Breakfast Blunder

This weekend, I made the worst food-related blunder I've ever made in my life.

Not in some exotic country with some obscure delicacy. Nope - but in Columbus, Ohio.

Our hotel offered complimentary continental breakfast. We decided it would be a good idea to eat up before the game.

It was a nice spread. Along with fruit, yogurt, and a scone, I found a big pot of oatmeal. I used the giant ladle to make myself a bowl. It was a little thick, so I went over to the cereal station to add a little milk. Then I took a container of honey for sweetener, just in case.

I mixed it up. I tasted it. It wasn't oatmeal.

"Honey," I said. "This isn't oatmeal."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. It's like... cream soup. With little bits of meat in it. Cream of... breakfast sausage??"
"Maybe it's an Ohio thing."

I ate a few more spoonfuls before setting it aside. Later, I asked Sarah about it. She had no idea, until:
"Was it... gravy?"

The scone wasn't a scone. It was a biscuit. And I had eaten half a bowl of gravy for breakfast. (It honestly never occurred to me that people eat biscuits & gravy for breakfast. And the gravy was white!)

And for a final kick of irony: I went to the breakfast buffet the next morning to take a picture (so that I could retell this story) but this time, the pot actually did contain oatmeal!

You can tell because of the brown sugar and raisins.

The sauce that tastes good on everything

Japanese kewpie dressing. It's a sesame-flavoured, MSG-enhanced vinaigrette.

Awesome salad dressing. Great for cold or warm pastas.

Today I'm having it tossed with cold linguine and strips of cucumber.

I don't even like cucumber. But this makes it taste awesome.

I have no idea what the label says, and if they ever change the packaging, I might be screwed. If you're looking for it, it may also be labeled as Baisen Goma dressing.

Dim Sum = Touch the Heart

I went out for dim sum today with a group of friends.

One of the guys in the group was a dim sum virgin. He also turned out to be one of the best people I've ever dined with.

He only learned to use chopsticks a few years ago. How? He bought himself a pair, and ate with them every day at home until he mastered it. (He was picking up mango pudding with chopsticks!)

As a kid, he didn't like the taste of shrimp. But one day, at age 21, he decided not to dislike any foods. So he ate shrimp until he learned to like it.

He even tried chicken feet. (Didn't love them, but he was a great sport about it.)

I don't think I've ever dined with anyone so open-minded. I've dined with plenty of people who love food and will eat anything, but never someone who's so persistent in getting over food aversions. I really don't like picky eaters. He was the opposite.

Cheers to food!