extended it to be 2 weeks instead. Foodies all around the city cheered at the thought of additional nights to experience restaurant bliss. As you know, I use this time of year to sample restaurants I have not yet dined at. This is the most important criteria for me when selecting Restaurant Week venues. And tonight we will be dining at our first selection. Dine and Dish to come soon …

A notable thought

I recently heard the following: Without the culinary arts, the bitterness of reality is unbearable. It was a line from a movie and truthfully, I think there was a bit more to it than that. But what I could quickly jot down works well enough for me. In fact, I don’t think I could agree more with this (possibly misquoted) foodie sentiment.

A glimpse of summer

The produce department in the grocery store represents my favorite part of the grocery shopping experience. This department is filled with color, freshness, and cooking possibilities. Often, it is standing amongst the produce that I am inspired to plan my meals for the week.

On this particularly cold winter day, I walked through the produce section and there sat bright red strawberries! Even better, the berries were on sale. I happily placed a package in my cart. At home, I snacked on the strawberries even before unpacking the rest of my bags. The berries were ripe and sweet and held within them the promise of warmer weather.

Salty & Crunchy

When snacking, I usually go for the salty, crunchy variety. My favorite is Chex mix. Oh, how I love thee. My love for this snack goes way back. When I was a kid, my mom always made Chex mix during the winter months. And while I know you can purchase a similar variety at the grocery store, the store-bought version pales in comparison to the kind I grew up on.

My enjoyment of this salty, crunchy snack also involves a specific eating protocol. I realize that by posting this, I am opening myself up to getting flack from my family - They hate that the first thing I do when eating a bowl of Chex mix, is to pick out all the pretzels and throw them back into the container. And, if my mom has made the batch, she also adds M&Ms. I discarded them along with the pretzels. What’s left in my bowl is the buttery, seasoned, salty crunch of the Chex trio. I start by eating the whole wheat Chex because they soak up the most butter. Next, I move on to the rice Chex and finish with the corn Chex. The corn ones are crunchiest and are my favorite. Gotta love a good wintertime snack from your childhood. Crunch. Crunch.

Dark Hefe

As you know, when writing about libations, I typically write about wine - enjoying, drinking, and sharing it. But you should also know that I enjoy a good beer as well. I married into a beer-loving family so the opportunities to try a variety of unique beers are plentiful. Here’s one of my recent favorites. Bottoms up.

Restaurant Week Update

In anticipation of Restaurant Week (Feb. 26th – March 11th), I eagerly announce my restaurant selections. Thus far, reservations have been booked for ZINK Kitchen + Bar and Fogo de Chao. I am considering making one more reservation but haven’t yet settled on my final selection. Stay tuned …