after dinner sneeze

t says: That’s right – you read it – a Jose Garces vs. Jose Garces battle. We’re absolutely sure that Jose is going to win. What’s more interesting is that this battle was kind of … accidental. It all started on Saturday morning …

6/2010, 11am, Party of 3. g, her mom, and I were in the neighborhood at our appointment with the hair doctor when we found that we were quite hungry. Whole Foods failed miserably to satisfy my desire for breakfast (no pancakes? no French toast? why!!!), so I managed to make some not-so-subtle suggestions that we should revisit GTC for lunch. Little did we know that GTC now does weekend brunch! It didn’t really change much for g or her mom, as they again went with the lamb sandwich and the insalada semplice. But not me – I stepped outside the box. I asked to have the blueberry muffin French toast as a separate order ($25 worth of brunch is a lot of brunch! I just wanted some starch!) for ~$10-14 (I can’t remember). Yes, the other two had delicious, delicious things to eat … but this French toast was amazing. What could possibly taste better than getting a soft Blueberry muffin, dipping it in an egg batter and then frying it (I imagine it was fried)? Nothing. Well – almost nothing – more to follow. There really isn’t much more to describe about the dish, and there’s only one thing left to say, “duh! why didn’t I think of that?”.

So, I was right about to write up a “best French toast in the city” bit for adsz … then we found another contendor …

6/2010, 1pm, Party of 2. g and I had some recent success at Distrito for lunchtime. As a mini-review of that meal (too lazy for a separate write-up), here we go … The Blue demon special is a REAL DEAL. The nachos ignacio (vegetarian nachos) and queso fundido (duck and cheese) are an insane combination – I couldn’t finish it (but brought it home and ate it for lunch the next day)! And that chocolate flan is my new favorite chocolate “thing” – displacing chocolate bombs, chocolate gelato, chocolate brownies, chocolate cakes, etc. Seriously – this place really REALLY has surpassed Tinto in terms of food. And, if you go at lunch, you leave with money still in your pocket. it really only lacks Tinto’s selection of cheeses and its dark, seductive atmosphere (which I like – it makes me feel suave, like I have style – but of course, some people might actually prefer Distrito’s funky pink interior).

g and I decided to go back to Distrito for the Mexico vs. Argentina soccer game because cm reported a Jose sighting when he and k went there for a World Cup game. We were destined for a chance to flirt with celebrity and indulge in nachos. We walked in, were seated, and were handed a menu. As I stared at the page, I wondered, “Where’s the blue demon?”. ALAS! We went during weekend brunch! Frick! I was upset, as I recalled brunch at Tinto, which, while absolutely delicious (I’ve enjoyed brunch at Tinto several fold more than dinner), is very pricey if you want to leave feeling full. I maintained composure and reasoned, “well, the game will come on soon, and Jose might show …”. As I contemplated an exit strategy, my eyes found “Tres Leches French toast”. A fellow coworker [and his wife] made a tres leches cake and brought one in to the workplace that was ridiculous! It was so good that I wanted to use pieces of that cake as sponges to bathe myself (I’m not actually sure why that imagery popped into my head – but it was so weird that I had to type it). So I figured, “well, if this is half as good, I’m set”. I ordered it and waited, wondering if French-ifying tres leches cake would do wonders the way it did to muffins.

It came to the table and I was beside myself … there were two large, golden brown deep-fried pieces of cake in front of me. I had no idea that it’d be that large. I had no idea it’d be that … fried. As my fork broke through the super-crispy crust, I knew good things were to come. As I chewed through the crunch, I got a super-indulgent mouthful of creaminess, caramelized sugar, butter, etc etc. g said it reminded her of funnel cake. Funnel cake is less fried than this dish (read that again and contemplate it). Basically, this is exactly what one should NOT be eating if you want to live to see 28 (it was the day before my 28th birthday). But I couldn’t stop. I chuckled as I ate the strawberries and blueberries – they couldn’t cut through the fried sugar goodness of the toast at all. So if you like things fried, you will like this French toast more than anything in the world. BUT, there’s an evil side. I felt full for the rest of the day. But not just “full” – it was more of a “disgusting, uncomfortable full”. It’s the kind of full you’d get if you ate two bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits from McDonald’s. AND – I didn’t even finish it!

So, yes … For taste – go and try out that Tres Leches – but I’d share it if I were you – maybe foil it with something lighter and less greasy (unless you want digestive troubles later). For something a little less heavy, although not much healthier (muffins are notoriously unhealthy), head on over to GTC.

PS No, Jose didn’t even show up to the game. Mexico didn’t even win. But at least we got to try out something new!