I can’t quite come up with a more appropriate title for this post, so I’ll get to the point.

Holy.  Fudgin’.  Shite.

Yeah, it was the most expensive meal of my life.  But when you get all pragmatic about it, in terms of dollars per minute per molecule of enjoyment, it was a bloody bargain.

The French Laundry is a bargain.   Yes, yes it is.  It has been a bargain since it opened over a decade ago, it was all through those intervening  years with visits from foodies and aspiring gastronauts, and it still is.

Now, away from the pragmatism, I’ll give you a very brief degustation with as little gushing as possible.

Rose, salmon, gougeres, caviar, panna cotta, fois gras, endive, black bass, sea urchin, scallops, Shiraz, veal tongue, pork belly, lamb roast, camembert, carrot cake, passionfruit sorbet, peanut butter chocolate mousse, citrus sorbet w/ olive oil, almond tart, mignardeses.

Yowch.  I do not feel the pain of overindulgence, nor do I feel any pain of sticker shock.  All is appropriate, all is perfection. No less than two dozen people had a hand in making my meal divine, including about a dozen in the kitchen.  They all earned it, especially my server who recommended the perfect wines and even chatted with me graciously about running and his own marathon training plans.  Unlike at a standard chain restaurant, I never got his name, so I can only say, Good luck!!!

The other thing I can say to those who balk at a several-hundred-dollar meal is this:

How much did you spend the last time you got on a plane to visit relatives for the holidays, or see a friend, or (forbid) take a business trip?  Was *that* four hours of your life enjoyable?  And how many times per year or decade do you spend that kind of money on transportation?  I rest my case.

Eat well.  Be well.  Take care.

The Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail is now officially done and a must-have for those in-state travelers searching for unique and delicious burgers.

Yet, if you wanted to make your own, you could add the ideal cheese for melting – American.  Or, you can go a little more upscale and flavorful, even if the results won’t be quite as silky in the end.

I think you cannot go wrong with a cheesemaker that’s a mere few miles from where I grew up in America’s Dairyland:  Widmer’s Cheese Cellars in Theresa, WI.

Getting a big ol’ pile of shrink-wrapped bars is a holiday tradition, but you can have the delicious love, too – their prices online are identical to in the store.  You’ll only pay shipping, and they’re even pretty cheap in that regard, too!

For the top of the line, 10 year aged Cheddar is as rich and decadent as Parmesan, for slivers on a salad or whatever use you can dream up.  On burgers, I’d probably go a little more mellow, like Provolone, salty and tender.

Here’s to green chile meets meat meets cheese!

I’ve had two burgers today, more beef than I usually have in multiple weeks.  Both were great in their own ways – first the legendary Onion Burger at Johnnie’s in El Reno, OK.

Then…. the much more famous Meers Burger in Meers, OK – featured in Hamburger America and made from grass-fed Texas longhorn cattle raised on site.  Take that, kitchen farmers!

Both were well worth the brief detours they required from OKC, though Meers was a good hour.  Similar to going to the Owl in San Antonio from Albuquerque.

Now its back on home for a needed chile fix.

I ate an amazing thing in Kauai, the egg fruit.  It has the color and texture of perfectly creamy-cooked egg yolk, and a gently sweet flavor that I cannot describe with any poetry.

They won’t grow anywhere near here, and there is a tiny possibility south Florida could harvest the fruit, but no one transports them around, so basically it is a Hawaiian treat.  When can I go back?

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/canistel.html

Another lovely photo, on Flickr.

. . . I think I really like it here!