Okay, so I've completed a portion of the training at my new job and we all went out to dinner tonight.
You know the kind of dinner right? Everyone at the table knows that none of us are paying for dinner and only one person knows exactly how much we're allowed to spend and he slowly gets more and more nervous as the evening progresses. 🤣🤣🤣
Appetizers went with the servers suggestions because we were all too busy talking about the week to look at the menu.
[b][i][c=003BB2]"Angry Shrimp"[/c][/i][/b] Two plates ordered. Spicy hot but very nicely done and balanced. I liked. [sep]
[b][i][c=003BB2]"Tuna Tartare"[/c][/i][/b] I'm not generally a fan of tartares but I did try a little. It was okay. [sep]
[b][i][c=003BB2]"American Wagyu Carpaccio"[/c][/i][/b] What can I say... Manna from heaven![/center][/quote]
This was a steak house, but really high end. If you're thinking Capital Grille or Morton's, then you're not thinking high enough. A filet was $75, the bone-in ribeye was $92. They even offered this like cave man thing that came from the kitchen on a hook, was seared at the table, then cut and served. It was $260. No, we didn't get that.
[b][i][c=003BB2]"Truffle Mac 'n Cheese" [/c][/i][/b] The sides were all family style for the table. This one was ... amazing ... yes, I know I over use that word, but this time I really mean it.
[b][i][c=BF0000]"Sara's Plate" [/c][/i][/b] As I said, I ordered the filet, medium rare (as the chef suggested). The mashed potatoes were from another of the family style sides. I had those and some of the truffle mac 'n cheese and I also had some asparagus. [/center][/quote]
Yes, we ordered dessert as well but I didn't get pics. I shared a "skillet chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. I think I had two bites.
Right now I'm so full I'm gonna need to run two marathons tomorrow!
I think it's so funny that a highend restaurant has mac n cheese. lol I'm shaking my head and laughing at whatever supervisor or boss picked that place. It seems ridiculously overpriced. But hey if the foods good and it's just once and you don't have to worry about the bill, it doesn't matter, does it? Plus it sounds like a celebratory dinner, that is something special, and some extravagance is to be expected!
It looks nice, I don't think I've ever been out somewhere in which the bill was over 100 dollars per person. And that was only a few times, like you.
Hope you had a great time.
What did I do last night? I did some yoga and played with the dog, and then I baked some fish and steamed some asparagus. We talked about our days at work. And about a few upcoming things for the weekend and things happening in the next couple weeks. We did the dishes together-no dishwasher :( We briefly took the dog out together after dinner, and I remarked about how much I like the look of snow piled up in such a way that it reminds me of miniature castles and walls and towers everywhere, and that I don't know why I like that, when I'm not a fan of things like real fences and walls, but snow walls are ok. lol. We joked about who would win in a real snowball fight between us and who could dodge better, and also between various other people. We talked about how we didn't go ice fishing this year. We continued a previous discussion in the week about if either of us wanted to follow any Lent traditions this year. And that we really should have a little dinner party sometime soon and invite friends over again because it's been awhile and we brainstormed a bit. And then a discussion about the really crazy things we've heard people do in the snow sometimes, and if yes we'd do it, or no. One day soon we should have some kind of snowball fight, even if it's the inside kind with pompoms.
Inside, we made hot chocolate and we cuddled a bit and went on our phones, with moments of chatting to each other about whatever. lol Eventually I found a moment to express my appreciation for him and apologize again over how crazy things have been, and him being so understanding...and that I wanted to sometime soon talk about ways I can make it up to him. But that has been put off for another time. We got a bit romantic after that. It was a good evening.
@Scribbles Wow. That sounds like a busy and fun evening!! I'm in a hotel for two weeks because I'm down here for training in my new job.
Yes, it was the celebratory dinner for the two week training. It was certainly a bit extravagant, but some of our meals this week were literally MREs, so I think it all averaged out!
As for the rest of my Friday night... I just kicked back on here. I was up way later than usual, then fell asleep at the desk in my hotel room, then woke up and was on here again in the middle of the night! 🤣🤣🤣
@sarabee1995 that’s my guess too. Or people with big money… movie stars, musicians, and models (like real models that do high fashion, not my catalog bullshit. lol) And in even with that it may be the studio or labels.
Yeah. It’s crazy when the price gets that high. The do fancy shit on the plates with the drizzle that apparently makes it worth more. I feel like when you get at $100 a plate or more… you’re paying for the name not the food. At a certain point, you can’t buy a higher quality food. I had a similar experience with a friend of my Mum’s and was at a restaurant where there were no prices on the menu (like who the fuck doesn’t put prices on the menu,) and I could tell everything was super expensive. I was like way out of my element and tried to ask her what I should order (because I kinda froze,) and she said whatever I want… her treat. I also had filet mignon with some fried portobello mushrooms and asparagus tips. It was really pretty looking and honestly we just had our plates, so I was still a little bit hungry afterwards but I know my plate cost more than I made in a whole shoot, so I was good. I just felt so uncomfortable because I don’t even know how to eat in a place like that. They have multiple forks and spoons and I just wanted to go home. I also don’t like people watching me eat, so there’s that.
@DarkHeaven Preparation and food quality. There's a whole global supply chain of very high quality ingredients and a whole philosophy regarding how to source quality local ingredients.
This restaurant advertised on their menu where their beef came from. It was some kind of known beef farm that was famous for the quality of it's beef. 🙂
@sarabee1995 I have no idea about the restaurant I had went to. I was very young, it was many years ago, and I was too nervous to notice many details. lol
@sarabee1995 Yup…We had lamb chops and siciliano drumsticks for dinner today. And I had made lao soup (oyster mushrooms, chicken)for him this afternoon. 😊
Sanitised a very grubby 12 yo and her school uniform after her hockey match. Read a chapter of [i]Little Women[/i] together. Hot chocolate and early to bed 😊
I once went to a Lebanese restaurant on work time. Didn't know anything about the cuisine, so asked the waiter to choose for me up to my expenses budget. It was one of the best meals ever, but very spicy and I didn't sleep a wink afterwards 😂
@SunshineGirl Nice! So your 12 yr old plays hockey? Very cool! :)
That's a great way to dine. I love asking a server to just make the choices for me. Of course, sometimes that means you get something outside your comfort zone. Spicy meals can do that to me too, but I figure one night of sleep versus a new culinary/cultural experience ... I'll give up the night sleep every time. :)
@Midlifemale No. $1200. Six people. So like $200 per person. But yes, still quite expensive.
It was a very nice restaurant, but not in a hotel. Cloth tablecloths & napkins. Wait staff wiping off the tablecloth in between courses. Water being refilled over your right shoulder. Wine ordered from a sommelier and uncorked in a whole fancy tableside process.
@Midlifemale The service was definitely the best. My dad always told me to assess service in a restaurant by watching the water level in your glass. Mine never got below half the entire night and I was drinking a lot of water. There was one particular kid (he looked young) whose sole job was to keep refiling water glasses in our side of the restaurant.
Our last night in Maui. Also a big farewell dinner for 39 people. Yup I ate too much. Just traveling all day tomorrow to get home. I’ll go for a run Sunday afternoon but no Marathon.
@sarabee1995 Is it though? Ok it’s better than burgers and anything that comes out of jack in the box. But I was really hoping for cheerios again. But alas, there are now cheerios in here.
@sarabee1995 A fillet, Asparagus , or creamed spinach are what I usually order. Being married to Mr. Culinary Culture, I always have to sample what he has ordered.
Steph... Thank you for jumping in to defend me as I fell asleep here late on a Friday night... but you know me. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself (which I will do in a sec 😉).
Chris... Don't call my friend or her defense of me weird. She and I have been friends for a very long time, over ten years in fact, and been through a lot together. She's pretty close to family to me (and if you know me, that's saying a lot).
[sep][sep]
Now, Chris, to your original comment ...
Please know that I do consider you a friend, both in the SW sense and also in the much truer sense. And from the few years that we've been SW friends, I've gotten a pretty good sense of your politics.
Although I'm too liberal to be accepted by the Republicans, I am well to the right of most of your posted opinions. I am not embarrassed at all in stating that I am a capitalist. I do support and am willing to defend capitalism as an economic system.
Was this dinner extravagant? Of course it was. Not including the tip, my table of six was charged $1035 (iirc). With the tip, it was just over $200 per person. Crazy! Right?
Again... of course it was. And if I add that the ultimate funding source of this dinner was the good 'ole US of A, it might even be infuriating to some.
But was it "wrong"? That's the question, right? Was a dinner like this morally wrong? Should I feel "guilty" for taking part?
1) I don't feel guilty 2) I don't believe a celebratory dinner like this is morally wrong 3) I don't think venues like this are doing anything wrong by participating in a global system of premium, classist food sourcing and distribution for, essentially, the wealthy.
That's a mouthful, huh?
Okay... Our meal, or rather my table's meal (because there were other tables in our group) was twelve hundred dollars with the tip. And yes, if we took that money and instead used it as a direct subsidy we could probably feed a family of four a subsistence diet for several months. Instead, six people had water glasses filled over their right shoulders and wine glasses filled by a guy with a cloth napkin over his arm. And somehow I don't feel guilty.
Well... Let me share a little about the people at my table. Sitting to my left was a guy my age. He was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He was transitioning out of the Rangers because of injuries sustained while defending two Syrian families who happened to be in the wrong places at the wrong time. I hope someone authorized to read his classified AAR puts him up for the medal of honor someday. So what is he doing now? He has decided that he is not yet done serving his people so he is working for the DoD as a civilian.
Across the table from us this evening was a Marine. I say a Marine because once a Marine, always a Marine. He too is transitioning out of uniformed active duty but choosing to continue to serve his people and his country.
You don't need to know me for very long to know that I'm a big fan of Chief Tecumseh's Poem. The full text is in my About Me here. If you've never read it, I encourage you to pause now and go do so. More than anything it is my life philosophy. It tells us to shape our lives in service to our people. Tonight I sat with five others who believe, like me, that our lives should be in service to others.
We went around the table... all six of us have been shot at during our prior military service at least once. Three of us are recipients of Purple Hearts. All of us have decided that we are not done serving.
And tonight, our new employer provided for us a celebratory dinner. A time to put aside the dirty, dusty clothes we wore all week in training and instead sit down and enjoy a quiet meal.
Do I feel guilty? No, I'm sorry, I don't. Converting this meal into a direct subsidy for that hypothetical family of four would not alter their situation at all. Providing this meal to the guys around me tonight (maybe not me so much as them) is a small deposit on the thank you owed to them.
@LvChris During my 5.5 years as a junior officer in the US Navy, I've had four dinners that I would say rose to this level. Prior to the Navy, despite an upper-middle class upbringing in the US, I'd never experienced dining like this.
Do I "enjoy" it? Eh, if I left government service today, I can honestly say I'd never pay for a dinner like this myself. I don't like it enough to spend that kind of money on a meal.
