Cafe Rouge – two different ways to think about a bad experience
A few years ago, things were rough at school and I was a bittermelon*. I got upset easily, turned people away from me, was critical of everything and mostly found faults in mankind. Long story short, I became a misanthrope and immersed myself in two things: anime and foreign language. Ironically, the former taught me to think more positively, and the latter brought me new friends. Then I realized that when I suppress my negative thoughts, eventually they dissipate on their own and I would feel so much better without bothering anyone with my complaints. In America, we are encouraged to express our negative feelings. People like to see and hear about problems (that’s why the daily news are mostly bad news and the reality shows are full of anger). Some people say that it’s good to let it out. That’s true, but it’s only temporary. Complaining is like eating chips, it’s impossible to stop**. Anger multiplies when it’s let loose. The more cynical I feel about a situation, the more depressing scenarios I envision, and it only goes downhill from there.
These days I try to appreciate everything more, and when some incident doesn’t seem so appreciable at first, I find it funny, which clears my mind and then I can see something to appreciate. But sometimes I lapse back into the critical mode, especially when it’s about food. It’s easy to lower my expectations and like everything. It’s also easy to write a very bad review. But it’s hard to find the good points while maintaining my high expectation. A bad review gives the temporary satisfaction of being in the position to judge. A good review for a not-so-good experience makes me appear goody-two-shoes and lose my credibility. One solution is that I only write about the good experiences. But I think that defeats the meaning of a blog. A diary doesn’t have only happy entries, why should a food blog talk only about the good food?
Every bad experience at a restaurant puts me into this dilemma. Cafe Rouge is the most recent one. Here’s my first draft when I sat down to write about it:
On my birthday, we went for drinks at Teance and then we got famished. Drinks for me are not alcohol but a few pots of tea. That’s the great thing about tea: it gives you an appetite. If you ever feel like you ought to eat something but just don’t feel hungry, drink some tea on an empty stomach, the next thing you know is that all you can think about is food. So we were famished, and we headed over to Cafe Rouge next door.
I should stress again that I was famished. Everything tastes better when you’re hungry, that’s a known fact. I could hardly wait to spread the velvety duck liver flan on my tongue and sink my teeth into a succulent slab of steak. The good thing is I didn’t have to wait too long. The problem, though, is that neither of my dreams came true. The duck liver flan was underseasoned and not smooth enough. The steak was so tough I thought I was chewing on a coil of rope.
Would a rare sear make it better? The full story goes like this: on the menu it said “Grilled bavette steak with sweet potatoes, broccoli, red wine cippolini onions and herb butter 24.” — I didn’t know what bavette steak was. The waitress asked me how I’d like my steak, I told her somewhere between medium and medium rare, she said let’s do the medium rare and if it’s too rare I can send it back to the kitchen for more sear. Turned out the cut was extremely sinewy. Even in the middle, where it’s still bright red. I told the waitress, and she said yeah well this is not like New York steak so hmm too bad…
So I gave up halfway and grudgingly waited for desserts.
We narrowed it down to 4 choices: vanilla panna cotta, chocolate streusel cake, granitas, and chocolate ice cream profiteroles, then we asked the waitress what she thought. She highly recommended the panna cotta, and said the following about the granitas: “it’s like a sorbet, if you’re into that kind of thing then it’s good”. We’re into sorbet, so we got the granitas. But granitas ain’t no sorbet, it’s water ice. Seven dollars for a tiny cup of water ice is too much. And not even very flavorful water ice at that. Huge disappointment.
So that’s my luck with Cafe Rouge. The seafood cioppino and the cassoulet that my friends chose turned out a little too seasoned for my taste, but a hundred times better than my steak.
I’ll file Cafe Rouge under “Won’t go out of my way to revisit”, although it’s really on the way every time I go to Teance.
The view from upstairs.
Here’s what I should think:
The restaurant is well-designed, I enjoyed looking from the upstairs at the people’s plates down below. My friends enjoyed their seafood and stew. Today Cafe Rouge’s dinner menu has “Grilled hanger steak with flageolet beans, radicchio and almond bread sauce”, so I wiki-ed “hanger steak”. This cut is “prized for its flavor”, which means its texture is tough. Then I clicked around and read about the other beef cuts. In the end, the steak taught me something new.
We should have listened to the waitress in the matter of desserts. Again, we went in not knowing what “granitas” was and went out knowing exactly what it was, so we got wiser by paying 7 dollars. That’s a cheap price for information.
Most customers around us ordered the burger ($14). While fancy burgers are like Rothko’s paintings to me, some people appreciate them. Maybe the rest of the menu also connects to people at such levels, which I simply couldn’t comprehend.
I probably won’t go out of my way to revisit Cafe Rouge, but its menu changes often and I go out of my way to Teance all the time anyway. When I have a more forgiving heart, and maybe a lot of hunger, I’ll stop by.
I prefer the mild, more positive view, although it’s like steamed rice. Next, I need to figure out how to make it funny. 😉
FOOTNOTE:
(*) Actually, I LOVE bittermelon! Bittermelon soup, bittermelon stir fried with egg, stuffed bittermelon. I love it so much that the first word I could think of that contains “bitter” was “bittermelon”.
(**) In high school health class, the teacher showed us a video about two anorexic twin sisters. When asked how they became anorexic, the surviving sister said that they were chubby when they were little, so one day they decided to lose weight and competed with each other to see who could lose more weight. The only detail that I remembered is that they would eat only 2 potato chips when they ate any chips at all. The interviewer asked her “How could you eat only TWO chips?!” With a lot of willpower.
Housemade charcuterie plate ($15) – rabbit pate: ok; duck liver flan: I’ve had better’s; air dried beef: well, it’s dried meat… Good pickled onion though.
Cafe Rouge bar ribs ($7) – Not fall-off-the-bone tender, but I liked the sauce.
Cioppino ($27) — dungeness crab, rock fish, mussels and clams in red wine tomato sauce. Good but too spicy for me.
Cassoulet of duck confit, garlic sausage, pork, baked beans and bread crumbs ($24) – good beans, tender duck, the sausage was too grainy (and doughy(?!)). Read more about it from Kristen’s point of view.
Blood orange and grapefruit granitas with shortbread cookie ($7) – The flavor wasn’t there.
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Great work!
1Non nude teen girl picture galleriesAlo nakedAustralian gay teens twinksBoy average penis sizeFormal vintage hairstylesMature male gay hamster pornDuke sex surveyMature hunk gay daddies clipsHow to weather stripFucking copule xnxx I love my sex
2remixes downloadFemales escorts in atlanta gaCurvy ladies pornPleasure
of my own companyDick invasionMarilyn monroe sexy picturesB ack
cumIv 3way stop cockPeganism sexShooting things out of a vagina https://vids.xnxxtubexxx.cc/ Pornstar strip dance tease
free videosJosh wilson gayArticoke chicken breast recipesVintage toy peddal car replicasSex massage tweed heads australiaLatina giving
a blow jobSexy chicks in the shower xnxx Where to buy sexy bootsDownloadable
porn psp videoMilf daniella videoRed rage xxxMasturbation group storiesOnline chat for sexy eldersBusty
tall hamster amazonBondage extreme painful sex sex spankingWoman topless breastLong video porn websiteLong nipple lesbianAsian art templatesRash penis head
Wonderful web site. Plenty of helpful information here. I’m sending it to a few friends ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you in your sweat!
3After I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a remark is added I get four emails with the identical comment. Is there any way you may take away me from that service? Thanks!
4Great line up. We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.
5Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your website in internet explorer, could check thisK IE nonetheless is the market chief and a good element of people will omit your fantastic writing due to this problem.
6I enjoy foregathering useful info, this post has got me even more info! .
7Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a high risk decision great post! .
8Some really select content on this internet site, saved to fav.
9he blog was how do i say it… relevant, finally something that helped me. Thanks
10I am impressed with this website , really I am a fan.
11Excellent beat ! I would like to apprentice whilst you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog website? The account helped me a appropriate deal. I were tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast offered shiny transparent concept
12You can certainly see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
13I’ve been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or weblog posts on this sort of space . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this web site. Studying this info So i’m glad to express that I’ve an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I such a lot definitely will make certain to do not overlook this site and give it a look regularly.
14hey there and thank you on your info – I’ve definitely picked up something new from proper here. I did alternatively expertise a few technical points the usage of this website, as I skilled to reload the website a lot of occasions previous to I may get it to load correctly. I had been considering in case your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, however sluggish loading instances instances will often affect your placement in google and can injury your high-quality rating if ads and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my email and can look out for much extra of your respective interesting content. Ensure that you update this once more soon..
15Great post, I conceive people should learn a lot from this website its really user friendly.
16I would like to thank you for sharing this valuable information. I absolutely love your web page. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on your web page. I would love to see more engaging articles from you in the future.
17Greetings I am so excited I found your blog, I really found you by error, while I was researching on Bing for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a tremendous post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the excellent work.
18Thank you for posting this interesting article. I love your site. Many thanks for allowing me to comment on your blog post. I hope more interesting posts from you soon.
19Hey this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
20I really like your writing style, fantastic information, thanks for posting :D. “The superfluous is very necessary.” by Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire.
21You should take part in a contest for the most effective blogs on the web. I’ll advocate this site!
22I went over this web site and I think you have a lot of fantastic info, saved to favorites (:.
23Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!
24I will immediately snatch your rss as I can’t to find your e-mail subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Please permit me understand in order that I may subscribe. Thanks.
25This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen
26I beloved up to you will obtain carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. however, you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering the following. ill indisputably come more earlier once more as exactly the same just about a lot steadily inside case you defend this hike.
27Thanks for this post, I am a big big fan of this site would like to proceed updated.
28Thanks for the post, how can I make is so that I receive an alert email whenever you publish a fresh post?
29It’s really a cool and helpful piece of info. I am satisfied that you shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
30Really fantastic information can be found on blog.
31Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading? I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
32I have been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this blog. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your website?
33I’ll immediately grab your rss as I can not find your email subscription link or newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly let me know so that I could subscribe. Thanks.
34Thanks for every other magnificent article. Where else could anyone get that kind of info in such a perfect method of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the search for such info.
35This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it.
36Hey there this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
37There are definitely a number of particulars like that to take into consideration. That could be a great point to convey up. I supply the ideas above as general inspiration however clearly there are questions just like the one you convey up where a very powerful thing might be working in sincere good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged round issues like that, but I’m sure that your job is clearly recognized as a good game. Each girls and boys feel the impact of just a moment’s pleasure, for the remainder of their lives.
38I am always thought about this, thanks for posting.
39I went over this web site and I conceive you have a lot of good information, saved to favorites (:.
40The crux of your writing whilst sounding agreeable at first, did not really work perfectly with me personally after some time. Someplace throughout the paragraphs you managed to make me a believer but only for a very short while. I nevertheless have a problem with your leaps in logic and one might do nicely to fill in those breaks. If you can accomplish that, I could undoubtedly end up being fascinated.
41I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
42Thanks for helping out, great information.
43Good day very cool site!! Guy .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally?KI’m happy to seek out a lot of helpful information right here within the submit, we need develop more techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
44I really appreciate you for posting such great content. I absolutely love your blog. Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to comment on your blog post. I look forward to more informative publications from you in the near future.
45Great, I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs and related info ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, web site theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Nice task.
46Hi there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My site looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share. Thank you!
47I really like your writing style, fantastic info, regards for posting :D. “In every affair consider what precedes and what follows, and then undertake it.” by Epictetus.
48Great post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed! Extremely helpful info specially the last part 🙂 I care for such info much. I was looking for this certain information for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
49Great post, I believe people should larn a lot from this website its very user pleasant.
50