Dine and Dash

I must confess I haven't started the year off too well for actually eating at the Commons. I have already missed four meals for various reasons, I have completely fallen for the Grilled Ham & Tillamook cheddar sandwich, and had to toss my long explanation of why the Bakery should bring back the homemade sandwiches - but that is a story for another time.

Today at lunch I got one of my favorite meals - Sesame Chicken & Rice - $6.25 at Cross Cultures. Mixed in with my six pieces of chicken were carrots, water chestnuts, and onion. I asked for some extra veggies, gaining two large pieces of broccoli and a few more veggies before. Asking for the brown rice was my biggest mistake.

Brown rice is actually much healthier for you than white. The reason for this is simple. Brown rices still has the bran, or covering, over the soft center of the rice - making it a whole grain. Whole grains have more fiber which make you feel fuller, slows the absorption of suger, and also helps food move through the digestive system, according to mayoclinic.com and kidshealth.org.

I personally like brown rice because it is usually less sticky than the white rice served at cross cultures. Today my rice was sticky and just plain unappetizing. I left most of it untouched in the bottom of my bowl. The chicken was tougher today, but I felt like there was more solid chicken in each bite and actually cooked all the way through. There have been times when the chicken has NOT been cooked well, so it was a positive thing in my mind. All said and done, I paid a dollar for each little piece of chicken and a few veggies. My friend actually commented about me not eating my rice. After she said she loved rice I offered it to her, saying I didn't think it was really enjoyable. She gave me a dubious look before her first bite. After that, her face changed immediately to a smile because I was right. She went on to explain how it tasted like oatmeal, which makes sense as a whole grain, but isn't really appropriate at a time that's not breakfast. A glass of milk helped to fill me but didn't prevent me from leaving with a half full stomach.

Despite my negativity I do have another positive thing to say about the Old Main Market. My friend split a cookie with me on Sunday. It was amazing! I believe she got the White Chocolate Macadamia (nut) cookie. It was moist but firm, had a great fragrance, and, the part that really won me over, had ginger added to it! The ginger is what pushed it from a cookie to a treat! It would go excellent with tea or hot chocolate - not that I am encouraging cold weather.

I managed to reach my fifth Dash. My friend’s mother was about to leave town and invited me to come along to dinner at Indochine. If you have not been there you should. The focus of the food is Thai, but there are other Asian influences such as Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Vietnamese. The place is amazingly decorated with beautiful cherry woodwork that sticks out amid the black interior and other furnishings. In the middle of the main dining area is a pool between two rows of benches. The running water adds a nature effect to the room, which is only straightened by the orchids served with drinks or floating in the water. The Phad Thai Chicken had great flavor and wasn't over powering with a two star spice level. The Orange Chicken was sweet, had an intense flavor of orange that, in my experience, is often lacking in this type of dish, and had a good spice level that didn't completely overpower me at four stars. The only downside of the experience was having buy a dish of Lavender Rice to go with the meal. In the end our portions were so huge that we have enough food left over for lunch tomorrow. Given the decor and the environment it was great to eat a great meal for only $13. We ended the night with a cup of pistachio gelato, which also came with its own orchid. I admittedly haven't had a pistachio in a long time, but the gelato reminded me heavily of pecans and pralines - nutty with a bit of caramel.

For my first written dash, I have set a high standard which I doubt I will meet every time I leave campus - but who knows? I hear that there are some great pizza joints in Olympia!



Restaurant link:
http://indochinedowntown.com/

Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whole-grains/NU00204/NSECTIONGROUP=2
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/fiber.html