Strip Club - November 8, 2015
There’ve been numerous articles written about dining alone, one of the most recent giving a five item list to enumerate the benefits. I disagree with most of them, except for the focus and savoring as meditation. Being alone? For some that’s a default state and can get taxing. No small talk? Sometimes learning about the mundanity of someone’s day, or getting to share yours, reinforces your shared humanity; besides, talking to yourself about the mysteries of the universe gets old after a while. You’ll make healthier choices? Have you seen my Instagram? If you read the article this is counterintuitive to its quote from another article about not worrying about food shaming - nobody is going to shame you for getting a salad, the 10 ounce filet? Maybe.
Focusing and savoring? Yes. Dining alone often has made me more curious about food than ever. Why did the chef do this? What is this herb? How did they get this consistency?
After a long time dining alone, if you frequent certain places enough, you essentially become a regular. You get to know the staff. A trust develops. To me it’s like saying: I let you feed me, I enjoyed it so much, I want you to do it again. I hope that’s how they feel and I hope it’s mutual. A sort of: I prepared this, you said you enjoyed it, I’m trying something new, if you trust me on this, I think you’ll like it.
There’s a tradition in sushi restaurants called omakase, which essentially means “I’ll leave it up to you.” I like that. I think it epitomizes trust between patron and provider. I think once that trust develops you can get to the point where you don’t want the menu. You want what they want for you. It’s a great relationship, one that helps dining alone feel a little less so.
I wasn’t planning on going out. I’ve become quite fond of dining with others lately. Then one of the chef’s tweeted a picture of the dessert. I was just finishing up some writing and had forgotten to eat the entire day, so I went out.
Arriving, Strip Club was fairly busy, which is good, I want restaurants I frequent often to stay in business, even if it means a pain getting a table on occasion. When dining solo I usually opt for the bar instead of a table, even if my notebook, pens, and phone(s) end up taking up a good share of the surface in front of me; I figure it’s better to leave the multi-tops for parties of diners. Nobody judges somebody sitting at the bar too much for dining alone.
Figuring I’d eaten often enough times and trusting the chef, owner, and staff implicitly, I only gave the menu a cursory glance and asked the bartender/server to “Surprise me!” After a quick gauging of appetite, we were off.
Root Vegetable Bisque with lemon oil: Very good. The lemon oil’s acidity and tart paired well with the creamy richness and earthiness of the bisque.
Squash Risotto with pepitas, apples, lemon, chilies, and parmigiano: Great textures and flavors. The apples were perfect, just on the crisp side of the line between crisp and soft, the slightest pressure causing them to explode with a sweetness that worked with the slight earthiness of the squash and funkiness of the cheese.
Pork Short Ribs with spaetzle, cabbage, arugula, apple, horseradish, and Dijon: So good. These were braised in apple cider vinegar, afterwards the braising liquid was reduced and combined with Dijon for a sauce. The textures were great, crunchy cabbage, good tooth on the spaetzle. The acidity in the dish had the amazing effect of keeping my salivary glands working overtime and making each bite better than the last.
Tacos de Tinga - duck confit, green tomato salsa, cotija, lime, and radish: Another great dish. So much crunch from the radishes, nice resistance from the tomato salsa, great flavors throughout.
Maple Bacon Eclair with lemon zest: This is what the chef posted online that spurred my coming in. I’m a huge fan of his various doughnuts at brunch. I love me some maple bacon long johns. So seeing what he could do with an eclair was a definite plus. The hot chewy and crispy bacon was helped greatly by the lemon zest, it helped freshen it up enough so I wasn’t overwhelmed by the fat. The cool filling of the eclair was a great contrast to the hot bacon. I was curious to see if it worked and it did.
It can be awkward. You’re a lone diner, you’re not going to be carrying on, luxuriating over lots of drinks and courses. The staff has to spend almost as much time on you for a fraction of their normal ticket. Sometimes dining solo you get your trust tested.
I’m happy to say that with Strip Club, my trust is well placed.