catching up!!

this is from yesterday:

after class today i raced down to a french restaurant named Gregoire because i heard their potato puffs were amazing and i wanted to eat some. the walk took longer than i had remembered and i was hungry; but finally i could see the restaurant there and it would only be a few more seconds until i could feast. but i noticed something funny; this ultra-popular restaurant was totally dead. no one waiting outside as they had the other day, no tables on the sidewalk or windows opened. as i came closer, i realized they were closed. but...wait a second. its a tuesday! aren't restaurants supposed to be closed on mondays?? but then i read the sign: "closed on tuesday july 15 for a staff picnic". how sweet, but...where are my potato puffs?!

instead i went across the street to a fancy pizzeria. i had eyeballed it last time i was here but we didn't get to eat there. turns out that they only make ONE type of pizza per day - huh? ONE. no variations or options. well, the best part about this is that THIS PLACE GETS DAMNED PACKED!!!! sure the food is good, but a pizzeria that makes only one kind of pizza? i can't help but wonder if something like that would fly in NYC.....i doubt it.

afterwards i went to meet up with the admissions coordinator and the new student body president from Starr King. we talked for about an hour and really eased my fears about SKSM, dispelled the rumors, and gave me a good sense of the environment of the school. i have a lot of stuff swirling around in my mind about this and my decision; i have a lot of thinking to do.

not long afterwards, patricia, lydia and june and i had reservations at chez panisse. this was the longest and most wonderful meal ever. we had appetizers, dinner and dessert. i had a salad with baked goat cheese and polenta with escarole, beans, porcini mushrooms and a stewed tomato. superb. lydia and patricia had the salmon, which was perfectly pink, and june had a pizzette with gremolata and the roasted chicken. the entire meal was amazing.

for dessert i ordered the flourless chocolate cake served very simply with a dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate sauce. it was just exquisite; soft rich cake combined with the crispy texture of the crust made this just explode in your mouth. i could have eaten about 17 of these. yuuuum.

i think we were there for about two hours, and we finally left to walk off our meal. we stumbled upon a tea shop, the same one me and my friend laura went to last march. the guy who worked there really knew his stuff and i bought some tea that i've been wanting for awhile now. it was such a wonderful encounter. it wasn't your typical retail experience. we went in, spoke to the tea man (ariel was his name) at length. there was no rush. he made tea for us and we sat around drinking and talking, joking and taking our time. he answered our questions and when he didn't know the answers he made phone calls to find out. he was dedicated to his job and to pleasing us. after awhile we settled on what we wanted to purchase, both myself and my classmate, and said goodbye.

there was something really special about the night. i walk around the world often feeling disconnected. i think a lot of that has to do simply with the culture of our country; its just the way things are. but last night was different. chez panisse was so personal; so intentional; so slow. its imparted in the food, in the service, in the way the place is run. to go from that environment to the tea shop, yet another wonderfully personal experience, was quite delightful.

it was night now, and patricia and i headed home. our other friends left earlier. i told her about what i am going through these days, and she then taught me about dowsing - a pretty amazing technique that i won't explain, but its basically a way to check in with your intuition. pretty incredible, i must say.