A Food Resolution

I had lunch in the Frank dining hall today. I have to admit I surely become a gastronomic pig every time I enter that dining hall. Way too much food; and with my uncontrollable appetite for variety, I end up eating everything.

I started off with a cheese, bacon and broccoli omelette. Consider that an appetizer. I next pursue a Clam Linguine with a garlic sauce. I run back to the buffet and of course-- there in eye’s view lies the chocolate-chip cookies and chocolate cupcakes. I must have one of each! So that goes on my plate. Topped with sweet chocolate fantasies, I take one more round of the buffet spread. I see soup. Carrot soup. Pour one bowl of that. I scuttle back to my table, which is already piled with two empty plates. I finish the soup, which is delicious. Baby carrots, tomatoes and thyme in a creamy broth. Warm, cozy and comfort--just right for a cold, snowy depressing day. Gobble down the chocolate cupcake and chocolate-chip cookie. YUM. But can you believe, I still want more food?

One more round of the Frank Dining hall. They have two dishes that I am hesitant to try. A dark chocolate mole chicken. The description on the card says something about a chocolate sauce poured over a chicken thigh.  Chocolate sauce over chicken? Should I risk it? Haha why not? Pick it up. And right next to it, a pecan crust wheat berry french toast. The toast is fully covered in crunchy wheat with strawberries on top. It looks unique. What is Frank doing with its innovative food recipes? Oh well. I pick that up too. Loaded with the chocolate chicken and the crunchy white wheat toast, off I march, back again, to my table, which already has a stack of five empty plates. Not to mention the Orange juice, Apple juice and the carbonated water. What is with my appetite?

I take my fork and and poke at the chicken. One bite. I taste masala. I take another bite, this time more masala but with a sweet aftertaste. The sauce poured over the chicken is definitely chocolatey but not the sweetest. I am assuming it is made with dark chocolate. But who knows? Masala with sweet? Is this fusion? Spicy, Indian marinade with a chocolate sweet after taste? I would call that innovative, but I did not think it went well together. At least not with the chicken. Way too much flavor happening in one bite. The chicken was on top of a bed of brown rice with almond slices and raisins. I have never liked raisins. That chewy, soft texture with an extremely sweet taste does not agree with my palate. Next stop: the white, crumbly looking  toast. I am wishing I had taken a picture to share with you folks. It looked so interesting. Oh well, you will just have to rely on my poor descriptive skills to get a feel of it. I cut a piece of the toast. It is dry;crunchy,tasteless and oh god: I taste a raisin in my mouth. Why do both dishes have so many raisins?

It’s funny. Me and my friend last weekend were discussing about trying new gourmet foods. I brought up an argument that my freshman roommate once asked me: “why should I eat something just because it is has a high class status, e.g., caviar. Even though it tastes bad, why would I try something just because of the status? I want to eat food that tastes good, not bad”

My friend responds to that explaining, with high class foods, one has to acquire a taste for it, and once you do acquire a taste for it, you can enjoy the multitude varieties of that specific high class food that the market has to offer, e.g., sushi, caviar or truffles.

I definitely did agree to that. So even though raisin is not exactly a high status food, it seems to be in a lot of the Indian sweets, and other savory breakfast dishes too. 
So my next resolution--  develop a taste for raisins, so I can enjoy the raisin filled dishes that restaurants have to offer.