weekend eats...

I ate almost exclusively Latin and Asian foods this weekend.  Not sorry.

Friday was beautiful, so I lunched on fish tacos on the rooftop at Surfside and dined al fresco on the patio at Masa 14, a Latin-Asian "fusion" restaurant. (Side note:  When is that trend going to be over? I hope never.)  Since I generally don't eat meat on Fridays of Lent, plus the added gluten-free/sugar-free layer, I was probably the world's most obnoxious diner.  Our waiter was very knowledgable about allergens and ingredients in each menu option, so he steered me through my limited options.  In the end, I decided to make a meat exception so I wouldn't have to just eat seaweed all night.  Whatever.  My favorite plates were a black cod with chipotle and pickled onions and a wok-seared cauliflower with garlic, ginger, and Thai chilis.

Rain clouds rolled through on Saturday, so I had a 2pm "breakfast" of a piping hot pho from Pho 75.  I just love vermicelli - thank goodness for rice noodles.  I did give my bowl a healthy Sriracha bath and then realized Sriracha contains sugar.  Strike one, but it was an honest mistake (I had the foresight to omit the plum sauce).  Then I went to see The Hunger Games with Patti and Walker.  Thanks for letting me tag along, guys.  You were good sports to not move seats whenever I laughed out loud at the parts when most other people were in tears.  And thanks for not getting (too) annoyed when I started hyperventilating whenever Liam Hemsworth was on screen.

A few pictures from around these parts...

Saturday dinner was this roasted acorn squash, and the exception to my Asian/Latin binge.  I'm proud to annouce that my winter squash stockpile has been reduced to only one remaining butternut squash.  Unfortunately, I only had time to eat a couple wedges on my way out the door to a friend's surprise party, which is why I found myself at Taylor Gourmet at 1:30 in the morning.  (Yes, a hoagie shop.  Needless to say, there wasn't much there I could eat.)

Sunday brunch I made myself a real Ecuadorian breakfast by steaming and then pan-frying a corn tamale, and topping with roasted cherry tomatoes, a fried egg, and a few shakes of Tapatio.  I made sure to check the ingredients this time - no sugar or sugar products in Tapatio.  Thank goodness, because eating a humita without hot sauce is sacrilige.

And I continued my Latin food binge for Sunday dinner with pork carnitas with mango salsa and avocado at Patti's house for a Mad Men viewing.  (Because what goes together better than Don Draper and carnitas?)  I made the salsa (mango + red onions + cherry tomatoes + jalepeno + sweet corn + lime juice + red wine vinegar), but I didn't ask Patti what was in the carnitas.  I know that they were at least gluten-free since Amanda was eating as well, but I didn't want to know about the sugar content.  Ignorance is bliss.  I've found out way too many of my favorite flavor-boosters have sugar - not just Sriracha and adobo sauce, but also Worcestershire - which is right up there with balsamic vinegar and mayonnaise as the world's best condiment.  My world crumbled a little bit. 

Needless to say, I am only eating vegetables and quinoa the rest of the week.  Have a great one!