Roman Edirisinghe

Here’s a video of me enjoying some interesting Japanese cuisine.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kB9Z0A7z6fU

Master Accordionist, originally uploaded by romanedirisinghe.

Last night, we got together with a bunch of Nicole’s friends at an Italian restaurant called “Il Dolce Vita,” or the sweet life. Situated in the historically Italian naighborhood of Boston’s North End, the restaurant dishes out an excellent culinary experience coupled with fine wines, live music, and exceptionally generous service, albeit at a lofty price. Glancing at the bill at the end of the night, I was quite thankful there were 10 of us to split it. Had I been dining alone, it would have amounted to a hefty car loan payment! Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself thouroughly. When the old crooning accordion player came to our table during his rounds, I scatted improvised vocal lines with him. He was so into singing that I would occasionally get sprayed with a fine mist of saliva. It was quite a blast. Really, it was. I felt like I was suddenly on the “in.” The food? Well, my scallops were excellent and slightly sweet, but I was disappointed by the shrimp, which were tougher than I expected from an expensive restaurant in a coastal city like Boston. Overall? I had a rippin’ good time, and the food was good. Bring extra money.

Lobster After, originally uploaded by romanedirisinghe.

I just got done getting stuffed on lobster with Nicole and her parents. I can barely move, and the experience was quite exciting.

We left Milwaukee this morning and had an excellent flight. I took some cloud pictures along the way. After we arrived in Boston, Nicole’s dad Richard picked us up and we drove to Cape Cod. Then, we went and bought some fresh, live lobster. After a short nap, we prepared dinner. I found out that it is most humane to dip the lobster in the boiling water head first. What you see here is the giant claw of the lobster I laid to rest. Thank you, oh wonderful, feisty lobster.

Victoria Reynolds,
“Down the Primrose Path”Originally uploaded by caterina.

Yesterday, I was napping with Nicole, when I suddenly woke up craving steak. I told her, and she looked at me like I was crazy. As I recall, I believe I had a crazed look in my eye, too. But there was no denying it. Rather than hit a restaurant, I wanted complete control over my first piece of meat in years. I wanted it to be farm-raised, free range, non-GMO, antibiotic free, and prepared by experts. So I called up my parents. My mom thought I was crazy. So did my dad. But they grudgingly agreed.

Nicole & I picked up my mom & bought the beef at the Outpost. I wasn’t even grossed out looking at the meat. I felt like eating it raw. It was rather strange, really.

When we got back, my dad started preparing the steak. We boiled potatoes and made a red cabbage salad. And the steak was excellent. I ate very slowly and thoughtfully, appreciating every bite of it. I tried to chew it really well, to make sure I wasn’t going to put my body through hell digesting it.

I survived the night with no upset stomach or vomiting. For a minute, I thought my stomach was acting up, but it was fine. It’s been a full twelve hours with no adverse effects.

I hadn’t eaten steak in years. I started being vegetarian when I was in high school. That was approximately 15 years ago. But I haven’t been strict in the least bit. I have eaten meat here and there. I’ve definitely eaten plenty of seafood over the years. Nonetheless, I’m surprised by my ability to eat red meat without being sick. A couple months ago I had some great chicken in Seattle, but my GI tract was messed up for a week. So how can I explain it? I’m not sure. But the steak was great!

I want more.

A German restaurant, Espitas, is now offering maggots on their menu: salads, cocktails, desserts, all augumented by the fine flavor of imported Mexican maggots.

Honestly, they don’t really look like maggots. They look like the special, farm-raised worms available at edible.com.

via Ananova
Also, be sure to check out the Espitas website.

I was checking out Mutant Frog Travelogue and found a post about some fascinating Chinese delicacies: scorpion, starfish and seahorse snacks. Reading it made me simultaneously cringe and ponder, “What would that taste like?” I’ll have to find out for myself. This is one of those things I would be willing to do when I launch my “pay me to travel and blog” phase of this blog. Need some more pictures for proof? I found more references here | here | here | here | here

Further perusal of the web brought many other discoveries. Interested in some exotic alcohol? I’m not talking about the tequila worm. Edible.com features some provocative items for sale, including snake vodka, scorpion vodka, and BBQ worm crisps. My stomach growls with hungry excitement.

Do you enjoy coffee and tea? I certainly do. And I would enjoy it more if it was shat out the anus of some exotic kitty, that’s for sure. Check out civet coffee, weasel coffee (vomited by weasels), and monkey-picked tea.

Nyataimori/nyotaimori is the much fabled “naked sushi” of Japanese origin. The rough translation of the word nyataimori/nyotaimori is “adorned body of a woman.”

Check it out at the Yak’s Lair

Check out a gallery of nyataimori pix

Tonight I went to Suze & Jer’s to eat some great Jamaican food, vegan style. Entrees included jerk seitan, cornbread, cabbage, rice & beans, fried plantains, and spicy condiments. Rasta, dem cook well.

My attitude today was excellent, considering I slept terribly last night (I was up until 5 am tweaking this blog). Went to Narwhal and soaked for a bit, got downright meditative. Feeling optimistic is a welcome change from the painful cloud of negativity I was walking in.

Life really does remind me of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books from the 1980’s. We make our own choices about how we live, act and react to the stimuli around us.