Pleasures of the flesh
Jun. 17th, 2007 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonNo, not THOSE kind of pleasures! :P
Last night D. and I went out to a local Italian restaurant. Not our usual haunt, which offers tasty food in great abundance, but a place across the street that's been there for years that we didn't go to simply because the location suggested that it was probably a sub and pizza joint :P D. discovered it was actually a modest but very highly regarded county restaurant while reading reviews and it's he I must credit that we finally went.
Oh. My.
There's food for fuel, food that is abundant and tasty but nothing exceptional or unexpected (think Cheesecake Factory or Outback Steakhouse) and then there's surprisingly savory food that you want to eat slowly so as to catch every nuance. This place is definitely the latter :)
The appetizer was buffalo mozzarella with fresh tomatoes and basil leaves. The cheese was a firmer, moister consistency than I expected and all of the flavors were strong but harmonious (I'd make a crap food critic - it was good, ok?). My main dish was shrimp sauteed in garlic and white wine with fresh spices, all cooked "just so" = crisp on the outside (no batter) but soft and delicious on the inside. D. had rack of lamb and was equally pleased with his dinner :) The vegetables with both were, to be repetitive, fresh, with their own flavors coming through perfectly without being overwhelmed by the meat/seafood they were served with.
We even sprung for dessert, splitting a chocolate cake with orange praline that practically melted in the mouth!
Portions were reasonable and I left feeling full but not stuffed. We will definitely be going back - it's practically in our backyard so it will be hard to resist!
Engaged in other sensual pleasures today by making my first trip to G Street Fabrics since.. I don't know when. Last fall sometime, whenever the designer fabric section had the ultrasuede out.
I went with the hopes of finding reasonably priced linen, and though that fell through I did pet a lot of other things - silk chiffons, Tasmanian wool (soft and velvety, not scratchy at all), Aleskine (silk/wool blend), leather (in perfect oxblood red, but not enough for the vest, alas), satin-woven cotton shirting... ahh!!
I admit I'm still nervous about working with or even looking at certain luxury fabrics. I constantly doubt that I have the patience or knowhow to choose a project that would be workable in, say, silk chiffon, and almost feel like my ignorance shows on my face and the salespeople would shoot me before they'd sell me any but - yeah, I know that's stupid. I need to just bite the bullet and realize that after all these years with a sewing machine, I might actually know what I'm doing :P
Last night D. and I went out to a local Italian restaurant. Not our usual haunt, which offers tasty food in great abundance, but a place across the street that's been there for years that we didn't go to simply because the location suggested that it was probably a sub and pizza joint :P D. discovered it was actually a modest but very highly regarded county restaurant while reading reviews and it's he I must credit that we finally went.
Oh. My.
There's food for fuel, food that is abundant and tasty but nothing exceptional or unexpected (think Cheesecake Factory or Outback Steakhouse) and then there's surprisingly savory food that you want to eat slowly so as to catch every nuance. This place is definitely the latter :)
The appetizer was buffalo mozzarella with fresh tomatoes and basil leaves. The cheese was a firmer, moister consistency than I expected and all of the flavors were strong but harmonious (I'd make a crap food critic - it was good, ok?). My main dish was shrimp sauteed in garlic and white wine with fresh spices, all cooked "just so" = crisp on the outside (no batter) but soft and delicious on the inside. D. had rack of lamb and was equally pleased with his dinner :) The vegetables with both were, to be repetitive, fresh, with their own flavors coming through perfectly without being overwhelmed by the meat/seafood they were served with.
We even sprung for dessert, splitting a chocolate cake with orange praline that practically melted in the mouth!
Portions were reasonable and I left feeling full but not stuffed. We will definitely be going back - it's practically in our backyard so it will be hard to resist!
Engaged in other sensual pleasures today by making my first trip to G Street Fabrics since.. I don't know when. Last fall sometime, whenever the designer fabric section had the ultrasuede out.
I went with the hopes of finding reasonably priced linen, and though that fell through I did pet a lot of other things - silk chiffons, Tasmanian wool (soft and velvety, not scratchy at all), Aleskine (silk/wool blend), leather (in perfect oxblood red, but not enough for the vest, alas), satin-woven cotton shirting... ahh!!
I admit I'm still nervous about working with or even looking at certain luxury fabrics. I constantly doubt that I have the patience or knowhow to choose a project that would be workable in, say, silk chiffon, and almost feel like my ignorance shows on my face and the salespeople would shoot me before they'd sell me any but - yeah, I know that's stupid. I need to just bite the bullet and realize that after all these years with a sewing machine, I might actually know what I'm doing :P
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Re: Linens
Date: 2007-06-18 02:06 am (UTC)http://www.fabrics-store.com/first.php?goto=showarticles&menu=f&article=16
Re: Linens
Date: 2007-06-18 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 10:50 pm (UTC)I know whatcha mean about certain fabrics ... I've some luscious (and expensive) stuff in my stash that I'm trying to build up the courage to play with.
P.S. Next time I come across an article on working with gourmet fabrics in my magazine stash, I'll scan for you ... one can never have too much reassurance and useful tips. :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 11:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-19 01:10 am (UTC)