December 15, 2009

Those of you who’ve been following along here on the blog, have possibly noticed that I love LOVE love M.E.A.T. There I said it. I’ve tried being vegan and vegetarian, and while they were appropriate ways for me to eat at certain points in my life, I just love meat and so does my body (yeah yeah, I know, you’ve got proof I’m wrong, buzzkill!). So, when I come across a fantastic place for a meat dish, I’m in.
My friends, Mai, Kanch and I headed out to Ice & Spice on Saturday. A fairly popular joint but a place I had never eaten at. It was bustling on the weekend, even when there wasn’t anything special being hosted. I like how the mood was warm, against the cold weather. One could sit here at any time of year and soak up the flurry of activity, where a song by Sting (at night, when it’s contentedly crowded) is as appropriate as a song by Nina Simone (particularly at a time like this, when the skies were almost grey) is as appropriate as a song by Iron And Wine (during the early days of summer, when it’s still cool in the evening).

Mai had fish and chips, Kanch had the chicken steak burger and I had the lamb. My dish was incredibly juicy, tender, and came with fresh salad in a light dressing, along with mashed potatoes, garlic bread and chips (All for 200 bucks). I got mine with barbecue sauce, which is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted; the meat was tender enough to stick through with a fork, but hard enough not to fall off. It was so good, that I may surrender the pleasure of trying something new the next time I go for the flavorful taste of their best cut lamb.

Blogger and colleague - Pete, my ex colleague - Sai and I happened to be free on Sunday, so we went for lunch at a restaurant close to where we live. It was this place called ‘French Quarter’.

Outside it’s slightly noisy, but inside it’s calm. The chicken liver starters are delightfully smooth and thin, a demonstration of the chef’s skill. The meat pie topped with cheese and the meat-veggie dish tasted especially flavorful.

I have the ability to find fault with almost anything, but on Sunday, the food was nearly impeccable. It’s all enough to make one smile at any time of day.

After a bunch of petty thoughts — about the new guy— I try to convince myself that everything will be ancient history much more quickly than it took for me to write this. Nothing works, when I try so hard for it. So I just say, ‘eff it and write it anyway, even if you’re terrified and you can’t breathe, and put it out of your head even if that leaves you exposed, that anyone could read it, that people know something that you probably shouldn’t disclose, that you’re still thinking about him when every person is telling you not to, because none of it matters when it’s what you feel, and what you feel makes you you'.

I was introduced to this little gem by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. If you haven’t heard of them already, they are musicians of the singer songwriter sort and this piano song felt perfect when matched up with cold weather and the early night so common during this season. To get this week started I’ve decided to upload the track ‘Winter Song’. I hope you enjoy the music, there’s plenty more to come.