Yeah, so i typed this wonderful post last night about my latest TDS experience and damn if the power did not go out in the middle of perhaps my best blog post EV-er! But i hung in there, kept typing and finished this most wonderful post. I was so proud of myself and damn was it witty. So, i go to save the thing because i was way past my bedtime and ... then... i see... internet explorer cannot connect ... YEP i forgot once again that the internet needs power! You think i would have remembered this from my 2 day power outage earlier this year, but how soon you forget. I guess i thought the internet operated on those invisible waves, like cell phones, that you can't see but continue to operate without any power. But i am here to tell you... nope... no internet without power. SOOOOOOOOOO now that i have gotten that out, lets move on...
Yesterday... another day of rain... about 36 hours of it, in fact. I realized i would be driving home not only in the dark, but also in the rain. Therefore I decided my safety was much more important than staying an extra hour at work and took it on to the house. On the way home i was i laughing about this speaker i had heard at the Decatur Book festival and her remarks about cereal resembling cat food.
Naturally by leaving work early my mind starting thinking about 1) how much trouble i could get into or 2) where i could eat! Yep that is it... Eat--- . Taqueria del Sol seemed like the perfect place since i was craving cheese dip, it is walking distance from my house and since i would be arriving in Decatur at 5:30 it would be the perfect time to descend on TDS... no line... seat at the bar guaranteed!
So, i sash-shay in trying to talk myself out the cheese dip that i know deep down i am not going to talk myself out of, and eye my spot at the bar... but i had to go to the bathroom, i had just driven for an hour. Now... take 2... walk out to eye my spot at the bar and oops, now there are only 2 seats left. I know the rules of TDS therefore i squeeze in next to the single person so when the other person leaves a couple can sit down. Whatever! Damn Taco Police...
i have no idea who i am sitting next to, all that is on my mind is cheese dip and whatever else happens to be bouncing around in my head at that moment. I am in my own world until the lady next to me orders 2 fish tacos. I would know that voice anywhere, even though i have only heard it once. Ahhh, i think my day is looking up and it certainly was worth it to leave work early. This person is none other than Atlanta food critic Christene Lauderbach. Ok, lets rewind a little bit.
When I moved to Atlanta i took it upon myself to read everything i could about Atlanta so i could learn about this big ole city i had just moved to. It seemed reasonable that i would read Atlanta Magazine and subscribe since that is cheaper than buying it each month! OF course i always turned immediately to the back and read the food/restaurant review first. I do the same thing in Creative Loafing, as well. anyway, once in while i would get around to reading the rest of the magazine, but i always read Christene Lauderbach's review first.
This year at the Decatur Book Festival(my fav festival by far) i heard CL speak (along with Warren St. John and John Edge) about Atlanta food and other stuff... It was the highlight of the festival and of course, who except me would go to a book festival to learn about food... umm humm that is me.
Most days i would have noticed her, thought about how cool it was, sat there, left, and then told my friends about it later. Kinda like i did when i sat next to Alton Brown on the plane back from Gulfport. Anyway, i am trying to get better and branch out so i mentioned something about the rain, the weather, the rain... as we were gazing at the tv. We chatted for a bit and then at the lull in the conversation i knew that was my cue, i had to take it or leave it. So! i did it... I told her i heard her at the DBF and was still laughing about her comparison of cereal to cat food. And so it began. She is a chatty cat, and a little difficult to understand sometimes due to the loudness in TDS and her still prevalent French accent. But this was still the highlight of my day and perhaps my week.
We chatted about 1. food (my fav subject) 2) piss poor planning in Atlanta (one of my top 5 fav subjects) and 3) forensic science (another fav unless it is Friday). i also learned a lot more about the Atlanta dining scene and traffic control.
What? Oh... the food. yeah i did eat. The cheese dip was good as usual. Extra creamy and tasty today. Probably because it is Tuesday and there are no leftovers (although i can't ever imagine that is the case). I also got the Shrimp Flautas, the seafood special. It was spicy but good. The more i ate the spicier it got. The seasoning on the shrimp was spicy and the sauce on top was as well. It was nothing special but sure did not keep me from cleaning my plate. I even used some of the deliciously crispy flauta shell to dip into my cheese dip. Yep right in front of Christene! Oh Well!
It is not Chris-tene. Since she is from France it is Chris-te-anne. Does not look like i expected either... Maybe she will remember me as her daughter's middle name is my first name.
Ah, i could have stayed all night, but my bladder was calling again. Oh yeah, i forgot to mention those 2 beers i had. Nevertheless i had to leave... but i want her job. Food and Critic?, my 2 favorite things! Luckily, I did not act like a crazed fan, but wouldn't it be so much fun to get paid for 2 things i love to do, already do and do so well?... Eat food and criticize, that is... I know one day i will be looking back at this post and laughing because i will be eating and criticizing for a living... somewhere, somehow! Maybe...
Happy Eating...
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