The Night I ate Potato Chips for Dinner and Other Musings

It's been that kind of week. It's actually been that kind of month but for two weeks of it, I was at training camp in a nice hotel where there was a healthy, tasty buffet with a good variety of foods and someone to give me fresh laundry and clean towels every day. Having someone else handle all the basic necessities in life meant I could handle working all day and still smoothly flow through the day.

It's a bit pathetic, but I never went to the grocery store this week. I have worked 12-15 days and I just didn't have the time nor the effort. If I was going to have a little bit of free time, I was either working out or wanted to have some normal, social time.  (I got to grab a movie this week and it felt amazing to just go sit in a theatre. So normal!)

• Tuesday night: Deliveroo from a Korean place. Bibimbap and rice with kimchi. It was good but cost more than I thought it deserved. But super fresh and if I didn't care about price, a win.
• Wednesday night: Frozen "carrot noodle" soup buried in the depths of the freezer. Also sustained me over lunches. Eggs of served as breakfast. I was smart enough to grab a dozen of fresh ones when I got home.
• Thursday night: a 1/2 a bag of Walker's Deli Modena balsamic potato chips. I loved them and I'm a little ashamed of that. I did sneak in some (defrosted) frozen peas as I headed to bed because otherwise, life seemed to be going off the rails.
• Friday night: Takeout from Le Botaniste. I learned my lesson from the overpriced Korean place and could use the extra steps, so I decided to walk and get take out. It was heavenly. Organic. Vegan. Gluten-free. And I have a few leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

It was a crazy week. And the start of many crazy weeks. Probably six months worth of crazy weeks. I decided on Tuesday that if I am going to handle this, I need to outsource the things I can. Someone else might need to cook my food, (still in a healthy way) and that's one option that I can choose to relieve some stress. Maybe my next month will be a maid? 

Holiday Dining Standouts

Warning: this is a post about sheer decadence. Instead of exchanging gifts this year, the Roommate and I decided to dine at four fancy restaurants. We'd reached this decision after walking around town recently and seeing there were so many places we'd never eaten at but always said we wanted to.

**I attempted to be gluten and dairy free where possible....but I definitely wasn't even close to 75%.

So now was the time to make it a priority while we were both in town and with the holidays as a good excuse for celebrating. Also, we never take for granted how long we are living in Belgium and never know if it could be our last holiday season here.

Naturell

It was our first time at Naturell, which pitches itself as an "all senses" cuisine. The video above of our first starter gives you a little glimpse at what they mean. Fantastic! We had let them know that one of us was gluten and dairy-free and they did a wonderful job accommodating the request. After a fantastic multi-course menu, we left already eager to return.

Carte Blanche

Carte Blanche is well reviewed in Gent and it was the only place we could get a reservation on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure if it was their first time hosting a Christmas Eve multi-course menu but there were definitely a few hiccups during the night. I wasn't as wow'ed as I wanted to be.

Karel De Stoute

This was our second time eating here and like our first experience, I was so impressed. The biggest thing to note is that they do a full gluten-free and dairy-free tasting menu for me. I greatly appreciate this and felt so spoiled. Also, they were by far the best-priced place that we ate at. If I could dine here once a week, I would. I'd say they are my favorite restaurant in Gent.

Pakhuis

Pakhuis is an old standard for us; any time we have guests in town or simply want a good cocktail, we go to Pakhuis. The food (particularly the Poulet de Bresse) is always top-notch and the interior is unique and impressive. We went here for New Year's Eve and unfortunately I came down with a stomach bug right after arriving. I managed to make it through most of the meal but didn't really eat or drink. I was sad that I couldn't enjoy it because it all looked wonderful. I was home and in pajamas before midnight. No champagne toast for me.

Favorite dishes

• Appetizer: Bonemarrow at Janine's (restaurant not listed above)
• Vegetarian course: Carrot, Pumpkin, Kale - Naturell
• Fish course: Soft Shell Crab-Karel de Stoute
• Meat course: Hare two ways - Karel de Stoute
• Dessert: Yuzu and black ride - Naturell

And now the dieting begins. To be honest, there were a few kilos gained throughout this holiday season that I'm not looking to keep with me too long into 2017.

Spoiled by Volta

When I found out I was going to need surgery (fairly unexpectedly and with very short notice), I threw all caution to the wind and went out for an extravagant dinner at Volta that same evening. I figured I couldn't take anything for granted (maybe slightly dramatic) and loads of delicious food was on my bucket list. Out went all my dietary restrictions and beliefs that calories mattered and in came a multi-course meal that was just what I needed before being bedridden for days, and days, and days....

I've wanted to eat at Volta ever since moving to Gent and maybe even a little before that. It's set in an incredible building situated along one of the city's park. The chef always gets great reviews and my doctor's office happened to be right around the corner, so it seemed like the right time to let them indulge us.

Three amuse-bouches to start - the mussels were one of the best bites of the evening - and several decadent courses followed. My favorite was by far the wild duck with foie gras. A delicious fruit dessert and then, I said yes to the cheese cart. A round of post-meal amuse-bouches concluded the eating and then an espresso to finish it all off. We had memorable wines paired throughout the meal. I would say that Volta is now, without a hint of a doubt, my favorite high-end restaurant in Gent. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish, with attentive and friendly waitstaff, super interesting decor and fantastic food.

It concluded with a nice long walk home to work off some of the delicious food and enjoy the fact I could still walk for a few more days.

Passing through Momofuku

In 2008, I walked away from a decent paying corporate job with absolutely no plan. Well, I had a plan but no idea how to make it a reality. I knew I wanted to work in pro cycling but that's much easier said than done. 

Needless to say, basically everyone was horrified and concerned by this career move. Most people were confused but a few came in with good advice as I made a total leap of faith. The two things I remember the most: 1.) Don't get lazy. 2.) Don't make your hobby your job. 

Plenty of people thought cycling was my hobby. To be honest, it never felt that way. I can't exactly explain it. The energy I got at a race, or maybe just around pro sports, was so special, energizing and unique for me when it came to a work environment. Sure, I definitely appreciated cycling but it was never my hobby. I've ridden, but I've never been fanatical. I've never raced or even wanted to race.

Lunch time at Momofuku Ssam. I ate alone at the bar....how I eat more meals than I can count.

My hobby is food. Good food. Special food. Amazing food. Unique food. Anything and all food that amazes and wows me. It doesn't have to be fancy, expensive, unique, molecular or exclusive. Sure, I like trying all of those, but they aren't my motivation. I simply love to consume amazing food. Following the aforementioned advice, I don't think I'll make food my career anytime soon (except maybe for a PR function....I'm never going to try my hand at creating it.)

Maybe it was lunch, but I was about hour 47 into a trip that should have taken 12. At this point, I needed booze to avoid going insane. And let's be honest....Grüner Veltliner is perfect with spicy food on a hot day.

And that is what leads me to my unexpected trip through Momofuku Ssam. There is no better way to put it: I love David Chang. His food, his approach to food, the people he hires, the ways he views food. The list goes on. I consume all media related to David Chang, but sadly, my life up until this point hasn't let me overlap with his food. Until earlier this week. (And note: I still haven't eaten David Chang food...simply David Chang-crafted food.)

I began with the shrimp rolls with daikon, green mango and peanut. The peanut was all on the outside, so I tried to avoid. My fabulous server gave me the Ssam sauce (not gluten-free) and it was a total add. This was delicious and added a lovely spicy. My only takeaway is that I wish I had people to share this dish with so I could have enjoyed another starter. 

This week was a travel nightmare that will need to be a whole other post. I began here but that was only the beginning. Fast forward to a 24-hour unexpected layover in New York City and thanks to some amazing advice, I knew Momofuku was in my future. Several places were open for lunch, but a 2008 New Yorker article lingered in my mind and I needed to go tp Momofuku Ssam.

Wow. This was delicious. I let my server pick my main course and he went with the Spicy Pork Sausage and Rice Cakes with broccoli and sichuan peppercorn. It was AMAZING. And when they say it is spicy, don't be scared. It wasn't that spicy.  What it was was huge. I couldn't finish it, but I gluttoned myself trying. 

There is no way to add this into the conversation. I currently am gluten, dairy, banana and peanut-free. It's a whole long conversation that has to do with autoimmune issues...but I'm not quite ready to go into all of that. But let me say, I've been as completely gluten, dairy, banana and peanut-free as humanly possible for the past three months, 1.5 months of that living on the road. No hiccups. I got to Momofuku and decide none of that mattered. Sure, I wasn't going to go super overboard (yet) with the steamed buns, but I wasn't going to miss out on this moment...and I also wasn't going to have an anaphylactic reaction, which is a real problem for people.

I Milk Bar'ed. This is where I went dairy overboard. It was noticed afterwards.

The entire meal was perfect. The servers at Momofuku Ssam were personable, knowledgeable and basically exactly what you want when dining, particularly dining alone. They didn't make me feel like a weirdo. The service was spot on and the food was what I hoped for and more.

Following lunch, I stopped by neighboring Momofuku Milk Bar. This was the most obvious moment where I threw all dietary restrictions to the wind. I got a cereal milk and fruity cereal milk soft serve blend. It was beyond amazing and I don't regret a lick of it; I was even stopped on the street and asked where I got such a good looking ice cream. All I can say, I plan to tackle Milk Bar without any food restrictions at one point in life (looking at you Arnold Palmer Cake and basically anything ever made by Christina Tosi.) 

Momofuku was definitely the high point of a disrupted travel that began on Monday and didn't end until Thursday afternoon.