Holy FUCKING shit.
A) I now apparently condone the inhumane, torturous upbringing of animals.
B) I just ate an $860 dinner.
I went to my first screenprinting/embroidery/apparel trade show today. It was very informative, though somewhat small (70-some vendors in one convention hall, as opposed to a thousand between seven-plus large halls), and I learned a lot about my new industry. Then the general manager and I (who attended together) met up with representatives of a machine company for whom we just cut a $210,000 purchase order... they took the two of us and the art director (who met up with us later) to dinner at Cafe Absinthe in Bucktown neighborhood.
Primi piatti: foie gras (for the first, and perhaps only, time in my life).
I told myself long ago that I had to try foie gras once in my life. I also tasted the crab cakes and roasted ostrich, each of which were phenomenal, but neither compared to the foie. I felt so conflicted -- it was SO GODDAMN DELICIOUS, but it's mostly fat, and it results from a method of raising livestock away from which my moral compass points with adamance. But it was so, so delicious. Drinks: SanPellegrino sparkling water, lemon drop martini.
L'insalatta: heritage tomato salad.
Flavorful arrugala, young spinach, sliced cherry and roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil-pesto. Like my favorite sandwich, the Caprese, but in salad form with a dash of cracked pepper. Drinks: water, pinot noir.
Secondo piatti: Crispy mallard with garnish
Oh. My. Sweet. Jesus.
Crispy-skinned duck (I trimmed the fat off, to make up for having eaten the foie), a bed of spinach and portabello strips, duck confit ravioli, and some kind of tasty light duck sauce on the platter. Unbelievable, unforgettable. Drinks: water, the bottle of Rioja wine that I selected, and with which the table's most experienced wine connoiseur agreed, not having seen it on the menu. I think that earned me some respect with the group.
Dessert: one of everything. Literally.
We ordered one of every dessert on the menu: vanilla bean creme brulee with fresh blueberries, a "summer crisp" that included baked rhubarb-lime-mango mix, dark chocolate mousse cake, cherry tarts, a sampler of ice creams, a sampler of sorbets, and one or two other delights. We each started with a different dessert, and slowly rotated so as to be able to try everything. I have never been so inundated by diverse, scrumptious sweetness. Drinks: Gewurtztraminer and Moscat dessert wines, coffee (Boston).
Better yet, I was in fantastic company, and the seven of us got on famously.
God only knows if I'll be able to get up in the morning to go to the gym/pool before work.
B) I just ate an $860 dinner.
I went to my first screenprinting/embroidery/apparel trade show today. It was very informative, though somewhat small (70-some vendors in one convention hall, as opposed to a thousand between seven-plus large halls), and I learned a lot about my new industry. Then the general manager and I (who attended together) met up with representatives of a machine company for whom we just cut a $210,000 purchase order... they took the two of us and the art director (who met up with us later) to dinner at Cafe Absinthe in Bucktown neighborhood.
Primi piatti: foie gras (for the first, and perhaps only, time in my life).
I told myself long ago that I had to try foie gras once in my life. I also tasted the crab cakes and roasted ostrich, each of which were phenomenal, but neither compared to the foie. I felt so conflicted -- it was SO GODDAMN DELICIOUS, but it's mostly fat, and it results from a method of raising livestock away from which my moral compass points with adamance. But it was so, so delicious. Drinks: SanPellegrino sparkling water, lemon drop martini.
L'insalatta: heritage tomato salad.
Flavorful arrugala, young spinach, sliced cherry and roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil-pesto. Like my favorite sandwich, the Caprese, but in salad form with a dash of cracked pepper. Drinks: water, pinot noir.
Secondo piatti: Crispy mallard with garnish
Oh. My. Sweet. Jesus.
Crispy-skinned duck (I trimmed the fat off, to make up for having eaten the foie), a bed of spinach and portabello strips, duck confit ravioli, and some kind of tasty light duck sauce on the platter. Unbelievable, unforgettable. Drinks: water, the bottle of Rioja wine that I selected, and with which the table's most experienced wine connoiseur agreed, not having seen it on the menu. I think that earned me some respect with the group.
Dessert: one of everything. Literally.
We ordered one of every dessert on the menu: vanilla bean creme brulee with fresh blueberries, a "summer crisp" that included baked rhubarb-lime-mango mix, dark chocolate mousse cake, cherry tarts, a sampler of ice creams, a sampler of sorbets, and one or two other delights. We each started with a different dessert, and slowly rotated so as to be able to try everything. I have never been so inundated by diverse, scrumptious sweetness. Drinks: Gewurtztraminer and Moscat dessert wines, coffee (Boston).
Better yet, I was in fantastic company, and the seven of us got on famously.
God only knows if I'll be able to get up in the morning to go to the gym/pool before work.