Another neo-classical breakfast. Two strips of bacon, two eggs, a few pieces of hearty sourdough toast, and of course coffee with milk. The Bacon is from Triangle Organic, and is the best I've had. Although Henry was on point with his Flying Pigs recommendation, the Triangle Organics bacon is a more solid choice. As delicious as Flying Pigs was, it was also very showy, sort of like so-called craft brews. Triangle tastes like small 'b' bacon; Flying Pig tastes like re-imagined bacon.
When it arrived, they brought a knife and fork. I asked Andrew if i was supposed to use them, and he said he would just "sandwich it up". So folded it over and got to work. I went all they way, but this is what it looked like just before I finished it up.
The thing was a serious gut bomb, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Jen informed me that's why people drink coffee after lunch, and in Spain the do pass out. Live and learn.
This morning I had the new classic. Bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee. Eating bacon in the morning is almost rejuvenating. I think the blast of fat and salt just tops off whatever I lost from sleeping or the activities before going to sleep.
I went straight from Crossfit to meet John for dinner at Muggs for my first burger. I had flaked on him for the steak, so I definitely owed him this. The firstness of certain foods is funny. John was understandably dissapointed by my flaking, but when I told my old roommate Mike about going to Lugers, he was pissed. Not only did I not eat my first steak with him, I went to Lugers, something he has never done.
I kept breakfast light this morning and had more yogurt, fruit, and granola. My yogurt is way better than the stuff I got from the milk club. But apparently it varies, so I am ordering it again from a different farm.
Dinner was a repeat of last night, I was beat, and it was tasty and easy. Later I was even more beat. Those heavy lifts are really very stressful.
I'm pretty sure that I'm still digesting that steak. Or at least that it's still in my stomach in one form or another because it hasn't come out yet. Accordingly, today was a lighter day of eating.
I went with Soo, Carolina, and Adam. Soo took charge, as he has been to Lugers many times, and none of had ever been. I had received many suggestions, but I kept them to myself. I didn't matter, as he did as people had told me to do. Get the bacon, get the steak, get some spinach.
This morning I fried up a couple of pieces of the Fling Pig bacon. It was the best yet. That said, I think I over cooked it. I'll get it soon.
When I got back from my ride I had a little snack of raw milk cheddar, ginger carrot sauerkraut, smokra, and some bread.
Saturday night I had planned to cook a chicken for Luke and possibly other guests. Luke's neck was acting up and couldn't make it, but Abe from Outlier called me. So I invited him and Tyler over for dinner. I made the chicken according to Zak's instructions here. I would got to put my new butcher knife to use.
I put salt and pepper on the chicken pieces and warmed it on the stove as instructed, then placed it in the oven. Then I started some rice, prepped the bok choy, and laid out the various pickles. Abe and Tyler showed up as the chicken was cooling. The rice finished at the right time, and we sat down for dinner.
Friday afternoon I decided to expand my take-out options. I went to Margon and ordered a Cuban. It was an unsatisfying salty grease bomb. Theo told me that's more or less how it is with Cubans. I may try this legendary sandwich somewhere more reputable, but I do not have high hopes. It's pretty leaden stuff without much subtlety to the flavor. But I suppose that's what some people want.
Saturday Breakfast
This morning I finished up my Hawthorne Farms bacon. After a number of conversations with my co-worker Theo and careful examination of the pan as the bacon cooked, I am convinced that it was smoked with liquid smoke. It didn't cook up nearly as nicely as the other stuff. Neither were from Flying Pigs, which Henry strongly recommends.
After an extended discussion of the various sorts of bacon and cuts of pork in general, I tried smoked but uncured bacon this morning. I also adjusted my cooking technique, opting for a slightly lower heat. This produced a more classic look. However this could have been to a different cut. This morning's bacon was very crispy with no saltiness. In fact, despite the tremendous amount of grease left behind in the pan, it was dry. My bacon mystery continues.
I had time to step out for lunch today, so I went over to old faithful, Green Symphony.
Finally home to cook some of my geen market bounty. I had purchased a Brook trout from my favorite fish monger. We discussed his taste for bourbon. I told him about LeNells, and suggested he swing by on his way out of town. He told me he wouldn't make it out of town if he stopped in.
I decided to follow my light dinner with a similarly light breakfast. I think with portion control and the coming increase in training volume I will be able to get to 190 pounds easily and healthily.
Tuesday was another day of marathon meetings. That fact combined with the fact it was very nasty out meant I stayed in and went to the Lodge for lunch. Although I am officially more adventurous and ordering meat willy-nilly, I stuck with the trusty salad bar. While there I did take some of the chicken breast.
Breakfast was a leisurely. I got up a little earlier than planned. Only a bit, but with enough time to add some bacon to the classic. This was a necessary move since I couldn't find any Denny's closer than south of Prospect Park. I took Erin's advice and cooked it longer. Definitely crispier. I think it may also have been less salty, although I don't know why that would be. Perhaps more fat was cooked off and most of the salt is in the fat?
Tonight I had sushi with Utah at Hasaki. John Turturro was sitting at the front table, so I knew for sure we were at a good place. We got the shared an eel roll and had chirashi as our main. Utah promised me that chirashi, which is just a bunch of different types of fish with sushi rice, would be the most challenging. Our rice was topped with roe and shredded nori. Miso soup started it all off. The soup was made with red miso, and was very flavorful.
The eel roll was wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber with avocado and cucmber alongside the eel. These rolls were very good, and had been recommended when I first discussed sushi with Dan. The sake Utah ordered was also quite delicious.
The main event was somewhat intimidating. There was a rainbow of fish and octopus.The octopus was the real stumbling block. you can't tell from the picture, but the little suction things were plainy visible. Utah explained to me that they were crunchy. In addition to the octopus there was tuna, yellow tail, white fish, mackrel, a lone shrimp, salmon, and omlette. The salmon was buttery and my favorite. Next was the mackrel. It was the fishiest and also the most interesting. The tuna and yellow tail were both good, but I didn't feel they quite lived up to the hype. The octopus was real weird, and the texture was the strangest yet. Between the crunchy suckers and the oddly uniform flesh, I won't be rushing out to order it again any time soon.
After last night's carnivorous experience, I went light this morning. Sort of.
After working out I had a peanut butter and jelly snack with a large glass of that old raw milk. I ran a few errands, and then it was off to Sofia's for her and Adam's Super Bowl party. They were making wings, but I was too hungry to wait. So I went down the block and got a Black River sandwich from The Lodge's General Store. It had prosciutto, avocado, basil, lettuce, and mozzarella on a baguette. I got hung up running into people while out, and the wings were ready by the time I finally returned. Kick-off was imminent too.
The prosciutto reminded me of the smoked salmon I had a couple of weeks ago. perhaps it something about the texture created by the smoking process. As I finished my sandwich, the wings went into the oven, and Adam came back with pizza. I had a slice of the pie had mushrooms, olives, and coincidentally prosciutto. The slice was a salty mess, but pretty tasty. Initially I kept it to one slice, but by the end of the evening I would have two slices of the plain pie.
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