November 22, 2010 8:30 PM

Good evening!

This is a remote post, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet!

On Thursday night, we ended up going to "Portofino Bistro" for dinner, and I paid for everything except tip. They were pretty understanding about my vegan-ism, and I got spaghetti with grilled vegetables and LOADS of olive oil. I had some stuffed mushrooms (garlic and oil) for an appetizer, and the boys didn't eat it. All for me!

Mike didn't go - he had some kind of project to do. I felt a little bad, but it was his choice. They boys told him that I was paying, so he could have come if he wanted to.

On Friday, I got to work a little early and unlocked the building except for the front doors. I sat patiently and waited until (at exactly 7:29 AM) my supervisor walked in. Then he unlocked the front doors, and I worked as a desk assistant. For those of you who aren't familiar with the library system, there are only so many supervisor hours and multiple supervisors. Sometimes, we have to work as a regular student staff member just to fill our hours while another person 'supes'.

As soon as I got off work, I gave Tony and Jersey a call - they were on their way! I waited out back of the library and got picked up ASAP! Then I grabbed my luggage out of the apartment, said good-bye to Margie, and we were on the road! I spent most of the car ride asleep, though I did eat two bags of original Sun Chips.

We got to Tony's house just after his mom had left for the gym, so we played cards while we waited for her to come home. Then we ordered Chinese food, and his dad picked it up on the way home from work. I really like his parents, and they really are the stereotypical American family. His little brother wasn't there, but we still had fun.

After dinner, we played Jenga, cards, and watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail (again). Not in that order, of course. His parents went to bed before Monty Python, and we were pretty dead after the movie ended. I got the guest bedroom, Jersey got his brother's room, and Tony slept on an air-mattress on the floor of his bedroom (since his bed is in Rochester).

The next morning we got up, ate (oatmeal with almonds, walnuts, cranberries, and brown sugar), and went to catch the bus to NYC! Jersey and I got in around noon, but we spent a bit waiting for Ann to arrive from her 'casa' in NJ. Then we went to Korea-town and found a restaurant that had the same name as our favorite ROC place - Seoul Garden!!

It was on the second floor of a building, and it took a little while to find it. Once we did, we were seated immediately. Our banchan (small appetizers used to flavor the meal) was brought out - pickled daikon, bean sprouts, kim chi, some fish, and something that looked like it had mayo in it. And then he put a raw egg (still in the shell) in a small bowl and placed it on our table. We were a little unnerved, and it took a while to determine that, yes, that was a raw egg. Jersey ate most of the fish, and he tried a little of the mayo stuff and didn't eat much after that.

We ordered our main dishes - Ann got a traditional bibbim bap with no egg, I got a kim chi one, and Jersey got a veggie and tofu stew. All of our food was vegan. I tried it all - Ann had many traditional vegetables in hers, some of which we couldn't identify. Mine was only bean sprouts and kim chi (which was a little disappointing) but very good. I got to eat a lot of veggies from Ann's dish. Jersey's was very good, and I was very pleased when he couldn't finish and I got his leftovers. Ann ate everything she wanted to, and then I devoured the rest (mushrooms included!). Ann and I also got miso soup with our meals since Koreans are big on the idea of soup, rice, and entree for every meal. When the waitress brought our check, she also brought along some orange slices, and they were very sweet. Overall, it was a good experience - however, I like the ROC one more, mostly because their bibbim bap is the same size and about $5 cheaper. Also, we get more banchan with the ROC location.

The idea behind banchan is a favorite of mine - basically, each bite should taste a little different so you never get bored of your meal. It also helps to balance bitter and sour, mild and spicy, and savory with sweet. As you eat your meal, you can nibble at bits of banchan to clear the flavor off your tongue and then your next bite tastes fresh and different. At the end of every meal, I tend to devour the banchan with the remaining white rice.

There was a guy who looked like Conan O'Brien in the restaurant (the only other white person), and he was seated two tables back from us. I was positioned directly in front of him, and I swear he was staring at me the whole time. Probably was just staring off in a random direction thinking about other things, but it was still a little unnerving. Ann and Jersey loved turning around and looking at him. He really really looked like Conan.

I think I'll continue this story at some other time - this is a good stopping place for now! You'll hear more about Saturday, Sunday, and Monday when I post next!

Instead of having dessert tonight, have some fruit and maybe a mug of warm tea or coffee. Don't add milk or sugar though, and revel in the contrast of sweet and bitter!