Why I Love Food

When I started this food blog, I knew I wanted to write about the experience that made me start loving food and the act of eating.  I knew I wasn't always into food as a passion.  I can remember going out to a nice restaurant with my sister and mom and very brattily ordering a cheeseburger because "I don't like fancy food."  I sat down and tried to remember the meal that turned the tide; that made me start to get so much joy from a simple meal.  I asked my husband because I knew it happened with him and without hesitation he answered, "It wasn't a meal, it was Anthony Bourdain."

My husband and I started watching Anthony Bourdain's shows when we were living in Chico finishing up his Master's and my Bachelor's.  We weren't really active, didn't have a ton of hobbies, and were still very in that post-college phase with our first real full time jobs; living with hand-me-down furniture and trying to figure out what we were going to do with our lives.  I had watched Top Chef for years and loved seeing the professional chefs do what they loved, but it wasn't until watching Bourdain that I realized what it was to watch someone gain pure joy from the simple act of eating.  Here was this surly, potty mouthed, everyman traveling the world and becoming overjoyed with food.  Just food.  And all kinds of food; it wasn't all 5 star restaurants.  A food cart on the street in Vietnam could bring that lazy, drunk off happiness smile to his face in a second.  Mike and I became inspired to be like Bourdain and start eating more for pleasure and to order more unique things.

I remember the first time we attempted to "Bourdain" it.  We were at a hole in the wall Thai restaurant in downtown Chico called Chada Thai Cuisine.  It was exactly the kind of place that melts my heart - eclectic, not try-hard, and a little weird (just like me I'd like to think).  You had to walk down some rickety stairs to get to the place and our table was smooshed in a corner filled with haphazard decorations and Asian relics.  It was like eating in a Thai woman's rarely cleaned living room.  I loved it.  We poured over our menus determined to order something Bourdain would approve of; no chicken chow mein for us!  I wish I could remember exactly what I ordered.  I'm sure it was something entirely unexciting, but for me then, it was daring. It was some kind of mixed sea food dish. It was spicy and authentic and tasted of the sea and I loved it.  I loved it not just for the tastes, but for the fact that it was fun to eat; it was bold and different and it gave me an experience.

Soon after, I ate with my dad and sister at John Ash & Co and I ordered one of Bourdain's all time favorites - bone marrow.  This was by far the most exciting thing I had ever ordered to the point where I had to, in pure small town bumpkin fashion, ask the waiter how I was supposed to eat it.  But when I did, it blew my mind.  It was so rich and different and decadent.  Eating that bone marrow was a moment.  Not just a moment, but a MOMENT.  This was what gave Bourdain that look on his face. This was enjoying food.  This was different.  This was passion.

And Mike and I were hooked.  After that we found joy in eating all over.  It didn't have to be bone marrow or a fancy meal, it could be a simple pasta dish from California Pasta Production or Peking duck from Rice Bowl.  As long as it was cooked well, made with love and care, and given to us with good service, we were blissful.  Going out to eat became an event for us anywhere we went.  We would look across the table at each other and smile those huge goofy "holy shit do you see how good this looks" smiles and know that right at that moment, we were both happy.  I didn't know that eating a piece of food could ever make me truly happy before, but we have had some moments eating that I know I will never forget.

On our honeymoon, we sat at Moti Mahal and looked down at the beautiful spread before us, the crisply dressed wait staff wishing past us, the cloudy London streets outside the window, and I felt tears come to my eyes.  I was doing something I loved with someone I loved and I knew right then that this was true happiness and it was a moment I would never forget.  And we'll always have that, Mike and I.  Whether it's the perfectly cooked piece of local beef he served me for dinner last night or a 12 course tasting menu at Komi for our anniversary, I know that I can take a bite, make a happy little moan, look over at him and he'll be feeling the exact same way as me and will smile at me and I'll know that this is joy.

Cafe Des Artistes - Leonardtown, MD

Last weekend, we ventured over to one of our favorite little towns in this area - Leonardtown, MD for the Earth Day Festival.  While, in my mind, I thought the festival would be filled with organic produce stalls and the like, it really was mostly booths aimed at getting kids to play games that taught them to recycle and be more green.  Useful, yes.  Relevant to Mike and I, no.  So, like any good Earth-loving American, we ditched the festival and bellied up to the nearest bar.

We ended up at one of the area's best restaurant's - Cafe Des Artistes.  We have had dinner here several times and it never disappoints.  The chef consistently serves up fresh, quality, classic dishes with just the right amount of butter and heaviness that you expect from a good French restaurant.   The ambiance is exactly what you want it to be; dark lighting, kitschy decorations, and friendly staff and the location couldn't be any better - right in Leonardtown square in a perfectly East Coast brick, historic building.

photo via

This visit, we intended to grab a couple cocktails at the bar to make up for our bust of a festival day.  The bar here is really cute and comfortable with plenty of room for multiple guests to enjoy drinks and dishes.  Once the bartender informed us that they had Hendricks gin, we quickly ordered a couple gin and tonics.  Any bar that serves Hendricks gets an extra point in my book; gin and tonics made with it just cannot be beat on a warm Spring/Summer day.  

After enjoying our drinks for a few minutes, we decided to grab an appetizer because...well why not?  The only complaint from this visit was that the bartender disappeared for a pretty long time in between handing us our menus and coming back to take our order.  We were there at an odd time of day so he was probably doing some daily tasks that took him away from the bar, but in my mind, if you have paying customers in the restaurant, pay them attention while they're there.  A woman walking around who I would guess is the owner noticed our wait and had a waitress grab the bartender and he took our order right away after that.  I appreciated this; there's nothing like an owner or manager that stays on top of things and takes care of customers before they get irritated and angry.  

This restaurant always has unique specials on its menu and today we ordered a special of venison and hazelnut terrine.  The texture of the terrine was perfect; not rubbery, not too thick, just perfect for slicing and eating on the warm baguette they provided.  

Overall, it was another perfectly pleasant and delicious visit to Cafe Des Artistes.  If you've never been, add it to your schedule soon!  It's a perfect place for a date night or just a quick drink at the bar.  If you're coming for dinner, make sure to make reservations; they book up quickly. 

Here are some links to help you earn more about this restaurant:

Web Site

Yelp

Facebook

Enjoy!

Calling All East Coast Bloggers!

This is a call out to all Southern Maryland and Washington DC bloggers!

You have a local restaurant you absolutely love?

Come write about it here, on By The Forkful!

e-mail me at val2201@daily-distraction.com to set up a guest post.

Why, Hello There!

As the months tick by on this stretch of unemployment, I more and more have those moments of discouragement and regret where I think, "Why the hell haven't I picked a career by now?"  You watch Top Chef and the cocky Belgium says that he started cooking school at age 12.  You see the super successful food critic who fell into her career after college.  (We've been watching Top Chef a lot lately obviously)  You have friends on Twitter constantly posting quality video content in order to pursue a career in directing.  You watch old friends gain promotion after promotion in their given field.  And you, or me in this case, are sitting at home watching Top Chef and stalking people on facebook in your leggings with wet hair and a pug sitting on your lap.

Why didn't I pick my career at 12?  Why, when people ask me what kind of job I'm looking for, do I have no good answer?  At this point, one that pays?  I'm so lucky to have a husband supporting me during this time of unemployment and unemployment checks coming in to help cover my bills. I could very well take my time to make sure I get that DREAM JOB.  But I don't have one.  I just don't.  And that scares the crap out of me.

So...what does this have to do with starting a food blog?  Well, I've been sitting on my can unemployed for five months now worrying and complaining about this lack of a dream job.  I browse Reddit, I write silly blog posts on my fashion/lifestyle blog, I watch Top Chef (obviously), I play Harry Potter Legos.  And.  I.  Sit.  On.  My.  Can.  I'm not doing anything creative.  I'm not trying to inspire myself in any way.   I love to write. And sometimes, I'm pretty good at it.  But I haven't been inspired to write about anything lately. I get ideas and they go nowhere.  But if you want to be a good writer, if you want to be passionate about SOMETHING, you need to just do it.  Great or not.

So, I'm going to write about food.  I love food.  I love eating food.  I love trying new restaurants with my husband and exploring new flavors and types of cuisine.  We recently moved from Southern California to Southern Maryland and have been loving getting to know our new area by eating our way across it.  We also love nothing more than playing tourist in one of our favorite cities in the world - Washington, DC.  This silly little blog will serve as a way for me to use some of my creative juices so they don't completely dry out during my unemployment hell and if it gets some people interested in the restaurants I love, that's a bonus.  (The real bonus would be if Food & Wine Magazine discovered the blog and hired me, but yeah...)

Enjoy!


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