a word to the wise

once upon a time, person A mentioned to person Y that she wanted to go on a whale watching trip. person Y thought that would be a grand plan, but was also looking out for his buddy person P, who happened to be dating person A. so person Y sent person P an email suggesting that he take person A on this whale watching trip that she wanted to go on. instead of acting as if he came up with the idea himself, person P told person A that he received an email about her interest in whale watching. as a result, person P missed the opportunity to be mr. smooth with the perfect date idea and person Y was branded as *really* not wanting to go whale watching with person A. so in summary: if someone gives you a tip on where to take a date, act like you came up with the idea yourself.

cafe crawl epilogue

this event was perhaps the most challenging gastronomical event i have ever participated in. it required careful planning, an iron will, exceptional execution when the going got tough, and of course, a stomach of steel. though there were points during the crawl where obstacles got in my way (damn you "special event"!) and times when i had almost lost my will to eat, i do believe that i have emerged through this ordeal as a better and stronger man. after all, those XX extra pounds i put on have to be muscle, right? such is the price of admission for us cafe crawlers.

some tips on how to have a safe and enjoyable cafe crawl of your own:
- plan ahead. know what cafes are open for breakfast/lunch/dinner. make sure you're aware of any potential unforeseen cafe closings to maximize the number of cafes you can hit up
- go early and go often. if you arrive right when the cafe opens, you will have little to no line to wait in and it will be easier for you to get a kitchen staff member's attention to get your passport stamped.
- don't be afraid of doublelunch. embrace it. do triple or quadrauplelunch if you can handle it. there are 17 cafes and it is impossible to hit all of them in one week's time if you only visit one per meal.
- know your limits and stay within them. nobody likes a puking crawler and there's no shame in not finishing. well, really there is, but no one wants to deal with someone else's vomit.
- don't forget dessert.

cafe crawl report: day 5

breakfast: no name
contents: oatmeal waffle with maple syrup, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, sausage
notes: finished! i still wanted a little more, so i had a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon at moma afterwards.

cafe crawl report: day 4

breakfast: fourteen
contents: scrambled egg whites, sausage link, smoked salmon, egg benedict
notes: see? egg whites! i'm trying to be healthy! the hollandaise sauce was awesome.

lunch 1: pacific
contents: sweet & sour tofu, various sushi, prawn salad, catfish (pa ling sousi haeng), mango, lychee

lunch 2: euro
contents: grilled venison, lemon risotto, panko seared snapper, seafood pasta, garlic bread, bratwurst, cider poached pears, pumpkin chocolate chip cookie, kahlua rum truffle
notes: euro is one of my favorite cafes (if not the favorite). afterwards, i saw some coworkers and tried to get them to come to my next stop, but they were busy.

lunch 3: cafe 7
contents: fire cracker prawns, creole spiced chicken, mushroom/garlic/pepperoni/sausage pizza, apple crisp, vegan brownie

lunch 4: moma
contents: port cutlet, teriyaki chicken drumlets, bbq pork bahn mi, edamame salad, chai tea brulee
notes: i did not intend to do a fourth lunch today, but my coworker invited me to go eat. who am i to argue? i am considering finishing off the last two cafes today during dinner. the question is... can my stomach handle it?

dinner 1: no name
contents: nothing.
notes: i was all ready to finish the cafe crawl with the two remaining cafes, but no name is closed for a "special event". curses!

dinner 2: pintxo
contents: grouper with red onions, swiss chard, cauliflower, serrano ham/fig/goat cheese sandwich, carrot pudding
notes: i'm still hungry! cursed "special event" at no name! so much for my stretch goal of finishing within 3 days.

cafe crawl report: day 3

breakfast: oasis
contents: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, huevos rancheros.
notes: i'm full.

lunch 1: cafe 150
contents: hot dog cooked in beer, popcorn catfish, bon bon chicken, apple spice soda, popcorn cake.

lunch 2: pure ingredients cafe
contents: grilled sole with truffle, macadamia nut opah, kahlua pork, chicken quesadilla, salmon chirashi, chocolate from the chocolate block

lunch 3: lunch box
contents: italian grinder, broccoli, marinated mushrooms, circus animal cracker ice cream with black cherries, blueberries, and hot fudge.
notes: i'm very full. i don't know if i can make it... i did meet a guy here who did all 17 cafes in 2 days. he's my new hero.

dinner: charlie's
contents: mortadella sandwich, spicy argentine ribeye steak, mexican rice, raspberry chocolate chip bar
notes: only two more days to do 7 cafes. the end is within sight!

cafe crawl report: day 2

breakfast: american table
contents: belgian waffle with maple syrup.
notes: yum! except waffle iron requires two ladles of batter, rather than the one ladle that the instructions indicate

lunch 1: off the grid
contents: seafood chowder, various greens and root vegetables, fish, and vegan chocolate cake.

lunch 2: 5ive
contents: veggie cheddar soup, roasted mushrooms, grilled hangar steak, seared tuni, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate pudding.

lunch 3: plymouth rocks
contents: pork tenderloin, kale, some orange vegetable, and cranberry upside down cake
notes: hit the wall. could not finish everything on my plate as i did with the meals earlier in the day

dinner: slice
contents: strawbery mojito colada
notes: only a smoothie for dinner. easy! 5 cafes in a day! i can do this all week long!

cafe crawl

as many people know, company 'g' has quite a few cafes available for their employees to dine at. in an attempt to get people to sample all of the food available, the chefs at company 'g' have come up with a cafe crawl challenge. the challenge is to visit and eat at every cafe this week while receiving stamps for each cafe on your cafe passport to prove your dining prowess. this is a day by day report of cafe crawl activities.

day 1:
no cafes. well i did have lunch at american table, but i didn't have a cafe passport at that time, so it didn't count. doh.