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July 1, 2007
It's A Green That Can Hold Its Own
On Wednesdsay, I had a lunch meeting with Edward and Susie at a favorite local eatery, the place where they already know that I'm ordering the Cobb salad with no bacon, no blue cheese, no dressing, and plain vinegar on the side. I had just gotten back from Scranton, and I was trying to fit a million things into an already packed day. MR needed some napa cabbage, and since we have only one car and I needed it all day, I was in charge of going to the store to grab the napa.
So we sit down to read the menu at restaurant and I see that another dish features napa cabbage.
"I wonder," I wonder out loud, "if they'd let me buy a head of napa cabbage from the kitchen."
Edward starts to shake his head. "No, no you can't," he says. "You can not ask for a head of napa cabbage."
"Why not?" I ask. "It's not like I'm asking for a gift. I'd be happy to pay a fair market price for the cabbage."
"If you do that," he says, "I am going to tell everyone that I am not with you."
Susie is giggling at this point.
"Edward, what are you going to do? Ask the restaurant to call security and have me removed from your table?"
"Why do you like napa cabbage so much anyway?" asked Susie, attempting to avert a fight by changing the subject to nutrition.
"It's a green that can hold its own," said I. "It's pleasantly crunchy, and it's strong enough that you can use it in place of a cracker in an appetizer.
"And," said Edward, repeating a line that he uses often in discussions of food, but that every once in awhile accurately describes reality, "It's a great source of zinc."
Truth be told, it's not a super super great source of zinc, but it's low in copper while high in zinc, which is important for zinc/copper balance.
So there you go.
The moral of the story is: sometimes you have to compromise to maintain the peace on the job. Like the elusive zinc/copper balance, there's a balance between unusual food behavior (like asking for the dressing on the side, or asking the chef to hold certain ingredients) and goofiness that will send your co-workers right round the bend. I strive for balance, and usually I hit it right. There's CR in the real world: it's not easy but it can be done. Then there's attempting to buy napa cabbage from a chef, which is not at all necessary for CR and is downright bizarre behavior. But you'd have to admit, it makes a funny story.
Posted by april at July 1, 2007 11:28 AM
Comments
You are, most definitely, just a little bit outrageous. You've left us all hanging, though -- did you actually get the cabbage?? Happy Canada Day to MR, BTW! MoMR
Posted by: Judith at July 1, 2007 9:51 AM
Indeed, I am also guilty of abnormal food behaviour and goofiness. You are not alone!
On the rare occasions I have to eat out at posh work-do's, I dissect the sandwiches (eat the middle and leave the bread), and eat only the garnishes (parsley and tomatoes usually). I get really weird looks from other accountants :-)
Posted by: Lindsay at July 1, 2007 1:11 PM
Hi April
I'm wondering if you bought the nappa cabbage also. I once went to a super high end dinner atop a ski resort mountain, courtesy of our client, where we were served a 7 course meal. You were taken up there in a motorized sled. The soup and the bread (I know it's not CR-like to eat the bread - but this was an unusual potato-bread) was out of this world. I only asked to take the leftover bread from my table home. They smiled politely, but I never left with it. You'd think that for a dinner costing $120 per person I should have been able to take leftover bread with me.
Cheers,
Arturo
Posted by: Arturo at July 2, 2007 8:51 PM