Being a restaurant reviewer isn't as easy as it looks!

I know being a restaurant reviewer sounds like a dream job. And honestly, it still does. But it is a lot harder than you would think! I am not talking Mike Rowe Dirty Jobs hard....but it isn't a cake walk!

Tonight I had the unique pleasure of being a restaurant reviewer......at least well kinda. A friend of mine, Kristy (aka cakegrrl) was doing a preview review for the upcoming Dine Downtown Restaurant week (ending on MY birthday, btw!) and asked me to join her (thank you, Kristy, SO very much.....what a welcome respite in an overly crazy day/week). Okay, so how fun does that sound?? We went to Capitol Garage and got to order off the special $30 prix fixe menu that will be available starting on January 7th. Our meals included a salad, entree, dessert, and a glass of wine. I don't drink but if I did, I would tell you that they had some very nice wines to compliment their offerings. Kristy gets to do the "real" review so you can check out pictures of my lovely dinner along with her professional review over on her blog! I had to "pay my way" by giving her feedback about everything. So here goes!

I started with the Chipotle Caesar salad. You probably know I usually go for the spinach salad, but tonight was a night for trying something new! I am so glad I did! The dressing was spicy, maybe too spicy for me but Jeff would have loved it and probably asked for a soup bowl of it! lol! But the dressing was easily balanced by the avocado and I wouldn't hesitate to order it again....and again....and again. The crispy tortilla strips were a terrific topping and I will take them any day over croutons (or popcorn, potato chips, or just about any savory snack).

For my entree, I had the Crab Cake Linguini. This was tasty, tasty, tasty and they gave me so much food! I had expected one measly crab cake along with pasta and bread but there were two HUGE crab cakes covering a major portion of my plate. In fact, the crab cakes were so big I could have skipped the pasta completely and been a happy camper! Regarding the pasta, it was just good. Even though the menu forewarns you that there is prosciutto, it still comes as a shock. I found the pasta a little salty but expect that most others would be fine with it. As for the main feature, I was surprised by two things: how moist the crab cakes were and that they had potato chunks in them. We decided they were moist because they had so much crab meat in them and the potatoes provided a great texture balance for the flaky crab meat. Another positive, the flavor of the potato gave my taste buds a break so that the next taste of crab was as wonderful as the first taste. I had intended to eat one of the crab cakes but was enjoying them so much that I had almost finished the second before I caught myself. (I hope Kristy posted a picture of my plate. It was so pretty looking!)

Dessert was cheesecake. In this case it was Black Bottom Cheesecake and Butterfinger Cheesecake. They were personal cupcake sized desserts and almost too pretty to eat! The Butterfinger came home as a loving surprise for the boys. According to them, it had a strong butterscotch flavor. I couldn't understand what Ryan said because his mouth was full.....of a second bite! The Black Bottom started with a chocolate cookie crust (yum!), followed by a berry puree cake with a delicate taste. The top layer, the cheesecake, was so light that it felt almost like a whipped cream. This was topped with a sprinkling of cocoa and some juicy blackberries! As a dense cheesecake lover, I was surprised how much I liked this dessert! Looking at the cheesecake you would have expected a heavy chocolate and fruit and a heavy cheesecake to stand up against the rest. Instead, it was a delightful end to the meal. Perfect to linger over along with a cup of coffee and good conversation!

End result: I would go again. I would go again and eat the same thing again.

So about it being so darn difficult and oh poor poor Susan having to eat this awesome food.....seriously, this isn't for most people!
First off, you have to STOP AND TASTE YOUR FOOD! No more shoveling it down so you can get it all plus dessert down before your stomach tries to tell you its full! You have to take small bites and let them sit on your tongue and pay attention to the texture and how the flavors mingle.
Second, you have to realize that YOU ARE NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE!! What does this mean? When you taste something you have to think whether you like something but also how other people might like it. Some of the food I ate tonight wasn't seasoned exactly how I would have if I were the chef. Having said that, I know that the other 9 out of 10 people that will be eating the same thing would have loved it the way it was.
And third....I can't remember the third thing but it was really important. Oh yes, I had to TALK ABOUT WHAT I ATE! Who does that? I am not some critic on the FoodNetwork so what gives me the right to tell anyone if food is good or bad and whether they should or should not try it? And if we talk about the food during dinner, when oh when can we get caught up on all the fun things? (Rhetorical question.....you sit around enjoying the restaurant and the company after you eat. No rushing off to the next thing! What a welcome joy!)

So, while I will not be quitting my day job, please know I will suffer through tasting excellent meals, considering others, and talking about my food again, just for you! Aren't I a peach?

Sending you a Christmas card.....

so while writing our Christmas letter and printing the labels, I realized that many of the people I have the most interaction with are not those I am sending cards to. Many of the people I really should be wishing the best of the holiday season are those on Twitter or Facebook....or even Foursquare. I spend time with them every day....but don't have addresses or even phone numbers in most cases!

in 2010, I made countless new wonderful friends, learned so many things, and have had a blast thanks to people I may never met! so if you are one of those people.....and you KNOW who you are.....please accept this as my Christmas card to you.....and imagine that everyone in the family hand signed it....cuz we did!


oh....and if you are thinking "but I AM one of those people that Susan sends a Christmas card to every year" then have no fear.....it is on its way! I mailed them on the 22nd. so you might want to print out the one above and put in with your other cards until the real one arrives!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cecilie

I lost a lot when LM closed it's virtual doors and message board! one of the biggest losses was regular daily ongoing contact with people such as Cecilie. she lived in Denmark at the time and we had actually gotten to meet IRL twice when she came to the States.

I follow her blog. as it is mostly in Danish (and I have yet to totally master the language) I have done a crummy job of keeping in contact. In fact, I was thinking just that last night. I miss chatting with her. she has such a grounded view of life.

what a coincidence that I should wake up to find a post on my Google Reader (which I don't think is very conducive to POSTING on people's blogs, but does make it a lot easier to READ them) a new post from Cecilie! this one is written in Danish and then English!! (cuz she really does care about us!) oh, and it is a contest for participation......

so I would recommend taking a moment to head over to visit Cecilie's Blog and check out her contest, especially if you are a scrapbooker. even if you are not, she offers a great peek into the wonderful world outside of the United States and is a FANTASTIC photographer! her nature shots are amazing!

Truth: Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for

I should have looked to see what others said (not the point, I know) before answering this because all I can think of would be my kids. And even having said that I need to qualify it. I am not, I repeat NOT one of those women who drops everything for her children! I work really hard to still have my own life. I still spend oodles of time driving them around in circles, helping with class projects, etc, and I still put their needs before my own. I said needs there, not wants! Sometimes my needs eclipse their wants. My job as a parent is to help them understand the difference!

Somehow I think the title should have been "Someone who has made your life worth living" because the only person you should live FOR is yourself!

The end.......
Sent from my Blackberry!

Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do

I thought this one was really easy.....but it was made quite a bit more difficult when a friend reminded me that you just shouldn't mention certain things. 'nuff said about that!

another friend stated that she never wanted to involuntarily lose her house. 2 years ago I think I would have agreed with her. but through my own unemployment (thankfully short and sweet) and J's waytoolong unemployment, I had to face the thought that this might come to pass. and since (gosh, you might just know this about me already) I am a total control freak, I started planning for the worst. yes, we had Plan A and Plan B. heck, I even had Plan C.....but that might make the Top 10 list of things I hope never to have to do! Plan B involved losing the house. and while at one point in time this would have resulted in a serious acting up of my IBS and many sleepless nights and trips to the chiropractor, I have determined two things: it would not be the end of the world, and home ownership is overrated! lol!

so back to the question.....how about eating some nasty disgusting food like they have on the Amazing Race because that is all you have to eat?

Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life

this is an easy one! I really shouldn't be freaked out trying to answer it or have procrastinated so long. but, hey, this is ME we are talking about, right?? yeah well....

somehow along the way, I got it into my mind that this was some deep question about what I wanted to do WITH my life! MUCH harder question to deal with..... the way it was originally written, not so much!

with that......my long awaited answer! lol!!

it really is no secret that I would really love to own/rent/borrow/steal an RV and spend a summer driving around the United States with all my boys! I would love to take them back east to see all the historical buildings, etc, and really understand US history in person instead of from a school book. I would love to stop by and see/meet many of the friends I have made from scrapbooking and/or the internet. I want to take them to the world's largest ball of twine (apparently being disputed between Cawker City Kansas and Darwin Minnesota), etc. we would attempt to see a baseball game in every major league park (and several minor league parks). I wouldn't even mind doing some Boy Scout historical walks! we would have a blast!!

J would end up doing most of the driving (he always does) but if we don't win the lottery soon, R will be old enough to help him. as for me? well, we have already talked about creating a magnetic table top so that I can scrapbook our trip album while we are on our trip! just bring along our Espon PictureMate and/or PhotoPrinter to print the previous days' pictures and away I go!

so this isn't some crazy dream without thought. just things have gotten in the way (so far). bummer!

yeah, I know!

not doing such a good job on those 30 Truths! hey, I warned you it wouldn't be 30 days in a row. I started the blog post (well, wrote the title) I am just having content issues. I think I am taking the title a bit too esoteric and need to just chill and answer it.

anyway, still alive and still thinking about it!