Saturday, August 14, 2010

food forward




I'm surprised I'm not 300 pounds because I constantly think about food. What will I eat in Florida next week? What possibilities are out there for breakfast? What will they be serving for lunch at work? What can I make for dinner? Thank goodness though really. What a blessing to have something simple bring so much joy.

Choices are abundant out here in Brooklyn. Prices for breakfast or brunch in relatively clean fun surroundings are around 8 bucks. But places can stiff you for coffee or like only serving fancy coffee. They get you when you're easily confused and groggy - needing coffee - and then they ramble off about 10 types of coffees you can get which none of them are actually just a cup of black strong coffee that you could add cream to which is what you really want. Today P got Cafe' con Leche and it was sweetened. It was good though but felt more like hot cocoa. You can get regular coffee at this place, I think but we've been tricked about 4 times with these $3 leches. We're not that smart.

Cafe' Cubana on 6th and Flatbush. It's easy and they open up the front window doors to make it all breezy and sunny and refreshing. The blue paint on the slatted walls calms me. The nice waiter usually brings these plantain chips with two types of salsas, the dark green one is almost pesto-like. They only give you a dollop and so it doesn't ruin your appetite. I don't know a lot about Cuban food but from what I eat, they don't use many spices and the food is more healthy and simple than say mexican.

I am almost on vacation (just one more day of prison time) so I really wanted to try something new but you know that doesn't always pay off. (((think back monkey, ..hair perm of Ot 04', whew!!! What a bad idea! Good intentions gone immediately south))))

I wanted meat, of course, when doesn't meat sound better. So Chorizo omelet right? ..with snow peas and cheddar cheese. C'mon! Clearly the best choice! No.... I need to try something new and take chances, I think. P was smart and got the tropical vegetarian BLT which was amazing actually. Okay, so scrambled eggs with tomatoes and artichoke salsa served with coconut rice sounded amazing too. Are you with me on this? It was pretty tasty but amazing...uh, honestly, not really. Okay, big disclaimer: I'm Catholic (sort of) or at least I carry tons of C-guilt so I'm lucky to be eating at a restaurant at All and deserve NOTHING. Them's the facts. This I know because the good nuns done 'tole me so....so......I love this place and I'm just happy to be here and with my lovin' man out and about, with two legs, health insurance, a place to live,..blah, blah, blah. Okay. That said. But now I'm thinking that maybe I really love coming to this place not so much for the food exactly but because it feels light and airy, therefore it makes me feel like I'M light and airy. The food never weighs me down and everyone is friendly and its never super crowded (because we go as they just open).

Like I said, it was good but not 'special' but it could have been with a few small changes I think. So I thought it would be fun to recreate the meal as it could have been presented based on the description. It's the 'artichoke salsa' that reeled me in. That's different. You visualize something colorful. So maybe they could have slow cooked the scrambled eggs so they are fluffy and light. You throw in the tomatoes at the very last minute so they keep their bright red color. Then, put a big dollop of this special, different 'artichoke salsa' on the top for presentation purposes, it will be the main attraction and visually you can be excited. Whatcha think? Sounds better right?

The actual salsa was canned artichokes cooked with tomatoes I believe. Not bad. Maybe I'll try to make it with artichokes but add peperocini peppers, vidalia onions, and how about mint???

But I did cover my carnivore cravings by ordering a side of home fries with chorizo and green onions. And they didn't disappoint. Hey, this ain't my first time at the rodeo.

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