While I am still (sort of) committed to the idea of Meatless Monday, I'd given myself a pass for the last couple months. As I see it, you are given a Meatless Monday exemption if you are 1) going out to dinner, 2) on vacation, or 3) having the shittiest month of your life. All three have applied at various times (particularly #3). Hence, Meatless Monday got shelved. If everything else is falling down around me, then for God's sake, let me eat meat.
But yesterday rolled around and I didn't have dinner plans -- and in fact, was feeling that a meatless day might be in order, since in recent weeks I had eaten, oh, let's see:
- suckling pig at Maialino
- lots of good things at Ma Peche (it was a great experience -- thanks, Sandy! -- but I didn't love it as much as the Momofuku restaurants)
- arroz con pato at Nuela
- steak frites at Le Renais de Venise L'Entrecote (I love this place -- they only have steak frites on the menu, and when you get most of the way done with your portion, they bring you seconds)
- porterhouse steak (and bacon, natch) at Peter Luger
- more bacon the next day at brunch at Clover Club
- pork belly buns at Momofuku Ssam
- fried chicken at Redhead
What can I say? I've had a lot of friends in town recently, and on top of that, everyone from my old job wants to go out to dinner or lunch to gossip. What am I going to do, say no? (Note: rhetorical question.)
So I decided to reinstate Meatless Monday yesterday, though only temporarily since I'm about to go on vacation (see: rule #2). I got a little hungry in the morning, and realized that I could head to Mile End and get a bagel, since it was before noon. Is it sacrilegious of me to say that I prefer Montreal bagels to New York bagels? They're sweeter and not as dense, and I love the ones from Mile End. So I trotted over there and got The Beauty, which is a bagel with lox, cream cheese, capers, tomato and red onion.
I was feeling all proud of myself for not eating meat for lunch -- and also for remembering, for once, to hit up Mile End before noon -- when I realized ... um, you dummy, lox is fish. NOT A VEGETABLE. Ergo, "meat." Dork. Oh well, at least I wasn't having more steak. Here is The Beauty in all its, well, beauty:
For dinner I made pasta with broccoli rabe, which I made with anchovies since that's what the recipe called for, and I had decided that anchovies don't count as "meat." It wasn't I who decided this, actually, but other people, who kept saying, "but they're just there for flavor!" I guess the logic is that anchovies don't take up enough room to matter or have feelings, and though as a short person I suppose I might take umbrage at that, I am all for exceptions, so onto the exception list they go.
The broccoli rabe pasta is supposed to be topped with parmesan cheese, and since I'm lactose intolerant I tend to avoid cheese, so I didn't add any. This was a mistake, I think. Cheese would have helped cut the bitterness. But I did buy good pasta, and that made a big difference to the dish.
Accompanied by brussels sprouts glazed with balsamic vinegar. I didn't bother wiping off the plate. I'd never get anywhere on Worst Cooks in America.
For the record, I was starving this morning.
