Last week was a perfect example. My first night alone I met up with some friends at Christopher's at the Biltmore. Sort of an upscale kind of place I figured this would not be too bad. We went for happy hour; 1/2 price drinks and menu. The down side though is happy hour is only served at the bar. I really don't like eating at the bar; especially with more than one other person...I think it's hard to have good conversation at the bar. But such is life.
After perusing the menu we decided to share a few things: the burger, a mushroom pizza, duck frites and a chocolate tower for dessert. Not healthy choices; I know. The burger was just that..a burger. It came with a homemade ketchup that I didn't like at all. The duck frites were ok; just not what I was expecting. They were more like strings. The pizza was good but I don't consider crimini mushrooms "wild" and if you are going to put onions they need to be cooked down. Who wants to bite into semi raw onions on a mushroom pizza. I really wanted to like this place but I'm not sure I can bring myself to go back.
Night two was slightly better. I met a friend at Postino's on Central. After a 20 minute wait we found ourselves seated at the very back table; right off of the restrooms. Not the best spot in the house but at least it was somewhat quieter than the rest of the place. Positano's does a cool bruschetta board. The menu says it includes 4 bruschetta's; you pick the toppings. So we each got our own. Who knew that each of the 4 was cut into 4 which means there were 16 total. In other words the boards are huge and could've easily have been split. In my opinion a good waitress should've told us this. The highlight of our meal was the cucumber, honey lemonaid. The minute I read this on the menu I knew I had to try it. The combination of flavors was amazing and the fact that you could distinctly pick out each one was also kind of cool. All and all I can't really complain about the food.
Night three I found myself at the "Vig". I had heard so many good things about this place and it's food. Frankly I'm not sure what all the hype is about. Unless you get a table outside; then maybe. But there's nothing really special about the inside and it sure as hell isn't worth the 30 minute wait. As for the food...I can see people saying they have a better selection than most bars would have. Menu options included things like salmon and steak. But the quality to me was not good. Maybe I'm being a food snob; but any place that can bring you out a grilled salmon in under 2 minutes can't be that good. I want the chef to take some time preparing my food. Portions were huge...I'll give them that. But I'd much rather have a small well prepared meal. Size isn't everything...at least not in this case.
Yesterday was my last day alone; my husband was due in around 8pm. So I had the entire day to fend for myself. I looked through the fridge at all the leftovers I acquired over the week and decided none of them were worth revisiting. Instead I ate some fruit and some crackers with peanut butter to get me through...maybe I was mentally preparing myself to get back into my good eating habits. Who knows.
There's something to be said about routine and eating at home. It's Sunday morning and we just enjoyed a nice healthy breakfast we cooked together and we're about to embark on an afternoon of food preparation.
I'm so glad he's finally home.
Well, you do better than me. When my husband is out of town, I invariably have popcorn for dinner at least one or two nights!
ReplyDeleteBummer that your meals weren't so great. I usually use the time when my husband travels to cook up the things he doesn't like, but I love. Such as dishes with spicy peanut sauce. :) I have been known to resort to some muesli for dinner though. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, there is something to be said about eating at home. Home cooking and sharing a meal with family is always tops.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your dinners out weren't so good! I've been having the same problem lately. Nothing beats good home cooking!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like a stretch of nights out to make you appreciate healthy home cooking!
ReplyDeleteThe more I eat out, the more I am usually convinced that I like my own food more. It's reliable. And so tasty! Glad your hubby is home.
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