foodie & astronomy pr0n

Jul 12, 2006 16:26

I officially need to start studying Russian again. Since the Russian government isn't so picky about regulations, I think a nice healthy space tourism business could sprout up there. I could also see that sprouting up in South America, for a number of reasons. Perhaps a reason to finally learn Spanish...?

And these companies will all need financial people, so I don't have to get my foot in the door on the science side of things. I'll find my way off this planet yet!

***

Last night was Dylan's birthday, and his mom took us and Katy J. out to dinner at Brennan's. Oh. My. God. Such delicious, wonderful food. It still doesn't beat the meal Mindy and I had at Dick & Jenny's in New Orleans -- nothing's topped that yet -- but it was definitely in the top 5 meals of my life. When we got there, I got to geek out over the wine list, which is a freaking tome. I ended up choosing a bottle of Enate, a Spanish gewurtztraminer. Dylan only likes whites, and we didn't want anything too sweet or dry. So gewurtztraminer works because it's fruity, but got some spice to it. Plus I was curious to see what a Spanish one would taste like.

It was good (and cheap), but nothing special. Had very strong notes of dill, and I think it would work well with an appetizer like a rosemary-and-thyme cream cheese spread on crackers. But considering what my appetizer was (and my entree), its flavors were completely steamrollered.

My appetizer? Pan-seared foie gras atop two peaches, with thyme and a lovely praline sauce. Trying foie gras was on my list of "things to do before I die," and now I have scratched it off! Mwahahah! It was soooo gooood. I can't stand liver, but this tastes nothing like liver. Instead it's smooth and rich and buttery -- just melt in your mouth good. Num num; next time I'll have to try it with its traditional mate of Sauternes wine.

For my entree I had their duo of lamb. The sausage was too dry, and I asked for my lamb medium-rare... got it medium-well. In fact, all of our food was overcooked, which is a damn shame. It was still delicious, but imagine how much nicer it would have been prepared correctly. Anyway, the lamb was tasty, and I could eat their cornbread custard all day. Dylan had their salmon & scallops, his mom had the veal chop, and Katy J. had the giant slab o'beef filet. Everyone's food was excellent, though I think I made the best choice.

Dessert and coffee of course ended the meal, and if you go to Brennan's, you MUST have the bananas foster. They're famous for it for a reason. They prepare it tableside (woo, fire!), and I don't like bananas, but this? This was heaven in a bowl. I'm still full from all the food we ate, but I can't help drooling at the memory of my dessert.

Naturally, good food is only truly enjoyed with good conversation, which we had plenty of. Dylan's mom is Turkish, though her family is very secular. In college her father was known as "Godless Abdul" and was a dedicated Communist. We got to talking about the book Reading Lolita in Tehran, Islamic extremism, religious fundamentalism, Western vs. Eastern viewpoints, and it was just really cool to discuss all this over this fantastic meal. Few things delight me as much as intelligent discussions, and couple that with such a high-calibre meal? It definitely made up for a few crappy days, and Dylan seemed quite pleased.

During the meal, and now writing about it, I feel terribly bourgeois, but eh, we all need to indulge in such a mood every now and then, no?

astronomy, food

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