Thursday, August 29, 2013

Lunch yesterday

I just have to write about my lunch yesterday. Maybe I was there on a "bad day" because my lobster roll didn't look half as good as any pics I've seen on yelp and was THIRTEEN buckers. It was cold, bland, and on an untoasted boring bun. It came with no sides. Here are the details:

Went out for a coworker's birthday to this new site for food trucks. There were, however, only two offerings available: The Seedling truck and Dock n Roll.

I've had a salad at the Seedling truck when it was over at the east side farmer's market and it was okay. My s.o. had the quail from them and said it was just okay as well. So, my coworker, who was nice enough to drive me over, and I decided to splurge on the Main Event sandwich from Dock N Roll.

The line was long, in direct 100 degree sun, but the guy at the window was nice enough. I asked for my sandwich to go and it came in a basket just like everyone else's. I thought, "I probably won't eat all of my sandwich this afternoon!" --> WRONG.

I get that lobster is more expensive than, say chicken. Particularly in Central Texas. BUT we are already paying $13!! For that we get a tiny sub bun about half the size of my cowrkers' buns (lol) who got pork and chicken sandwiches. Also, the pork (Vietnamese) sandwich had all sorts of lovely slaw on top. My lobster roll? NOTHING. Just cold lobster salad on a non-toasted blah bun. And lemon and mayo? I see you not, I taste you not. AT ALL.

To add insult to injury, my coworker got the Lobster mac 'n' cheese and paid $3 extra (or 2.50? not sure) for bacon, corn, and tater tots. I personally am not into that whole catastrophe but if you want that nonsense, you should get it! There were no signs of tater tots, truly, and a tiny bit of bacon and a few kernels of corn. When people don't want to finish mac 'n' cheese, you know it's not great.

She went up and said she didn't see any tots on the mac and the man just stared at her. Rude! So my other coworker went up and asked about it only to be *assured* (he said rudely) by the cook that the tots were BLENDED into the mac. Blended? Wtf? I could understand if the taters were sort of crushed up and crispy and sprinkled in, but blended, really? Why anyone would blend potatoes into the non-visible netherworld is beyond me. Buffing up on calories, perhaps? The coworker in question said as we were exiting the truck area "that's how I get the kids to eat their veggies, by blending it in other foods." My thoughts exactly.

Not cool. And kinda rude.

I don't have pics cuz it's weird to take pics of your coworkers food, so here's one from yelp.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Gay Paree

I am very excited to be going to Paris and Amsterdam in November.

I studied in the South of France during college and traveled to Paris to get there. My recollection of my day in Paris was running into my first Parisian on the street - a haute couture type of guy. Svelt, well-dressed, and kind of smily when he realized I was a lost and displaced young American. I think he gave me directions.

Also, I remember being totally overwhelmed at the Louvre (despite having been to many big international museums and later in life working at the Guggenheim). There was just too much to see. I remember stopping for a beverage at the cafe inside the museum (probably an Orangina; I was a bit Orangina obsessed that summer) and people watching. And calling my mother from a payphone I could barely operate. But then, I've called my mother from various payphones, both sketchy and funky, at various locales at various points in my life (9/11 being a memorable one; I called her from a payphone down the hall in a roach infested efficiency weekly "hotel" I was living in in San Francisco...it will be weird not calling her anymore, but she's in my heart always).

Right after I left the Louvre, the new "chic" shoes I bought for the trip quickly disintegrating, leaving my feet actually BLEEDING. So my biggest memory of Paris is eschewing blood on its sidewalks. Good times.

More to come...