day 24: Be seen
Today was Day 24 of #mybuffetyear. Have you ever recorded yourself eating at a fancy restaurant? Acting a foo and acting like a food blogger? On my coaching call yesterday I was challenged by the stallion Matthew Allyn to record myself at various points throughout dinner. Here is why. Buffet Year is about a new experience, activity, or hobby that pushes you out of your comfort zone. He asked what is uncomfortable about eating at the best restaurant in town. Touché Matthew. However, I will say Buffet Year is also about breaking your habits and routines. Our routine date nights usually revolve around staying in our neck of the woods and going to 1 of 3 places in our local food desert. Tonight we went to Bar La Grassa in North Loop which offers Italian cuisine.
I want to tell you about my experience recording myself and the slight uncomfortableness that came up for me. First, let’s talk about the food. Bree and I were super hungry for our 5:30 pm dinner reservation. We had a Fit Crunch Bar and some frozen burrito that was 300 calories around breakfast/lunch prior to our reservation. Since we have never been to Bar La Grassa and probably won’t be back in the foreseeable future we went all out. We ordered the spiced carpaccio bruschetta and the soft eggs and lobster bruschetta. The spiced carpaccio was the staff favorite but I guess people come from all over for the soft eggs and lobster bruschetta. Both were absolutely delicious. 10 out of 10 highly recommend.
Then for pasta dishes, we ordered the gnocchi with cauliflower & orange and then the smoked spaghetti alla chitarra with brown butter & lobster. Both of those dishes were also very good. The smoked spaghetti had a little spice to it but didn’t really affect someone like me who enjoys the heat. Once again Bree picked out the better dish. The gnocchi was so good. Probably the best gnocchi I’ve ever had. It was glazed and had just the right amount of orange zest. Yummy! We started to get super full. We have a good amount of leftovers especially since we wanted to try the dessert menu since we don’t drink alcohol right now. Bree had the salted caramel crespelle and I had the gjetost cheesecake. I enjoyed mine but I didn’t love it.
Now I have to address how I was feeling when I was recording myself. It was uncomfortable but it wasn’t too bad. We were pretty much-sitting shoulder to shoulder with tables next to us. I damn near could have put my arm around the guy or gal sitting on the side of me. There was only enough space for a skinny server to step between tables to drop a plate off or fill a glass. So it was awkward for sure. I felt like the lady next to me was looking at me when I would do it, but I don’t know maybe it was all in my head. What if it is just a head game? I have judged myself and shamed myself through various points in my life. We live in this world of comparison. That’s never going to stop. People are going to judge us in the moment, but I bet last night and even today the memory of the guy recording himself eating has long faded away.
After Bar La Grassa, I went to Indeed Brewing to have a THC seltzer. The High Fiver has 5 mg of THC and is super delicious but is $7 a can. It’s a novelty but I decided it’s too much and I’m looking forward to being done with those except on a rare occasion. My wife challenged me to make a video on the patio of Indeed. I was a chicken shit. Then she challenged me to make a video in the parking lot by the Revival Food Truck. I didn’t want to do it, but I did it. I don’t feel like it’s the best video I’ve ever made but I took action and flexed that muscle. I definitely judge myself. After shooting the video I said, “That’s weird.”
Maybe it is weird. This is a message to you as much as it is a message to myself. Be weird. Hop on the good foot and do the weird thing. Do you know what’s also kind of weird? People scrolling on their phones and not living life. We are addicted to our phones. You might see someone like me out in public recording themself and casting judgment. However, in the confines of your room, you can’t wait to pull your phone out and scroll when you really should be getting those zzzs. Scrolling is the new smoking. I’m guilty. I want to do more living and less scrolling. Let your freak flag fly!
