What I Ate Wednesday #81: Sake to Me!

Posted on April 9, 2014 by BarrAndTable

I lied. We didn’t actually have any sake [because the happy hour beers did us in before dinner] but that was a much more clever title than anything I could come up with using yakitori.. thoughts? Anywho, Friday night Nathan and I had dinner at Ippuku, a traditional Japanese Yakitori restaurant. We wandered in there after dinner a couple weeks ago and knew we had to check it out.

We were seated in our own little nook.

And they immediately brought out a cabbage wedge with Japanese mayo. Nothing crazy but I always love a good crunch. And as Nathan noted, much healthier than the fried wontons that typically come out a Chinese restaurant.

And we noticed this little sign..

Note the “…poultry (including chicken)…” in that warning. They serve chicken tartare. We were not that adventurous.

We did, however, ask the waitress for recommendations when we were ordering. She happened to be from Japan and told us that this was the most authentic yakitori she’s had since coming to the states. That’s always what we want to hear!

We started the meal with shiitake mushroom skewers. I’ve been really digging the meatiness of mushrooms lately and the light grill flavor offset the earthy flavor of the mushrooms well.

Next up, we shared the chicken thigh and leek yakitori. There was a light teriyaki-style glaze on them which gave them good flavor but not too heavy.

Beef tongue. Ever had it? It might have been my favorite dish of the night. It was grilled nice and tender, not too chewy. And I don’t think it could taste me [ha!]

The squab was by far Nathan’s favorite. It was absolutely delicious and the skin definitely made it. Grilling really does make everything better.

We finished up with chicken ramen, traditionally served at the end of the meal. It was salty but very light and tasty. I grabbed a couple pieces of chicken and put them on my plate to soak up some of the grill flavor from the other dishes. It was a good idea!

This was a really fun meal. I love being able to share a bunch of dishes with Nathan so we can taste and discuss together. We’re planning on going back and trying more soon; Nathan’s got his sights set on the squab again and I’m definitely going to try the whole grilled squid! And maybe next time we’ll save ourselves for some sake.

Food for Thought

Have you had traditional yakitori?
Do you like small plates that you can share or do you prefer a full entree?

Breaking Routine

Posted on January 21, 2014 by BarrAndTable

People tell you to find a routine that works for you. One that you know you’ll stick to. That’s how you become successful, right? I found my routine. I was successful. And then I moved across the country and everything was thrown out the window.

Oh hey, Cali 🙂

I noticed that I was taking advantage of the hotel meals and drinks that I wouldn’t normally have and things were slowly creeping up on me. And when I say me, I mean my waistline. Not to mention, being in a new place and wanting to explore the areas and amazing restaurants proved to be irresistible. It stressed me out and I was seriously craving routine.

Holy ramen!

I was afraid of what my scale would show after almost 9 weeks away from it. It’s crazy, I know. I figured I would unpack our boxes, push the scale aside, and wait a couple weeks until I felt more comfortable. I opened up the first box and there it was. Go freaking figure. But I did as I had hoped; I put it away and forgot about it. Honestly, I had too much crap around me to concern myself with a piece of plastic to stand on.

What’s great about routine is that when you break one, you can create a new one. As we were getting settled in our new place, I found my new routine. And after less than a week of getting back to my real oatmeal breakfasts, huge salads for lunch, and home-cooked dinners, I also found myself feeling much more comfortable in my skin again. I felt good and I wanted to get past the scale anxiety.

Kale Cabbage Sugar Snap Peas Tomatoes Carrots Roasted Corn Hemp Seed Sriracha Avocado Honey Mustard

Helloooooooo big salads!

Now, what’s funny about routine, is that sometimes you just need to break it. Everyone says you should shake it up a bit every now and then. I honestly believe that from spending almost 2 months of eating differently, my body completely readjusted. Less than a week of my old “norm” and my body went right back too. Hell of an idea, right? The number that I saw last Tuesday was the same number that I saw 2 months ago before I packed that baby up!

There’s been a lot of talk about not setting New Year’s resolutions, but having a word to set the tone for the year. I decided my word would be trust. I need to learn to trust myself more. I need to learn to listen to my body more. And if there is one thing that these past couple months have taught me, it’s that my body truly does know what’s best. Want a sandwich? Eat a sandwich. Want a couple fries? Steal them from Nathan’s plate 😉 Craving some ice cream? Get. Some damn. Ice cream.

Worth it.

Knowing that I’m making healthy decisions everyday when I go to the gym, eat my protein oats, have a huge salad, and load up on veggies with my dinner makes it that much easier to enjoy a treat every now and then. I’ve been reading other blogs and people have been coming to this realization every single day. Everyone just need to make that realization in their own time and I’m glad my time found me.