On the Black Market

Last night, K picked me up from work and as we worked our way away from my office, I subtly suggested that a plan for dinner that didn’t involve either of us cooking or cleaning might be a really good idea. (I believe that went something like: “I don’t want to have to cook or clean. Can we go somewhere?”) This impulsive foolishness was brought on, in no small part, by the knowledge that our respective employers owed each of us hefty reimbursement checks which had taken a dent out of our previous month’s budget (although I’m pleased to say that our credit cards continue to gather dust…)

I couldn’t remember where I’d heard about Black Market Bistro, but I’m sure glad I did hear about it. We wound our way through a quiet neighborhood in Garrett Park, MD (where we would love to buy a home one day, should we happen to experience a windfall in the six digit range…), and came across this so-charming-I-could-spit bistro in a restored Victorian home, right next to the very teeny and unassuming Garret Park commuter rail stop. Every so often a train would roll by, but it really just seemed to add ambiance, so we didn’t pay it any mind. We walked in, and it was busy, which we took to be a good sign since it was only a Tuesday night. We were promptly seated and opened our menu.

This is where the dilemma began. Everything just looked so good. I mean so good. Then the waiter came and told us the specials. Damn him. That made it harder. We eventually settled on a cup of butternut squash soup (K), a cup of tomato basil soup (me), we split an order of their fried green tomatoes, K got grilled tuna with white beans and some delicious sauce, and I got pork tenderloin with apple slaw, braised red cabbage, and a crispy sweet potato cake. (As I said to K, they had me at “crispy sweet potato cake”.)

The soup was delicious. I am a huge fan of tomato soup, and I have to say – that did not suck at all. It was savory, with an intense tomato flavor, and just the right amount of basil. I had previously had an underwhelming experience with fried green tomatoes at a place in DC, so I didn’t get the fuss. Well, these were different – they were lightly breaded and obviously fried quickly, because the coating was light and crisp, not remotely greasy, and the tomatoes themselves were still firm and juicy. That was served with a Maytag bleu cheese slaw and a tomato puree.

That didn’t suck, either.

We were already pretty sure that we’d made a good choice for dinner, and our entrees really didn’t disappoint. K’s tuna was perfectly done, moist (ech – I hate that word) and tender, and complimented perfectly by the bean dish served with it. The pork tenderloin was perfectly done, and wonderfully balanced by the cabbage and the slaw, which was very light. And that sweet potato cake. Oh. My. Gosh. I could eat one every day for the rest of my life. Really. I’d probably get fat, but with all that beta carotene from the sweet potatoes, I’d have excellent vision. Lots of fiber there, too. So really, it’s like eating a salad. A delicious, crispy, sweet potato-y salad.

We were full, but I’d already heard the words “pumpkin cheesecake” bandied about, so we decided to peruse the dessert menu and possibly take something home with us to have later. However, the waiter informed us of other words, like “dark cherry chocolate bread pudding” and “ginger spice cake”. So we decided that would be the way to go, and after a wonderfully satisfying meal, we headed home. About an hour later, our desserts were everything we’d hoped, and I have to say that Black Market Bistro has definitely climbed onto our “go-to” list. It’s kind of out of the way, but it’s definitely worth the trek.

Niche

I’m not really sure how this ever happened, but the one subject in school that I never really liked is now something that people keep asking me to do at work. It started out with me figuring out how to do it for a particular project. The project was simple enough, so I was able to pull it together. Not a huge deal. Well, then people kept asking me to do it, the projects have been getting more and more complicated, and I still really don’t like this subject. What’s more, I’m far from an expert! And since these projects have been getting more complicated, although I make sure my analysis is correct, usually with the help of some gracious colleagues who actually are experts in this stuff, it is so much harder than it needs to be. And I am SO SICK of doing this, but now some people are likely to think it’s the only thing I can do, which is absurd, because my skill set is completely different! I’m mostly thinking of this now because I’ve got to do this particular analysis for four major projects all due in the next two weeks, and some of them are going in a different direction from the ones I’m used to, so I am now even MORE lost, and really flying blind. It’s frustrating, because I like my work to be good, not just good enough. But I’ve totally been stuffed into this one niche that I never wanted to occupy in the first place. So while I still really like the people I work with, it is making me really not like what I've been doing at work. It’s taken a bit of the wind out of my “let’s be positive and just enjoy where we are now” sails.

I suppose this is just further underlining the need I have for a change…

On the plus side, however, my boss was telling me about how a friend of his once did an arrangement of “Amazing Grace” to the tune of the theme from “Gilligan’s Island”. It fits really well, actually, and totally made me laugh.

By contrast

I know that some of us gearing up for the France trip are a little nervous - is everything going to come together? Will we butcher the French language? Will we manage to connect with people?

Well kids, if this guy can get an "amen" after butchering a song in his own language, we shouldn't have anything to worry about.

All I'm sayin'.