Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 67: How Could Anyone Finish That?
This exchange between Mr. Kuban (serving as acting food photographer) and me graphically illustrates how far this serious eater has come in 67 weeks.
We were sitting at the bar at Kefi eating our final meal before I had to write the review. Our server brought over a beautiful bubbling casserole dish filled with tangy, creamy, wonderful macaroni and cheese (above).
I ate a couple of forkfuls. Damn, it was good. I turned to Señor Kuban and said without a touch of irony or self-awareness, "How could anyone eat all that?"
Kuban smiled that devilish half-grin of his and replied, "That's not what the old Ed Levine would have said. The old Ed Levine would have finished that sucker and asked for more. This is 'Papacito' talking."
He was right, of course. Kuban usually is. Of course some things never change, nor would I want them to. Let me tell you about the pit stop we made before we hit Kefi.
We stopped at the uptown Shake Shack to photograph the Lumbershack (above). We ordered the Lumbershack, and Kuban, never one to pass up a Shake Shack cheeseburger, ordered one with pickles and onions. Damn, that sounded good, I thought to myself. "Make that two," I told the woman at the register, "and make mine rare."
I then noticed the sign for the hot dogs with pickled ramp relish and ordered one of those, and for good measure I added a custard with vanilla-poached rhubarb.
I took a couple of bites of the Lumbershack: Fantastic! The pickled ramp dog: Amazing. Two spoonfuls of the vanilla poached rhubarb custard: Creamy and sweet-tart. Finally, two bites of my burger, which, by the time I bit into it, was medium-rare (how nice, because the Shake Shackers do not permit ordering their burgers cooked that way).
So here's the question, serious eaters: Did I pose the "How could anyone eat all that" question because I truly felt that way or because I had already had at least a light lunch at Shake Shack?
I guess the answer is it's a little bit of both. Our Shake Shack foray probably did fill me most of the way up, and that portion of mac and cheese is too big for me to eat these days, because A) it is too much food for me (or anyone else for that matter) and B) because I would feel so guilty in doing so.
I guess that's the way I roll these days, or should I say that's the way I eat—seriously but reasonably. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?
The Weigh-In
Let's see if I can put the scale where my mouth is. These last 19 pounds are going to come off slowly. I understand that. I would like to see some progress this week, Shake Shack, Kefi and all. 219. Damn. Same as last week. The same as the two weeks before that. Next stop, 218. Tune in next week.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
16 Comments:
Usually whenever I hear, "How could anyone finish all of that?", it comes after I just devoured a something far too big for any one person to eat :P
pastry262 at 8:51AM on 05/15/09
Your post points out the reason that I believe a lot of Americans are overweight - portion control (or lack thereof).
It is hard for many reasons not to 'finish the whole thing'. Perhaps the hardest is that our brains are wired to pack on the pounds when the food is available so that we can survive the lean times, but many fortunate Americans will never know lean times.
thomassweet at 9:28AM on 05/15/09
When I went through airport security the checker spent the longest time examining my driver's license, finally I volunteered "I lost weight" and he nodded his head and let me go.
Down 42 pounds since August 5, 2008. Been trying to lose the last 10 for a while now, progressing at about 1/2 pound a week on average.
redfish at 9:47AM on 05/15/09
While I admire the emphasis on portion control, and I think the ability to know when to stop eating is something that a lot of Americans need to learn (or relearn), your post raises another problem for me: what do you do with all the extra food?
It seems wasteful to me to order four different things from the Shake Shack, knowing that a) you will only take one or two bites of each and b) you will be going out to eat afterwards. What happens to all that food that you didn't eat? I fully understand the desire to try lots of different things, but as my mother would say, there are starving people in the world. Wouldn't it be better to just order one thing at a time? It's not as if the Shake Shack will be disappearing any time soon.
salthands at 9:56AM on 05/15/09
Wait, so what happened to those unbitten leftover pieces of fooooooooooooood
Grace Kang at 10:00AM on 05/15/09
@thomassweet: I agree about the large portion sizes.
The last time I ventured beyond the 49th parallel into Seattle, three of us split one entree "open faced sandwich" (two of the diners were even perma-hungry guys).
Said open faced sandwich involved two thick slices of bread each topped with 3 quarter-inch slices of turkey and a lot of melted cheese. Then a mountain of mashed potatoes and gravy on one side, and some sauteed veg on the other.
Tasty, but the portion size was ridiculous.
milkytea at 10:00AM on 05/15/09
Give the leftovers to Kuban?
greenolivemedia at 10:03AM on 05/15/09
Give the leftovers to Kuban?
greenolivemedia at 10:04AM on 05/15/09
I'm surprised you ask, "How could anyone finish that" in refrence to the mac and cheese yet for lunch you had hot dog, cheeseburger, custard, and mac and cheese. If I were on a serious diet, I'd be asking a different question.
codasco at 10:21AM on 05/15/09
You should be commended for being able to losing ANY weight at all with your job. So kudos to you...and keep it going.
arm1970 at 11:26AM on 05/15/09
@greenolivemedia Giving it to Adam should not be the answer. :)
NYminknit at 2:18PM on 05/15/09
I've lost a lot of woeght too, and since havhad to put some of it back on (by dietician's orders) and I just kind of think it's funny how food can seem so big and sacry when you're dieting hut on a cold day you could gobble that casserole of mac n cheese up in five minutes and still have room for dessert
foodieteen at 3:55PM on 05/15/09
@codasco: I was with Ed—he ate only bites of each thing at each place. He really does have some amazing will power.
@greenolivemedia: I only had bites of the stuff at Kefi. I was not into the mac and cheese there. But the Greek meze spreads was/were awesome.
Adam Kuban at 7:16PM on 05/15/09
Ed...keep it up. A lifestyle change is never easy....I know..I quit smoking 3 months ago after 22 years. After reading this post I had to try the pickled ramp relish hot dog so I went today..thanks for the tip....Fantastic!!
pickled at 7:54PM on 05/15/09
I'm going to have to second the "what happened to the leftovers?" question. I'm constantly aware of how much food I'm eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and luckily I've managed to fit the rare treat from Shake Shack into the plan! But I always go with a friend to share my food, and we order only one or two things at a time. Reading about how you left all that food behind, and ordered in such gluttonous portions, is a little disappointing given how far you've come with your dieting. Portion control isn't really JUST about eating one or two bites of hugely fattening things - it's also about finding wholesome, healthy foods of which you can eat a TON and still lose weight. It sometimes feels like a cheat that you still eat (or post about eating) foods that most traditional dieters wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole, because you're able to leave most of the food sitting on your plate. Not raggin' on you, though - keep up the good work! I'm sure next week will bring you down another pound ;)
teenagefoodie at 3:29PM on 05/16/09
Diets and diet aids do not help anyone. The only way to successfully lose weight and get the body that you want is by using the right information. This information can be found in the book Lose Weight Using Four Easy Steps which can be ordered through the website www.bbotw.com Everyone who has gotten a copy of this book is now healthier.
Todd29 at 12:59PM on 05/28/09