Serious Eats
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.