Hedonism

At Least I'm Not Eating Lube

Seems, as I was catching up on my reading, I came across this article in Wired pointing out some of the more interesting chemicals that make up Cool Whip. For the record, i'm a little bit disturbed by the crap that is generally used in most commercially available foodstuffs such as these. I don't do Spam (i'm going to try to avoid linking to that site for the rest of my blogging life. I've had it with that junk...), Hamburger/Tuna/Chicken Helper, Shake and Bake, the list goes on. I like to use actual ingredients when I cook or bake or whatever. However, to be perfectly frank, this is perhaps one of the funniest and simultaneously disturbing list of ingredients that i've been informed of...

Polysorbate 80- Any idea what that is? Sure, click on the link and learn that it is an eye irritant. I guess that means not to put Cool Whip in one's eye. However, it's also an ingredient in some sexual lubricants. For example, K-Y- purified water, propylene glycol, sorbitol, polysorbate 80, Natrosol 250H, benzoic acid, methylparaben, and vitamin E. There is soooo much I want to add to this. But i'm pretty sure there isn't anything I could state that someone isn't already thinking.

Sorbitan Monostearate- The fact that this ingredient comes with an admonition to minimize contact and a mention that it's combustible should be enough to deter many folks... The fine chemical engineers at the Cool Whip factory thought, "Hey! Look at this shit! I bet we can use it in Cool Whip to keep it from liquefying!" Some other guy probably realized this stuff is used in hemorrhoid cream and hollered back, "Tony, isn't that the same junk in your tube of Preparation H? You sure we should use this stuff?" I guess he did. It might help with those annoying puffy eye issues. I'm not trying it, though. That polysorbate 80 is an eye irritant.

In short, although it is really easy to take the route of ease and not bother to make things oneself, a little bit of "Screw this, I can do this myself"ness is a good thing. No, one doesn't have to confit duck for cassoulette, however, it's not that difficult to make something like whipped cream. Especially since most of the legwork's already been done. Grab a container of heavy (or whipping) cream, add a little bit of sugar or some other flavoring, beat the shit out of it with a whisk, beater, wooden spoon et viola! Real, honest-to-goodness whipped cream!!!

And for the record, this stuff is far better than that crap out of the water held together and flavored through chemistry...

Fishy

I went to Atlanta for my birthday. It was a gift for my birthday from L. and it included a trip to Turner Field to watch my old hometown team play the team that is located in what I now consider home. The game itself was filled with dissonance for me. I wanted to watch the Braves take the day, but I also really wanted the Sox to win. That will be covered in my other blog, as this is a food and drink blog and that's all about everything else that interests me. 

We stayed with an old pal of mine and for my birthday dinner, we decided to go to MF Sushi on Ponce de Leon. It's short for Magic Fingers, which made all of us laugh, I guess that is why they only bothered with the initials.

I love sushi, it's really one of my all time favorite things in the world as far as dining options are concerned. Of course, having worked for Oishii Boston has created a monster in regards to how I feel about sushi. I'm most certainly now a sushi snob. I look at the Maguro when I walk into a sushi bar and immediately know if the food is worth eating. It's cool to know what to look for; but it's also a bit of a pain in the ass. I know what to look for, that means that i'm looking, i'm not just sitting back and enjoying the ride. So, again, I have taken something that I love and kinda' ruined it for myself. Not to mention people who dine out with me.

That being said; I completely enjoyed my experience at MF Sushi. When we walked in, we were greeted by the dimly lit, electronica background music interior that has pretty much become ubiquitous in the upscale, trendy restaurant scene. So, no real surprises there. The Greeter was congenial and quite pleasant, allowing us to decide whether we wanted to wait for a seat at the sushi bar or be seated at a table. Not wanting to wait, as we were all a little too hungry, we opted for a table. Nice little table, located close to a wall, so it felt like a booth, and far enough away from other diners that we didn't feel crowded. On the table was the Soy Sauce container, holding full strength soy, so one has to ask for low-sodium. Since i've pretty much ended my relationship with soy, it wasn't really a big deal for me. (I stopped using it during a detox and got used to using the pickled ginger juice as the means of wasabi dissolving)

We ordered a baked Scallop appetizer to get us started, thinking that it would take longer to get our sushi/sashimi/maki, as the place was pretty full. Of course, as was sometimes the case at Oishii, my old sushi gig, there was really no way to determine what was going to happen and the wait for the hot food was marginally longer than the wait for the negiri and maki.

Fortunately for them, the food was good. And they had fresh wasabi, to boot. When I worked at Oishii, one of the relative banes of my server existence was when I had to grab the old-school, shark-skin wasabi grater and slowly break the root down into a paste. The difference it makes when eating the food, though, is not to be missed. One of my companions had never had fresh wasabi and it was a pleasure to introduce him to it.

I ordered Akagai, but was told that they were out, but they did have Mirugai. I have to say, it was good. I ordered it as sashimi to really get the taste of the clam as opposed to the sweet, vinegary opposition of the sushi rice. I tried, but couldn't, to get either of my fellow diners to try it. It was tasty, slightly chewy and sweet. Good, fresh stuff. The fish itself was all fresh and good. I'm not a fan of the fatty stuff, but the Sake was buttery and soft, the Maguro bright and just chewy enough, the Saba, though, was my favorite. One of the reasons that I tend to stay away from Saba is less it's fishiness, more it's tough and unyeilding chewiness. I've always had Saba that's sorta' tough and unpleasant. This place somehow managed to get the best, softest Saba i've ever had. I would go back just for the Saba.

For those who are interested, there is a full bar, but the wine list is nice and the Sake menu is certainly better than average. It would be hard to not find something that would fit any palate.

The next time i'm in the ATL, i'm planning on going back. The best part is, being on Ponce de Leon, it's only a short drive from MF Shushi to The Clermont, Hoedowns or The Star Bar for a quick lap-dance, line-dance, or slam-dance. In that order.