On the Road

I haven’t written much lately. Mostly, I’ve just been digesting food (literally and metaphorically). I’ve been reading a book of 2009’s best food writing and a book called Will Right for Food which teaches different techniques to develop the talent of food writing. Also, the past couple of weeks have been a flurry of jets, rental cars, hotels and business. I’ve been in Jacksonville, Nashville, Dallas and Charlotte. As you can imagine, that lifestyle doesn’t leave much convenient time for writing and reflecting.

It does however lead to some tasty food that I might not otherwise have encountered. Here are a few of the wonders of the road:

In Jacksonville I made it to this cool Irish pub called Culhane’s. It was on triple-d recently. Expecting to hear from the workers that DDD actually stood for deusch, deuschier, deuschiest; I was surprised to learn that Guy is apparently a pretty cool dude. I discovered he actually takes time to hang out at the places he film. Even more astonishing, he seemed genuinely appreciative of the experience. This was the general reaction I received from various staff members I conversed with.

So is the food really good? Actually, yeah. I had a special for the evening, duck breast flat bread. A crunchewey handmade flatbread topped with delicately seared duck breast, a mild blue cheese, arugula and a dark, sticky balsamic reduction. The flavors were exciting. A melody of tangy, sweet and savory flavors stuck to the tongue only to be washed down by a lovely pint of Boddington’s.

I have by no means made it a habit to seek out local restaurants based on Guy’s recommendations; however, today in Dallas I found myself seated in front of a giant poster of Guy-fucking-Fieri’s banana –bad-bude spike helmet. By complete accident we sat down in Prince Lebanese Grill, also featured at some point on DDD. I had the chicken shawarma plate. Now shawarma is something I’ll get to at a later date. It truly deserves a blog to itself. Nevertheless, I will pause to say that the chicken was flavored with a gentle twist between curry and lemon. The sautéed tomato they threw in the mix added another fruity dimension. Top the steaming meat with a cool tza-tziki and you’re really in business. I believe his people must do pretty good research, because again the food was great. I’m thinking I might start making a habit of trusting Mr. Fieri’s choices.

I don’t really like being away from home, but I’m squeezing the opportunities for all they’re worth. Actually, it’s not “being away from home" that bothers me. I’ve been away from home for the most of the past 4 years. It’s being away from the person waiting at home for me that really starts to weigh on my mind. I’m young, I know. Now is the time to travel, punch the clock, squeez the lemon, etc. Nevertheless, I find myself wondering how much is a great experience worth if you’re not sharing it with others?

In some ways this blog fills that gap. At the end of the day though, a warm computer in my lap isn’t the same thing as a warm girl.