In the Midst of Dining Bliss... And Mid-Terms

Oh, goodness.

Excuse the two month-long absence. Spring semester finals caught me, then I moved into my first apartment. Out of the dorms, into an apartment, you know exactly what that means: a kitchen! The summer has been spent relishing in the possibilities a personal kitchen has to offer, and lavishing that dear friend of mine, my stomach, with the most delicious foods I can procure.

All right. Admittedly, the "most delicious foods I could procure" weren't exactly always products of my kitchen. But, hey, I've been trying. Unfortunately, instead of sating my appetite and relieving the agony of being forced to eat at the university dining centers during the spring semester, having my own kitchen has only put me into more distress as the end of summer looms, bringing me closer to my forced return to the dorms.

Then it will be back to my thieving ways. Ah...

Aside from eating to my heart's/stomach's delight, though, I have been busy with summer school. When I am not experimenting in the kitchen, I am either in class or drowning in the stacks of books I have to read. And during the rare and brief moments in time when my stomach is not demanding more food and I don't have anything to study for, I am gallivanting about downtown, exploring bakeries, shops, and restaurants.

Err... When I started that last sentence, I had meant to say something about barely keeping up a social life. But I guess there is no denying that my life revolves around food.

Anyway, my stomach is happy, and now I am eager to share with you my adventures from the past two months... along with catching up on all of your foodie adventures as well!

Ooooh, it's great to be back. :)

Hawaii Increasingly Dependent on Imported Food

On the front page of today's edition of the Honolulu Advertiser:

"Despite a national trend toward eating local, Hawai'i is growing increasingly reliant on imported foods.

The news isn't all bad for supporters of the buy 'local' movement. The state is producing more fruits and vegetables; it's just that the amount we import is growing faster. "

Read more.

Per Se, Per Calorie

This week's issue of New York Magazine features a very fair critique of a recently-passed law stating that restaurants (namely, fast food restaurants) would have to post nutritional information. Charles Platkins points out that while fast food restaurants certainly are not serving anything healthy, it would be wrong to assume that non-fast food restaurants—especially fancy, expensive, and highly-lauded ones—serve anything much healthier. In his article, "Per Se, Per Calorie" calorie counts and other nutritional facts are provided for each portion of the 9-course tasting menu at Per Se.

While I almost want to hate Platkins for revealing such information (oh, the sheer blasphemy of it!), it would certainly not stop me from eating a meal at Per Se. Platkins' critique of the law is undoubtedly fair.

I remember when P.F. Chang's, a nationwide Chinese chain restaurant, opened its first restaurant in Hawaii last year. Out of the state at that time, I perused the online menu to see what I would be missing out on. Reading the nutritional facts, I lost all interest in the restaurant, no matter how much my mainland friends had told me I was missing out. Dishes over 1,000, 1,500, even 2,000 calories each?! Disgusting!

So Platkins definitely has a point: Just because you aren't eating at a fast-food restaurant, it doesn't mean you are consuming anything healthier.

But here is the problem with Platkins' observation: A value-meal at McDonald's costs $5.99. The lavish 9-course menu at Per Se costs $250, without wine.

A person is much more likely to purchase a meal at McDonald's more often, because a meal there is more financially accessible. Thus, you have people visiting McDonald's when they feel like it. On the other hand, the average person can only afford a meal at Per Se on the occasional day of celebration. The financial inaccessibility of Per Se belittles the supposed nutritional danger that Platkins is implying.

Oh, shock! Oh, horror!

In other words, while a meal at Per Se can go into the thousands of calories, it probably only comes once every few months. Meanwhile, the supposedly healthier meal one can get at McDonald's can be obtained easily and often, meaning that the calories and fat will accumulate faster.


Platkins, you won't scare me off from my beloved Thomas Keller. ;)

Bread?!

http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2005/11/beyond-easy-beer-bread.html

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

I've just discovered that I can make bread in my highly-limited dormitory settings. All I need is a mixer, a mixing bowl, and beer.

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

I am definitely doing this soon.

Bistro D'Oc (Washington, D.C.)

I only have one post down, but I hope I've given you enough indication of my maturity for you to expect me to do something more productive with my Spring Break than getting drunk in Cancun. My spring break consisted of riding in a bus with 40 fellow students, visiting a new city each day to do a community service project.*

This trip afforded me the chance to visit Washington, D.C. One glimpse of central Washington, D.C. and I was in love. The architecture, the culture, the lovely cherry blossoms on the verge of blooming...

The hotel I stayed at was on 11th St. NW, a fantastic location because when we were given free time to walk around the city and have dinner, the Bistro D'Oc was hardly a 5 minute-walk away. Featuring cuisine from southern France, the Bistro D'Oc is a reasonably-priced restaurant conveniently located across from Ford's Theatre.

The space is small and charming, warmly-hued in reds, oranges, and yellows, and decorated with paintings of scenes reminiscent of the Languedoc region of France. When we arrived at 8:30pm, the room was about seventy-five percent full: Enough people to reassure us of having a delicious meal, yet nowhere near making the room too crowded or noisy.

The service was polite and helpful, but unobtrusive. They easily transitioned from addressing us in French, for those in my group eager to show off their 4 semesters' worth of French studies, to English, for those who didn't even know what French food was like.

However, there were 2 things I disliked:

1. the white sheets of paper laid over the tabletop. Charming to some, but to me it detracted from the atmosphere of the restaurant. While Bistro D'Oc is a "casual French restaurant," the white sheets of paper was a little too casual... More like a fish-and-chips, fast food-type place, than a sit-down restraunt.

2. While we were allowed to split the bill, only 3 people were allowed to pay by credit card. The rest of the party had to pay in cash. I don't really hold anything against the restaurant for this, it's merely a matter of convenience... Also the first time I encountered such a situation, so it was a little alarming for me since I never carry a lot of cash.

Otherwise, the food was delicious. Other than their usual menu, they also have daily dinner specials. And I don't only mean a featured entree... They basically have a new menu offered! The dinner specials consisted of about 5 possible soups/salads/h'oeuvres, 5 entrees, and 3 desserts. It was absolutely difficult to choose...

Here is what we ended up ordering:
Sauteed calf's brain in a lemon-caper sauce
Blood sausage with sauteed apples
Roasted mussels in garlic butter
Duck confit with sauteed mushrooms, potatoes, bacon, shallots
Grilled duck breast with black currant glaze, potatoes gratin
Rosemary-lemon roasted chicken
Grilled lamb top sirloin
Opera cake w/ pistachio ice cream
Fondant au chocolat (Chocolate pudding, sauce, ice cream, armagnac)
Espresso with profiteroles and an assortment of macarons

I'll upload pictures once Flickr approves my account... :)

Confession of a Thief

Hello, hello.

You may remember me from SKWRKING. Alas, I just could not keep up! To tell you the truth, I think I was intimidated by the quality of others' blogs and avoided posting because, as a college student, I was eating boring meals and had no time for red wine reductions and chestnut puree.

So here is my second attempt: a foodblog in which I immediately state my status as a college student. Is that to say you will be enlightened with variations on ramen noodles? Absolutely not!

I decided to start this new blog when I realized a dirty habit of mine: I steal from my university's dining center.

Well, I suppose it's not really stealing if I've already paid for it. But with the posted signs stating "Food is not to be taken out of the dining centers," meaning that students must eat their meals in the dining center and not wander outside or down to the lounges with them, it always feels like such a crime to walk out of the dining center with an apple.

I used to hate the dining centers, with their sodium, fat, and cholesterol-rich foods and lack of variety. But then it dawned on me that while I may not use the dining center as a resource for meals, I can certainly use it as a resource for food: When I had the urge to make chicken noodle soup, I didn't go to the grocery store. I went to the dining center for grilled chicken breast, celery, carrots, and onions.

And I don't walk out of the dining center with just one apple.

I walk out with five.

So I can make apple pie, of course.

;)


So, cheers.

Here's to commitment: May I update this blog regularly with my dining center thievery, college-limited foodie adventures, and anecdotes from life in general.