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i stuck my tongue in it.
Maybe I should backtrack. I whined too soon yesterday – it was Monday and the weekend had spun by me before I got to nap through it. Alex called right after I had posted, asking if I was interested in going out for dinner.
“Sure,” I said, like he had to ask. “But what’s the occasion?”
“I got a bonus.”
“A wha?”
“A bonus. I didn’t even know it was coming.”
“No really. What’s that? We don’t know of such things at my job.”
“So dinner tonight? Tabla?”
Tabla…
Tabla is my favorite restaurant in all of New York, most of the world, and the only place more fun to eat in than the bedroom, which is really only fun if it’s bon-bons or the like and you’re not wearing a whole lot… I digress.
Have I really never told you about the bhoondi raita? The spiced and herbed yogurt with crispy chickpeas inside? The nine bean dal cooked so deeply with tomatoes and what must be coconut milk, it tastes like… tastes like… The heavenly rosemary naan has drops of olive oil rolling over the edges and into the center… and the cumin-ed popcorn on the bar? And the cocktails, oh the concoctions! The Pomegranate Gimlet is coated with the fresh, explosive fruit seeds, while the Ginger Citrus Snap touts sparkling wine, ginger liqueur, and over the sugared rim a wedge of blood orange, that when released into the glass turns the entire drink red.
I was a bit tipsy (cough, cough). The dessert menu announced donut holes, and we had ordered them before I could even consider how full I was. They came in a basket, wrapped in a piece of cloth, still warm, made of the lightest dough, with the crispiest exterior coated in the best cinnamon sugar ever. A bowl of strained strawberry sauce was put out to dip them. When I broke one open, I found inside a piece of melted bittersweet chocolate. Melted. Bittersweet. Chocolate.
“I’m going to stick my tongue in it.”
“No,” he taunted me.
“Oh, I will… you don’t believe me?”
And I did. And the gooey warm chocolate ran all over my mouth. The warm dough clung to my tongue. The strawberry sauce made me roll my eyes back. I was somewhere else.
When I came to, he was staring at me as if I were a specimen of unquantifiable mystery.
“You think I’m weird, don’t you!”
He smiled.
I flushed with angst, “You think I’m crazy! You think I’m cuckoo. You can’t believe I just jammed my tongue inside a donut hole in a restaurant. You ordered a girlfriend of the non-whackaloon variety and you got stuck with me. You want to trade me in for a sane model. You…”
“I think you’re adorable.”
And so I stuck my tongue back in it again.
Really, I’m not sorry.
comments (13)
Aww! You lucky thing, you! :)
1 | finelyspungirl | July 20, 2004 04:29 PM
Gooey chocolatey heaven. Sounds delicious! I'd've stuck my tongue in it too.
2 | Matt | July 20, 2004 04:42 PM
Whackaloon is cool as long as it doesn't morph into knife-wielding, bunny-boiling, homicidaloon. Then it becomes a tad upsetting.
3 | Howard | July 20, 2004 05:19 PM
that sounds such a good restaurant...mmmn, salivate
4 | samphire | July 20, 2004 08:16 PM
Excellent, cocktails on a Monday. I did the same. Very nice!
5 | Erin | July 20, 2004 08:55 PM
For dinner tonight I had one side of a hamburger bun with a slice of cheese. Oh, and a glass of cranberry juice. Doesn't quite compare. My tongue is going on strike.
6 | Peter M. | July 20, 2004 08:56 PM
Adorable? OK, sure.
7 | Michael | July 20, 2004 09:28 PM
hmph. sounds deeee-vine. why do i live in such a hellhole with no such restraunts? why oh why?
8 | devlyn | July 21, 2004 03:25 PM
Is there any other way to eat a chocolate filled donut? yum. :>
9 | jamsy | July 21, 2004 04:04 PM
i love bonuses. aren't they GREAT
10 | jocelyn | July 21, 2004 06:39 PM
It's posts like this one that should embolden you to put "Writer" on your resume' without hesitation.
11 | Jennifer | July 21, 2004 07:41 PM
Hey! I live at 96th Street too! Holy Shitballs!
My site is MUCH better though (sorry).
12 | Jason | July 21, 2004 08:02 PM
wow. if this thing ever bellies up (ha!), you know you can write about food... amazing description! love it
13 | Chris | July 22, 2004 02:52 PM