I have a food hangover

Man, I love really good food.

You know you've had an amazing meal when you wake up the next morning thinking about it. I call this the food hangover. Usually my first words on mornings such as these are "holy mother - that _________ was amazing"...Jake usually replies with "you're ridiculous and yes, it was".

Do you have meals that really impacted your food life? Food memories, if you will. Don't call this mild, good food changes lives! I'm not talking about about pretty good food, I'm talking about food you remember for it's over-the-top deliciousness and/or the accompanying experience. For me, many of these meals have been eaten abroad. But not all. In honor of life-changing food, walk with me down my culinary memory lane.

Top 10 meals of all time - in no particular order:

1. The meal I had last night - at Taste of the Himalayas in Berkeley - "fine Nepalese & Indian cuisine". Oh. My. Lord. (read with British accent, as Jamie would say it). It was phenomenal. I had the special - Coconut Chicken. It was like a red curry brown sugar masterpiece. Every bite was perfectly spiced, perfectly balanced, chicken perfectly cooked (in tandoor). The place was packed - it's obviously not a secret that Taste of the Himalayas is doing something special. Woke up this morning thinking about it, see conversation above.

2. The five star meal Mary Lokar prepared for Anna & Shandra's bridal shower - February 2009. I was unaware my kitchen was CAPABLE of supporting this kind of culinary genius. How often do you have the best chef in Seattle catering your event? Oh, yeah, when her sister's the bride. LUCKY US!! The Moroccan themed shower, the indoor tent, the meal served on short tables as we dined on sari fabric pillows...it was incredible. I knew we were in for a foodgasm when Mary pulled up with more food in her car than I've ever seen in one place. This has to have been the most over-done bridal shower in the history of mankind. Thank you Mary.


3. Toasted Sesame Ahi Tuna steak & accompaniments prepared & served at the Haven for the Princess fam 2007. Shan & I were completely lost in our meal. We didn't talk to anyone, we didn't participate at all. We just stared at each other with every bite as if a food revolution was taking place simultaneously in both our mouths. It was. Days of discussion followed that meal. Neither of us has had an ahi steak since that even remotely compares. The fact that this meal was prepared in Skagway is a testament to the talents of a frontier chef. Susan was her name, right? Wish I could remember.

4. True Polish cuisine at Pod Aniolami in Krakow - December 2005. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what it was called. This restaurant served true Polish food & did it beautifully. Thick, rich sausages - root veg & herbs - the kind of food that sticks to your ribs & makes you wonder about the metabolism of mini-skirt clad Polish women. We read about this place & as one of the finest restaurants in the country, gained 2 more huge fans as the fare was served up for under $25 for both. Talk about travel nourishment - this was food to warm you up & force you to fall even more in love with a city that was all too easy to love. Even in December.


5. Cheese, olives, bread, olive oil, wine, more olives, more cheese at Hunter's apartment in Mazamet, France - January 2008. Food prepared in Hunter's tiny, medieval apartment fulfilled French food fantasies I didn't even know I had. It was like, the real deal. In fact, I think I kept saying stupid things like, this is REAL French bread, REAL gruyere, REAL cabernet! - as if outside of France they're not real?! This meal on my list proves that my tastes are not fancy or elite - sitting around this little table, feasting on the simplest & best food imaginable will surpass meals of far greater expense & fuss.

6. Chips, Salsa, Guacamole. The perfect trio. Make it a perfect quad & add a Corona. The Best I've ever tasted in my life was on the beach in Zihuatanejo, Mexico - November 2005. I haven't tasted a comparable creation of these perfect ingredients since. Prepared simply with the best avocados, the ripest tomatoes, homemade tortillas - this was honeymoon food at it's finest. I think I could live on this beach & eat this every day for the rest of my life. [as long as i didn't have to wear a swimsuit every day, let's be clear]


7. Valentines Day 2009 - my house on G Street. I invited my siblings & partners up for the weekend to have an over-the-top meal & celebrate our collective obsession with each other. We had stuffed portobellas, turkey herb meatballs with yogurt sauce, my ceasar, bread & frozen berry cocktails. The food was good, but the company was so much better. We had never done that before & we haven't done it since. It was an unforgetable meal. Much laughter, much feasting.


8. Twenty-ninth birthday dinner - Flats Tapas Bar - Bellingham. Sometimes, you get what you pay for. That is, sometimes an expensive restaurant simply has the best food in town. Flats in Bellingham is a perfect example. It is the best restaurant in Bellingham, hands down. It's pretty pricey & since I don't believe in trying to 'go budget' when it would offend the experience, I've only had the opportunity to eat there a few times. I just don't want to eat there unless I can have The Experience the food deserves. One of those nights was my 29th birthday. Jakey requested the table by the window but since they don't take reservations, they couldn't guarantee it. When we arrived, however, the front table was available & was adorned with flowers & a birthday gift from my mother-in-law: a cooking class next month with the chef. Oh Heaven. We started with wine, continued by ordering nearly every dish on the menu, more wine, dessert - ordering for flavor & decadence, with absolutely no concern for cost. Perfectly slow service. Lots of flirting. Best birthday meal ever. [yes, Anna, even better than the entire Round Table pizza I consumed alone on my 30th. close though.]


9. Chosen family thanksgiving 2009. I love cooking & holidaying with huge groups, but sometimes, the cook in me wants to cook a tiny holiday meal to experiment & try & make just the right amount of a perfect dish. This particular meal was herb-everything. I went so overboard with thanksgivingy herbs & it paid off huge. I've never had a more aromatic meal. Is that even a real phrase? The food leapt off the plate at us. With every bite, we groaned. Seriously. It was sick, really. I will always remember that meal. And I will always remember the family photos we took around the fire as well.


10. I almost don't even want to finish writing this list, because I know as soon as I do, I'll remember 5 more meals that the list is TOTALLY incomplete without. But, for now, I'll finish with this one: the meal we had at Ole Hansa in Tallinn, Estonia - December 2007. Yes, this is the second time this meal has been mentioned on this blog & rightly so. We ate thick, rich, wintery food around a heavy, wine-stained table. The air inside was thick with food aromas, the 'band' played from a platform above. It was dark inside & the beer was served in ceramic mugs. We could hardly see our food it was so dark - but how appropriate for the cold, short days in Estonian winter. Romantic. Lots of kissing - the way you can kiss in public in Europe. And potatoes. Also soul-stirring.


What meals have I forgotten? There are many, I'm sure. What a blessing - to love food. I will never be without pleasure on this earth, will I. Thanks for dining with me - all of you.

Gotta go - David Rocco is on. He's making croquettes. That makes me think of the food at my wedding...oh here we go...

love!