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.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
1Thanks for helping out, good information. “The surest way to be deceived is to think oneself cleverer than the others.” by La Rochefoucauld.
2Perfectly pent content material, Really enjoyed reading.
3Thanks for any other informative blog. The place else may just I am getting that type of info written in such an ideal means? I have a undertaking that I am simply now working on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.
4Hello there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this site.
5WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. …
6My brother recommended I might like this website. He was totally right. This publish actually made my day. You cann’t believe simply how a lot time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
7Loving the info on this internet site, you have done outstanding job on the articles.
8I’m still learning from you, while I’m improving myself. I absolutely liked reading all that is posted on your blog.Keep the posts coming. I enjoyed it!
9I really like your writing style, fantastic information, regards for posting :D. “I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” by T. S. Eliot.
10Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!
11Great paintings! That is the kind of info that are supposed to be shared around the net. Disgrace on Google for no longer positioning this post higher! Come on over and seek advice from my site . Thanks =)
12Very interesting points you have observed, thankyou for putting up. “The earth has music for those who listen.” by William Shakespeare.
13Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting info .
14Hey very cool website!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I am happy to find numerous useful info here in the post, we need develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
15Great awesome issues here. I’m very glad to peer your article. Thanks so much and i’m having a look ahead to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?
16Great post. I am facing a couple of these problems.
17Hello, you used to write wonderful, but the last several posts have been kinda boring… I miss your great writings. Past few posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
18I think other site proprietors should take this web site as an model, very clean and great user friendly style and design, as well as the content. You are an expert in this topic!
19Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly comeback.
20It is in reality a nice and useful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
21Magnificent web site. Plenty of useful info here. I am sending it to some friends ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks for your effort!
22You have remarked very interesting details! ps nice website . “Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no fibs.” by Oliver Goldsmith.
23Excellent blog here! Also your web site so much up fast! What web host are you using? Can I am getting your affiliate hyperlink on your host? I wish my site loaded up as fast as yours lol
24Whats up very cool web site!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m glad to seek out a lot of useful information right here in the put up, we’d like develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
25he blog was how do i say it… relevant, finally something that helped me. Thanks
26Can I just say what a reduction to search out someone who truly knows what theyre speaking about on the internet. You positively know the way to deliver a problem to mild and make it important. Extra individuals have to learn this and perceive this facet of the story. I cant consider youre no more well-liked because you undoubtedly have the gift.
27Good day! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
28Hiya! I just wish to give an enormous thumbs up for the great information you will have here on this post. I will be coming again to your weblog for more soon.
29I am really enjoying the theme/design of your weblog. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility issues? A few of my blog visitors have complained about my website not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any ideas to help fix this problem?
30Some truly nice and utilitarian information on this internet site, besides I believe the style has wonderful features.
31Cool blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. Thanks
32wonderful post.Ne’er knew this, thanks for letting me know.
33感谢分享，这篇内容写得很清楚，学到了很多实用方法。. Really appreciate the detailed explanation.
34This was an excellent read. Very thorough and well-researched.
35소액결제현금화(휴대폰깡·모바일깡)의 뜻과 수법, 정보통신망법 위반 처벌 수위, 실제 처벌 사례와 이용자 피해, 급전 필요 시 합법 대안까지 정리했습니다.
36누누티비의 서비스 종료 이력과 같은 이름의 사이트를 확인할 때 알아둘 내용을 정리했습니다. 드라마·영화 다시보기 제공 여부, 회차·자막·화질 확인 방법과 자주 묻는 질문을 살펴보세요.
37부산오피를 검색하며 부산 지역 일반 마사지·스파를 알아보는 분들을 위한 안내입니다. 프로그램 선택, 관리 시간과 비용, 시설·위생, 주차, 예약 전 확인사항과 자주 묻는 질문을 정리했습니다.
38부산오피를 검색하며 부산 지역 일반 마사지·스파를 알아보는 분들을 위한 안내입니다. 프로그램 선택, 관리 시간과 비용, 시설·위생, 주차, 예약 전 확인사항과 자주 묻는 질문을 정리했습니다.
39광주호빠를 찾는 분을 위한 광주광역시 예약 안내. 라운지 분위기, 인원별 공간 선택, 가격 상담, 첫 방문 준비와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하고 원하는 일정에 맞춰 문의
40광주호빠를 찾는 분을 위한 광주광역시 예약 안내. 라운지 분위기, 인원별 공간 선택, 가격 상담, 첫 방문 준비와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하고 원하는 일정에 맞춰 문의
41Good job! The information is organized and easy to follow. Bookmarked for later reading.
42I believe this web site has some really wonderful info for everyone. “Je veux que les paysans mettent la poule au pot tous les dimanches.” by King Henry IV of France.
43I like the helpful info you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and check again here frequently. I am quite sure I will learn many new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!
44Would you be excited about exchanging hyperlinks?
45Simply want to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness to your publish is just spectacular and i could assume you are an expert in this subject. Well together with your permission let me to snatch your feed to keep up to date with coming near near post. Thanks one million and please continue the enjoyable work.
46Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and may come back very soon. I want to encourage that you continue your great work, have a nice morning!
47광주호빠를 찾는 분을 위한 광주광역시 예약 안내. 라운지 분위기, 인원별 공간 선택, 가격 상담, 첫 방문 준비와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하고 원하는 일정에 맞춰 문의
48대밤·대구의밤을 찾는 분들을 위한 대구 지역 정보. 동성로·수성못·동대구역·달서구의 저녁 여가와 지역별 특징, 후기 비교 기준, 가격·운영시간·교통 확인사항 및 자주 묻는 질문을 살펴보세요.
49광주호빠를 찾는 분을 위한 광주광역시 예약 안내. 라운지 분위기, 인원별 공간 선택, 가격 상담, 첫 방문 준비와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하고 원하는 일정에 맞춰 문의
50