Market One

I am in ever pursuit of a serious lunch and the other person on my team T who is serious about eating needed to celebrate a Virgo birthday. T is perhaps the only truly picky eater I know and perhaps the only person I would take to lunch who would refuse to try out my beet carpaccio. As you can see, those carmine slices are throwing a full-on party for rock shrimp, radishes, sprouts and deep fried ginger. If I wasn't in a public restuarant where people are expected to eat with a fork, I really wanted to rearrange it into a lovely landscape, clump those sprouts into a wild field.

You could not fault any of the food, which was savory and well-prepared; I just found it lacking in gusto and feeling. No matter how humble or lavish a meal, I want food which tugs at memories and emotes feelings which only good food can. My last lunch with T, I enjoyed the raw saltiness of Kumamoto oysters at Hog Island. Whatelse can carry the intensity and essence of the sea but oyster juice. From all the oysters which must have passed my lips, I know raw oysters on the half shell can never be boring. They only come in two categories, fantastic or suspicious.

The boar sausage at Market One which I had been anticipating all day was nice but mild with none of the wild nutty flavor I've loved in boar bacon.

Pretty Good Eclairs

Although I'm not too keen on Scharffenberger Cafe Cacao's brunch service (I'm a townie not a tourist to suffer that kind of bad service), their bakery scones and eclairs hits the spot. Not too sweet egg custard with vanilla seeds, it is really too bad they don't make profiteroles. I bought six long ones this morning although I wanted to buy the entire dozen behind the case. I didn't want to be too greedy and have the lady behind the counter tell me they can't sell me all of them. I love sharing the bakery goodness to people I like at work and need a hearty supply.