Eating Out

This rarely happens. I swear. And when it does (which it hasn't in at least four years), I normally end up feeling very sick.

That's right. I ate out four days in a row. And then one more time.

How is this possible for someone who tries not to go out for food in general (it's expensive and I have no control over the kitchen...and fast food nauseates me)? But it's easy: you get started, and then your friends can't stop. And you're stuck on the band wagon with them.

Here follows the epic saga with a brief synopsis of the week in food--and how I survived.

Monday: Hungry Howie's
The only reason I ate here was because Ian wanted wings and the Wing Stop is next door. Not that I dislike Hungry Howie's--their pizza is actually pretty good. But the thing that really drew me in was the Howie Bread. It's delicious, comes in small pieces so you feel less guilty about eating them until you realize you've eaten half the box, and it's...tasty. The pizza itself is pretty basic, cheese of course, with garlic herb crust. Not recommended for leftovers--the cheese and sauce get nasty after they've been in the fridge. Howie Bread on the other hand, excellent for a week afterwards. Especially with ranch dressing.

Tuesday: Sushi Ten
Cheaper than Takamatsu but with a similar selection. I used to love going here (all of twice, albeit) because for $9 you could get edamame, a salad (requested vegetarian of course), California rolls, soup, tea and a huge entree. Since new owners took over, the great deals have gone away and I decided to stick with sushi this time around. I got the avocado roll and veggie roll. Both came with eight pieces, but they were teeny-weenie little pieces. Yes, cheaper than Takamatsu, but also much less food for the price. I guess that means the sushi is easier to eat with chopsticks for those who are new at it (as I'll admit I was about a year ago).

Wednesday: Rocco's Little Chicago
As I've said in a previous post, the food is good. We went for Wednesday night wings, which I can't eat. So I got a deep dish 9-inch cheese pizza. It was good. I ate two-thirds of it, and it was huge. And soooo good.

Thursday: Zona 78
The first time I ate here, three long years ago, I had a salad. I'm not sure what I was thinking--the pizza crust is delicious. I met an old pal for pizza and wine. We both had margherita pizzas. It wasn't quite what I was expecting--instead of chopped tomato covering the cheese, there were whole slices of tomato. Still tasty, though. Natalie ordered a pinot noir and I ordered a shiraz. Everyone seemed happy with their choice. We also finished off the meal with an apple tart with vanilla gelato. Split two ways it was just enough, and quite invigorating to the tastebuds--crispy, soft, cold, hot, sweet, spicy. Yum.

Saturday: Ted's Country Store and Brooklyn Pizza
For a late lunch/early dinner Ian took me to this new place on Glenn we discovered. A bit pricey, but convenient by bicycle. I had the vegeterian club--it was basically a mass of sprouts and chopped carrots sandwiched into three pieces of a very light rye. There was a slice of cheese somewhere on the bottom, next to the cucumbers and mayonnaise. There could have been more cheese. It was refreshing, though.
And then, at the RockBand party of the evening, I had pizza for the fourth time in one week. Eeee. But it was surprisingly good for a fourth time in one week. Just nothing extraordinary to note. It was cheese, it was hot. Rocco's was definitely better.

I am now set on cooking for myself, as is my usual habit, for the next five months to make up for all the past week's eating out. After we eat at the Melting Pot tomorrow, anyway.