Warning: this is going to be mostly about food. Are you surprised? No? You must read this blog often.
Before I attempt to take us to India for our cooking around the world experience, I decided I needed to find a good recipe for chicken tikka masala once and for all. I've made it before and it was more like a weird tomato dish (still good! just not what it was supposed to be) than a spicy, creamy Indian delight. Which was apparently only invented for white people anyway. But I digress: we found a recipe. Or my mom found one on Pinterest, that is, and I stole it. It's a winner! Definitely spicy, but oh so tasty when served over cauliflower "rice" and I bet even tastier with a side of raita and a garlic naan. Proof:
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| I promise he really liked it...but this is as energetic of a face as we can get after looong hospital shifts. |
This week I'm in Atlanta for work, and have been excited to try new things (read: food) while here. So when my coworker suggested we go to Fogo de Chao for dinner Monday night, I heartily agreed. A Brazilian steakhouse where there is neverending meat served on swords? COUNT ME IN. I warned her in advance that I REALLY like meat. This picture is us before we really started to dig in. You flip your cards over to the green side and boy, those meat guys swoop down on your table with 10-12 different kinds of meats on swords, sizzling and spiced and delicious, and all of a sudden you've eaten the equivalent of a whole suckling pig and you feel miserable but also glorious because the food is that.good.
How we were able to opt for dessert afterwards is beyond me. I got the flan, though, and it was awesome.
One thing I'm learning about Atlanta is that you either eat for cheap at a waffle house, or you pay through the nose to eat relatively (that is the key word here) healthy elsewhere. Who knew there could be so many waffle houses in one city?
This was the cheapest healthy-ish (I didn't eat the bread - I took the lamb out from inside the sandwich and ate it on my salad) meal I could find within walking distance, at least so far. There are a TON of restaurants around, but seriously. I'm on the company dime - I have to be smart and not spend oodles of money. Except at a brazilian steakhouse to pay back your coworker for driving you around Atlanta all day.
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| cheapest meal? $10.75. even San Francisco can do better than that! |
Today our conference and workshops started, and they were fascinating! But then I got hungry. So I went on Groupon to try and save a few bucks, and lo and behold one of the places I'd wanted to try was on there! A delicious Turkish restaurant that I'm already debating going back to tomorrow. Istanblue: proof that you can't judge a restaurant by it's website, which is awful . But the food, service, atmosphere, location? INCREDIBLE. I'm a huge Turkish fan after these tasty dishes.
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| Soslu Patlican (eggplant and other veggies with sauce)...and the special bread and grape oil in the background. I wish I had no conscience about eating bread and oil! |
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| Iskender (that big white space next to the lamb is their yogurt-so tasty!) It was soo good, but I only ended up eating about a third of this because it was super filling! What a shame. |
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| Kazandibi (like turkish flan with cinnamon and grape sauce...mmm) |
Other interesting sidenotes about Atlanta: at least in the Buckhead area where I'm staying, I walk everywhere as my way of exploring. However, I'm the only one who does this, I guess. Nobody else is on the sidewalks (when there actually are sidewalks), and people stare at me when I walk by their shop outside. Perfect example of the no-walking thing: my hotel does not actually have a way to enter it by walking. Read that again. Like, to get into my hotel, I have to walk down the middle of a busy road because there is no sidewalk (!), and then cross through traffic in the hotel parking garage to access the entrance. It is RIDICULOUS. And I thought Scottsdale was bad.
They also stare at me wearing rainbows instead of dress shoes everywhere (I guess if you only drive, no need to wear comfy shoes!), and I felt like a hobo wearing my NorthFace fleece and carrying a water bottle in my hotel bag around. That was my own fault: I only brought a tiny purse, and forgot that I'd need to carry dress shoes to change into as well as my conference books...so I stuffed everything into the plastic bag from my hotel room that says "laundry" on the side. Embarrassing! I like Atlanta so far, but it's the little things that I've noticed! Also not very much fresh fruit anywhere. I guess we're spoiled in California.
ALSO the time change has been brutal for me, and usually I am not affected by jetlag at all - even abroad! Last night I was working until 10:30pm EST, work up at 4:00am EST (which was 1:00am PST, ugh), and couldn't fall back asleep. So I lay there for awhile, then got up and did my workout, which was PAINful on lack of sleep, wandered down to breakfast and attempted to do more work, then ended up taking a midmorning nap because I couldn't even function. I tell you what, that was a miserable morning. Fingers crossed tonight goes better!
ps - yes, I'm still eating healthy here. Except for the flan. Both nights. Hah! Everything else has been part of my normal eating routine - lots of veggies, lots of protein, etc. It IS possible to eat clean while travelling...as long as you stay away from flan :)
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