JLoeats.com

After a very reality check kind of day on Wednesday – My triple whammy that caught me off guard and made me completely upset with the world, (yup we all have those days where you just get home, swing the door wide open in hopes to find some comfort to sweept through there like the blowing wind outside, and stand their completely flabbergasted with that look on your face — the i need a hug look only to realize that, you’re alone, and all you can do is say hello to your lil studio, empty space…with so much room for emotions and thoughts to ponder on for days…)

“Food! Food always comforts me at times like these…”
i thought, but i feel fat.
ughh, lost appetite from an exhausting night of arguing why advertisers shouldn’t market junk food to children in Food Policy class, and feeling completely helpless and even more angry that food is not a source of comfort tonight.

WAHHHHHHHHHHHH, is all that came out of my mouth, sometimes, i wonder if my neighbours must think i’m crazy. but in new york, no one is phased unless you’re having a seizure in the middle of the street – and then, maybe, perhaps, you’ll get some sort of medical attention. i did witness this on monday night, while downing that sorbet… oh new york. always so surprised at how extreme of the situations i encounter here on a day to day basis.

So phone calls later to California, i gained my appetite back, started laughing again, and decided to look for the greener grass on my side of the yard.

It started with an 8 am wake up call to get up and get professionally dressed (lookin so guud). Today was my observation day at my new internship. One i had been waiting a month and a half to hear of. I had turned down many very enticing other opportunities, but knowing how limited my time is during my first overwhelming semester as a food scholar, i wanted to be picky, because i could. and it definitely paid off. well, it will…

“Why do i always get lost in Brooklyn?!”
an A train, missed F train, G train going in the wrong direction and then the correct G train later, i had finally arrived in what seemed like the new promiseland.

OMG, I found seasame street!

I walked through a cute little tree lined neighbourhood with brown stone houses, front yard gardens, and garbage cans all lined up. I felt like Oscar the grouch was about to pop out of one while Elmo, Big Bird, and I strolled down the street singing and dancing. “R is for RAINNNN!!!”

It was pouring, but I didn’t care, I had my career busting killer glasses, walking boots, town pants, and sunny yellow umbrella with me. It was freezing, my feet were wet, and I felt like I didn’t have a care in the world, like a little kid, excited about my first day of school. I was determined to make my day off a good one filled with so much food learning, and none of it from reading.

I arrived at the Brooklyn New School, PS 146 to be exact, like a secret code I spoke to get past the doors, mesmerized. It was everything I had expected, dreamt of, and then more. It was a huge building, and the perfect not so little red brick urban school with the fenced in playground and garden seemed oddly nostalgic and familiar. I walked through the halls peeping into every classroom as I happily embraced the handshake of my leader and mentor for the next year. She toured me around the garden pulling a wheel barrel full of gardening supplies before we walked into a kindergarden class. (yes it gets even better folks!) Before i knew it, i was chopping up garlic shoots and raw cloves for 4 year old kids to taste and react to. “EWWWWWWWWW” … “MMMMM, yummmy” and then just some purely stunned faces. It was incredible to witness to say the least. hahaha!

I met some more important people of the school, observed some behaviours in the cafeteria during lunch hour, and spent the rest of my day there. I even took myself out to lunch in brooklyn afterwards *pats myself on the back* before i hopped on a train back towards manhattan to get to campus :)

I dried off and did some reading in my new favourite student hot spot! i found a nook! and walked myself over to the famous bobst library for my first of the series symposium entitled

Food Show – “When performance Becomes Lunch, and why we finally have an appetite for a new sort of cooking show” -

featuring panel:
DELORES CUSTER
Food Stylist

HAROLD McGEE
Author, Professor & NYTimes Columnist

FLORENT MORELLET
Restauranteur & Community Activist

SARA MOULTON
Author & TV Chef

FABIO PARASECOLI
Author & NYU Food Studies Faculty

MODERATOR:
CLARK WOLF
Food & Restaurant Consultant

Needless to say, i was giddy with joy in my seat, and completely surprised that i had a point of reference to each and every speaker up there. It made me feel so good, like i finally found where i fit in. They talked about the movements of American cuisine, on the terrifying and frustrating fact that someone with so much power like Tom Coliccio is now endorsing DIET COKE, to the influences of someone like Julia Child who actually taught cooking on tv and was entertaining while doing it, and gastronomy and questioning whether it’s really food and how it’s redefining foodie culture, and the fabrication of food as an academic subject now – YESS!

Wine & Cheese meet and greet followed, and my jaw dropped when Harold McGee was standing two feet away from me, and i dropped a tomato at that very moment which happened to roll in between his leg.
how embarassing. hahahaha

perfect time for a face to face conversation don’t you think? i jumped at the chance, plus i had to retrieve my tomato somehow…my goodness..;)
What an awesome fifteen minutes that was! drooling over the HAROLD MCGEE — “Big fan sir! You are Great! Anyone’s who’s anyone in the culinary world has read YOUR book! What do you think about…” and proceeded to pick his brain about American Food & Restaurant Culture.
WHUUUUUUUUUT.
He was welcoming, and seemed totally happy to be getting feedback from students, and i was completely inspired.

ON TOP of the great conversation was a side of yummy white and red wine, triple cream cheese on a walnut cranberry bread, farm fresh mini cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, conchord grapes, and a new friend crush to experience it all with. “Bradley, I am drunkkkk!” and I couldn’t ask for more. :)

I even got home and somehow while wine high, sauteed a beautiful fillet of swordfish for dinner with a miso balsamic honey garlic and soy dressing. *yesssss, i still gots it! skills baby skills!*

hmm,
so looks like my apprehensive shell has been shed.
and my FOODIE RESEARCH HAS TRULY BEGUN.
Thank goodness for the Green in my world, and what a wonderful day I had!
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY ;)

xoxox
May your search for the perfect bite lead you to a lifelong journey looking for love too.

happy eating,

J