Bread and Wine

...no...I am not blogging about a Communion Service.  This title represents the final hurdle that I must jump when I am dining out.  And dining out is an activity that I enjoy and indulge in frequently.

Dinner yesterday took place in the very gourmet Rue Franklin.  In my previous life, I would have ordered the onion ravioli appetizer (sounded divine) and the Lobster Salad entree (which was a plethora of lobster, pasta, potatoes and creamy dressing), and God knows what for dessert.  Last night, I ordered a salad appetizer that smelled and tasted like it was plucked right from the backyard garden.  When I was a small child, I was babysat by a woman who, with her husband, managed to plant a huge vegetable garden in her backyard ... in Tonawanda.  It was sort of a miracle.  Her salads always had a certain fresh aroma.  Last night was the first time I've inhaled that particular perfume since I was a child.  Sublime.   My entree was "bronzini en croute with beurre blanc and tourneed vegetables".  Sea bass.  It was served in a merengue crust that was delicious.  I know what beurre blanc is (a decadent butter sauce) and thanks to my daughter, I know that if it's done properly, it will be light and unobtrusive.    And it was done well.  The beurre blanc was a sparingly light enhancement, not the center of attention.  It was my first experience with sea bass and probably not my last.  For dessert, I chose the fresh fruit sorbet.  A trio of juicy flavors - cantaloupe, strawberry, and apricot.  Very yummy and refreshing.

Where the wheels came off the bus were - of course - with the bread.  It was placed on my bread plate. I ate it.   The restaurant had gewurztraminer on the wine menu.  I ordered it.  I drank it.

I am going to put this dinner in the "success" column, because it was such an improvement over what I might have ordered only 2 weeks ago.  The interesting observation that I came away with is that you have to pay a lot more money in order to be served portions of food that would not feed half the defensive line on the Buffalo Bills.  It's not hard to understand why there are so many of us who struggle with our weight and why people on the lower end of the income spectrum are not going to automatically be thinner because they can't afford to eat well.