I eat like a man. I realized this fact when I started eating lunch regularly with a work buddy who happens to be a man who likes to eat. Between the both of us, we ingested ridiculous quantities of fat. And it wasn’t like I ate half my sandwich and he’d eat his whole sandwich along with half of mine. I was sandwich for sandwich, pizza for pizza, burrito for burrito with this guy. Whatever he ate, I ate (and then some). We had a beautiful, symbiotic relationship of eating and sharing food, and my stomach grew very accustomed to it. That is...until he left. :\ And I started eating ramen alone...or sharing leftovers with my earth-smelling coworker.
I finally met up with my old fattie work buddy for lunch today and we went to one of our former stomping grounds, a pretty good deli nearby. My toasted soft salami sandwich was huge, and I even had a nice sized side of some mac and cheese to go with it, so I was quite excited.
But not for too long. :\ I had to split the sandwich up into four parts since it was so huge-- and after eating only one part, I already wanted to give up. *sigh* Only after some help from my buddy and some motivational self-talk on my part, I was finally able to force the rest of the sandwich and mac & cheese down. But it was a struggle. :( I felt so discouraged by the realization that I can't eat like I used to. Have I lost it for good? Without my eating ability, I am...merely ordinary.
Eatery Info: Eppy's Deli, 162 N Franklin St, Chicago, IL 60686
What I eat when I'm in a...
Normal mood: whatever is available, easily accessible, or feeds my craving
Bad mood: anything excessively artery-clogging
Good mood: something bougie, pretty, and delicious
eye and belly candy
Blah mood: anything with cheese-- preferably scrambled eggs
Restless mood: ice cream, cake, pie, or anything sweet
Tired mood: childhood comfort foods
Self-conscious mood: something healthy and depressing
wheat bun is stale, chicken is dry, broccoli is gas-inducing (*sigh*)
I have been fluctuating between the blah mood and the self-conscious mood the past few days. Blah because I'm generally, well, blah. Self-conscious because I have to fit into a bridesmaid dress in three weeks and things are looking bleak. Ah, how fickle my emotions, my eating habits. It's lunch time now and I'm thinking of going to Walgreens to buy another can of vienna sausages because the soft mystery meat comforts me. ;) I might also pick up two extra cans to replace the ones my coworker had stashed in her cupboard that somehow disappeared...
You might already know that I have little shame when it comes to what or how I eat. This morning, I brought homemade scrambled eggs to work and threw in some vienna sausages. These mini little sausages taste like a cross between hot dogs and Spam but they have a much smoother, softer quality. A bit disturbing, I know. Ha. When my brother and I were little, we used to get sooo excited when my dad brought cans of these home from the store. I love eating them hot out of the microwave. That's the best. Haha. I had forgotten about them until my earth-smelling coworker recently started bringing them to work. Mmm. Good stuff.
The reason I disgust myself, though, is because I've had three cans in just the past week. One sausage is roughly 4-5g of fat, there are seven in a can, and I eat them like candy. Ha.
once you get past how they look, they're not so bad :]
My friend Q and I got some carryout on Saturday from a place that tries to use seasonal, local, and organic products. We decided to come here because we wanted to be “healthy” after both having worked out* earlier that day, but I couldn’t help being drawn to what was probably the fattiest thing on the menu: the macaroni and cheese. It was $12 though! That’s pretty pricey for macaroni and cheese with nothing else in it but cheese, so I sadly decided to pass on it. Q knew that it had already captured my heart, though, so she forced me to get it. Ha. I luf her.
Anyway, imagine my disappointment when we got home and this is what my mac and cheese looked like:
For $12, I guess I expected something that didn’t look like it was made from the contents of a store-bought box of mac and cheese—and a small box at that. I was so disappointed that I didn’t even want to taste it. I almost wanted us to drive back to the place and say, “Are you kidding me? Can’t you add even a nice garnish or something? Maybe a few pieces of lobster?” Needless to say, I had my first forkful with very low expectations.
All that changed, though, after a couple more forkfuls. And, eventually, the plain white box of boring looking macaroni and cheese had completely won me over by the time I got to the bottom. If I had been given the option to buy another $12 box at that very moment . . . I probably would’ve. *sheepish look, shrug*
Anyway, I hadn’t read the ingredients carefully when we ordered (because they had me at “cheese”), but I realize now the reasons for the price and sick yumminess:
- Prairie Pure butterkase – nutty, sweet, buttery local artisan cow’s milk cheese
- Gruyere – nutty, sweet, salty, hard Swiss cow’s milk cheese
- Aged white cheddar – rich, smooth, full-bodied pasteurized cow’s milk cheese
Really good, special cheese makes me incredibly happy. I remember one time when I was at a work conference and there was a small local fair set up in the hotel. I stopped by this Amish farm's table and they had cheddar and butter cheese that could make a grown man cry. *long, reminiscent sigh* I'm almost certain my arteries despise me.
*completely negated
Eatery Info: Uncommon Ground, 1401 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60660
Many years ago, I remember watching something on TV about wasabi. It talked about how wasabi is Japanese horseradish—of which the root is finely grated into a paste for use with sushi. They talked about how the wasabi commonly found in stores and restaurants is actually just dyed horseradish since real wasabi is expensive and perishable (and loses flavor when exposed to air!). Ever since then, there is not one time I’ve had sushi without looking at the wasabi and thinking to myself, “Sad. This isn’t real.” Haha.
All that changed the other day, though. I went to a restaurant . . . and they asked if we wanted fresh wasabi . . . and I noticed it would cost extra . . . and without a moment of hesitation, I said, “Yes, please!!” Haha. Dude, fresh wasabi rocks. I love how you can feel the flesh of the root on your tongue, and the burning sensation is so much fiercer than the fake version. Haha. I wuv it! The fish was darn good too. Mm mm mm.
hello, pretty green root
all quite yummy in my tummy
Eatery Info: South Coast Sushi, 1700 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60616
Me: (walks into Wing Stop, takes a quick glance at the three guys sitting and eating, walks up to the counter) Hi, I’m picking up for Geo*.
Cashier Guy: Okay. That’ll be $13.99.
Sitting Guy 1: Don’t charge her.
Cashier Guy: Don’t charge her? (looks at Sitting Guys 1 and 2 who are behind me)
Me: (wondering what the heck they’re talking about)
Cashier: (shrugs) You don’t have to pay. (walks to kitchen to pack up chicken)
Me: (turns around with a bewildered expression, looks at the three sitting guys)
Sitting Guy 2: He says not to charge you, so we won’t charge you.
Me: Umm, that’s sweet but really not necessary. Please. Let me just pay.
Sitting Guy 2: Nah. Don’t worry about it. (smiles) So I bet guys are always trying to talk to you.
Me: Umm, not really. (awkward, shifty eyes)
Sitting Guy 2: Really? Well then, he’s single. (points to Sitting Guy 1)
Me: (laughs uncomfortably, turns back around in desperate desire for the chicken to be ready)
Sitting Guy 2: You have a guy, don’t you?
Me: (smiles apologetically) Mmhmmm.
Sitting Guy 2: Figures.
Me: So…umm…can I pay now, please?
Sitting Guy 2: (laughs) No, no! Don’t worry about it.
Me: (shifts feet uncomfortably)
Cashier Guy: Here you go. (hands me my bag of chicken)
Me: (whispers to Cashier Guy) Can I please pay you?
Cashier Guy: (shakes head) No, they told me not to charge you.
Me: (sighs and turns around to walk out)
Sitting Guy 2: Are you happy with your guy? I mean, are you sure you wanna pass up on my friend here?
Me: (laughs a little and nods) Well, if things change, I’ll be back.
Sitting Guy 2: (laughs) I like that answer. (looks over at Sitting Guys 1 and 3) Don’t you like that answer?
Me: (laughs) Good night. (runs out with a quickness, hops into the car, and speeds away)
*Geo (pronounced "Joe") is my bro and he was waiting in the car for me. He was quite delighted that we got our wings free and told me that it is imperative that I return to this particular location often. Haha. Whatever!
NOTE: The lemon pepper and garlic parmesan flavors are super yummy, but I most likely will not be enjoying them from this location. Ha. Awwwkward...
I tried out a couple new places this past week-- both fine establishments with fine food. But you know what? It was the simple oldie that made me happiest. Seriously. There is nothing better than freakin' delicious, hot, late-night Korean food . . . and the memories to go along with it. Ha.
New Memories:
- Korean dramas bind people together
- Korean TV not so much
- unintentional stalking is fun . . .
- . . . except when you get caught up and kicked out :\
- squishing four people (one of which is male) into the back seat of a car is never a good idea
though a blurry picture, still adequate enough to make me salivate...
Eatery Info: Yeowoosai, 6248 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60659
I used to have an old blog back in the day—and I wrote this classic post about one of my fave coworkers, a 45-year old woman from Guyana who is both the sweetest and most random woman I’ve ever known. I think this post was from April of ’07:
So there's this sweet lady at work who, one day, stuck a spoon into the soil of her desk plant and brought it up to her nose. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I like the smell of earth." I told her that I did too-- that I also liked the smell of paper and pencil lead, and that I even used to put them in my mouth. I told her that I had read somewhere that women with anemia get weird cravings-- called pica (an abnormal appetite or craving for substances that are not fit to eat, as chalk or clay, common in malnutrition, pregnancy, etc.). I told her that was probably why we both liked the smell of dirt, and she thought that was so interesting.
At that time, I didn't realize that she likes to smell "earth" daily. Yeeaahh. Almost every afternoon, she'll walk over to her potted plant, shove a spoon into the soil, and then bring it up to her nose. And, almost every afternoon, some random person will walk by and see her doing it. *sigh* That person will look at her all bewildered, and each time, she smiles and says, "I like to smell earth. Ji does too! We both like to smell earth!" And then that person will look at me with even greater bewilderment as I try my best to hide my face behind the computer monitor.
Now, it has become a daily ritual. She'll smell the soil from her potted plant, and then she'll come over to smell the soil from my potted plant (because, apparently, "[my] earth smells better"). And, I have no other choice but to smile, pick up the plant, bring it up to my nose, and have my share of earth as well. *laugh, shaking my head*
So, fast forward two years later—and she’s still an avid earth fan. Me? Not so much. Maybe I’m finally complete in the nutrient department. Anyway, this is the conversation we had about a half hour ago:
C: (calls over cubicle wall) Ji?
Me: Yeah?
C: (extremely serious voice) I have to ask you a question.
Me: Sure. What’s up?
C: There are two plants by the garbage can near the printers. Tony says they’re going to throw them away.
Me: Okay…
C: Should I go and get the earth?
Me: Umm…
C: I already went over there and the earth smelled real good.
Me: (laughing to myself) Well, if you like it then...umm, you should...
C: Yeah… (thinking hard) I don’t know…
Me: (laughing as I imagine her scooping soil into paper cups to keep at her desk)
Haha . . . I hope this isn't a glimpse into my future. ;)
