The One Where Beets & OLP Go Out To Eat on a Rainy Friday

OLP and I set out on this rainy evening for a quick dinner. We figured we'd virtually share our meals with you, since they were so delicious.

We each had a Caesar salad, with white anchovies and some marinated or preserved grape tomatoes. OLP stopped eating her salad when she was full...

I kept picking at mine for a while longer:

OLP got the half servings of gnocchi with broccolini. The waitress said she loved gnocchi, but then patted her belly (which was concave) as if to indicate that either she was pregnant and therefore unable to eat gnocchi for some reason, or as if to say that gnocchi (which is made from potatoes and water and maybe egg) is somehow really fattening. Poor uninformed waitress, missing out on the joys of a reasonable serving of gnocchi for fear that it would make her fat. Or maybe she has some sort of eating disorder and if she started eating it she couldn't stop. Or she's allergic to potatoes. At any rate, it was very good.

This was my half serving of ravioli with ricotta, some hammish sort of thing, green garlic (kind of like mild scallions) and asparagus. The waitress made no remarks or hand motions about my meal.  

A little bit of wine finished off the meal quite well.

I feel just the right amount of full.  

Little Bites & A Small Rant

We, (Jess: OLP & Stacey: LIF & I), had our weekly marketing meeting tonight. And by marketing I mean wine and tapas, and by meeting I mean sitting on couches and being waited on in a little curtained alcove.

The meal, which left me completely satisfied, consisted of a tiny shrimp taco, which would have preferred being hot, 4 perfect scallops with a tiny servings cucumber salad, and a glass and a half of chardonnay.  (and some yummy bread with white bean spread.) Any restaurant that serves 1/2 glasses of wine, and lets us sit in a little alcove on couches for 3 hours without ever trying to kick us out is a place I will be returning to again and again. And I can't tell you what it is because then you will go there and steal our spot and we will be sad.

I came home and had 7 chocolate chips for dessert. They were just the right thing to end the day. Once again, if there had been english muffins, I probably would have had one. And if there had been wine, I probably would have had a little glass. But since there is neither, I can remain as I am and save 300 or so calories.

One of the things Stacey and I were talking about was how whenever a group of women (besides us) get together around food, the conversation always turns to body image and food, and how "bad" they are for eating, and how "good" they will be tomorrow.

This was something I wrote back in March after I had been to a professional networking event that was filled with these types of women having these types of conversations:

Dear Women at the Cocktail Party

1. You do not need to say "oh, this has no calories, right" [insert nervous laughter] as you eat something.
2. You do not need to say "oh, that's what I should be doing " when there is pilates being shown on the tv.
3. You do not need to say "I will be back on track tomorrow" when you reach for an appetizer.

Just eat the darned thing! If you are hungry, eat! Do not apologize for eating. Do not tell me that your stomach should be flatter. Do not feel bad for eating what you ate. No one cares. No one is keeping track of what you eat.

There is nothing more boring than women talking about food in that way, or apologizing for what they are eating, or talking about being on a diet. It makes me want to scream. We are professional women, networking for business and you are talking about your stomach! For the love of God, just stop it!

You know, I have a lot of issues with my body, I don't like to eat in public settings like that (especially because people want to shake my hand and I don't like to touch people and then pick up food) so I don't. I make sure that I eat ahead of time so that I don't have to worry about what they are serving. Or, if I haven't and I arrive hungry, then I eat. Without apology. Without discussion. Without excuse.

I want people to remember me as the interesting, smart, funny attorney that they met, not the woman who will be starting her diet tomorrow or who wishes her stomach will be flatter. Which person would you rather talk to at a party?

I had a fabulous dinner tonight. And I enjoyed every bite and sip. And will continue to do so with everything I eat for the rest of my life. Without apology, or discussion or excuse.

More Dining

Amy loves her Bun! 
Jess wants to love her Pad Thai, but it is too spicy. So it gets packed up for Amy's husband. 
Jess loves her Bun! It is not too spicy. It is just right. 
Leanna loves her Pho and tries to pose, and then wonders why her shoulders are lopsided.  

Dining Adventure

Jess (otherwise known as Latey McTardy) and Amy and I went on a dining adventure last night to a Vietnamese Restaurant that I can't remember the name of. This was what we ate (more photos in next post).

This was Shrimp Cake Wrapped Around Sugar Cane Sticks.  How could we resist a description like that?  The sugar cane came with strict instructions from our very helpful waiter that is was not to be eaten, just chewed on.  It was very good. We wrapped it in the accompanying lettuce as shown below: 
This was the Vietnamese Pancake. It looked huge, but was mostly filled with bean sprouts. It also had some slivers of pork in it. I think the pancake was made from sweet potato, as it was very sweet. 
This was my Pho with seafood and some bean curd.  It was perfect and lovely.  
This was the mysterious egg in my Pho.  I ate it, the yolk was a very pale green, and much larger in proportion to the white than a normal egg. We think it was quail.  

Chocolate Nibs and Farro Grains

Sometimes the afternoon post brings just the right thing. Like a little box of organic raw chocolate from Snake & Butterfly Chocolate, a new little operation in California. The camera didn't really capture the funky little designs on the top of the smaller piece; the larger piece has chocolate nibs which is what the texture on top is.  The camera also failed to capture the lovely, smooth, dark chocolate taste, the kind that satisfies you with just a small piece. 


Lunch was at Burton's Grill and I had a chicken dish with Farro, which is one of my favorite whole grains. It is like a very chewy oat or barley type of grain. You can find it at Whole Foods but try not to look at the price on the package because I think it is $7.00 for a pound.  However,  it is filling and healthy, and well worth it.  Burton's is a nice place because the servings are normal sized and not some gigantic thing that you either force yourself to finish and then feel gross, or take home "for dinner" but really eat in between lunch and dinner because really it was part of your lunch.  I wish I had remembered to take a picture of my lunch, it was quite pretty.  

Lunch Report, or I Need To Think of Better Titles

So, I had lunch out with my old boss and her husband. It was lovely.  The menu was different than the one online, so I had a chicken & pasta dish with some wonderful mushrooms.  I only ate half of it, and then forgot to bring the leftovers home.  I had a yummy cappuccino for dessert. Now I am full, and don't even want a mini snickers bar that is sitting in the waiting room. 

Out to Lunch

This is where I am going to lunch today: Isabella's Restaurant.

I think I will have either: Wild Baby Greens--Sesame Soy Vinaigrette, Local Goat Cheese & Roasted Peppers, With Steak
or
Herb Grilled Chicken Breast--Warm Cous-Cous Tomato Salad, Greens & Black Olive Sauce

I don't like to eat sandwiches around other people, I sometimes don't like to eat around other people. Not in closet-eater sort of way, but in a I-don't-want-to-make-a-mess way.

I'm fairly hungry, and will eat some raisins before I go.