Noming (Sort of) Heals All

As I type this I know I'm going to sound like such a fat kid, but hear me out -- right now food means so much more to me than just eating. Right now, it's an experience, a thing I can do to be surrounded by people, something that will excite me if only temporarily, something to bring my family together, something to take my mind off of the totally awful break up I'm going through right now. Le sigh.

I can't help but roll my eyes at myself. I know this sounds like an alternative chapter to the eat portion of Eat, Pray, Love, but hey it's a personal food blog - personal and food are right there in the name.

Eating out has always been one of my favorite things to do. I love getting people together, getting them a few drinks, and seeing what sort of interesting conversations come up. I love looking at new menus and seeing how different ingredients are put together. Eating out is always one big puzzle with cool, crazy pieces that ultimately fit together to make a great shared experience.

It's also the perfect distraction.


Akasha

So when I got home, one of the first things I did was get my mom, brother, and a few friends to this place called Akasha in Culver City. Akasha is a typical LA restaurant - beautiful eclectic decor and feel good sustainable ingredients (even some of the alcohol was organic).

Since my stomach is still feeling the break up a bit more than I'd like, I decided to order a few small dishes. Best way to try more anyway. I started with a farm beet salad with manchego cheese, arugula, and pickled shallots, and then followed that up with artichoke frites with mint raita, tomato chutney, and a grilled lemon. And then I also had a few bites of skillet macaroni & cheese made with gruyere and cheddar, and then sprinkled with bread crumbs. Hey, what better time to eat comfort food? Needless to say, it was all amazing. So amazing, I forgot to take pictures. Oops.

The next day for lunch I decided to hit up one of the restaurants on my LA wish list from before - Gjelina. Of course, I did have to overlook the fact that this was one of my favorite restaurants to go to with my boyfriend. But hey, food comes first and I am not giving this place up.

Here is a look at the nomness I had there:


Cured meats with pickles and mustard


Escarole with sunchoke, smoked almond, lemon preserve & parmesesan and parsnips with salsa verde


Butterscotch pot de creme with salted caramel w/ creme fraiche

So what's the moral here? I'm not sure there is one. Break ups are hard, and as many times as you go through them, they really never get easier. But for me, focusing on the little things that make me happy like food and friends is what's going to get me through. Plus, foodies need to be far more creative than taking to a pint of ice cream ;)

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.