About a year ago, I visited my mother and we took my son and his girlfriend out to eat. A new restaurant had opened in my mother's hometown and she was eager to try it out. My son ordered lamb. Lamb! His order stunned me because (a) I have never eaten lamb; (2) I have never fed anyone, much less any of my children lamb [I never bought the gross baby food lamb meat sticks because I didn't want to risk my children liking lamb; and (3) I did not know my son liked lamb.
Now to say I have "food issues" stands as a grand understatement. Much to my mother's dismay, I have only become more rigid as I have aged. Now that I'm sixty, I'm no longer interested in "trying" new foods. If I haven't eaten something by now, it is because I don't want it. And growing up, my son was the pickiest eater of my three kids. If it hadn't been for pizza, peanut butter and cheese, he wouldn't have survived. So for him to order lamb was a big deal.
But my son now lives in a world centered around food. Andy is a pastry chef and is in love with Monica, another chef. They live, work and breath food all the time. My son's current job (go Uchiko Austin) allows him to play with in the world of molecular gastronomy, creating desserts with descriptions like "lemon sorbet honey-miso cream gingerbread soil fennel fronds mint crispy yellow beets." About as far away from hot fudge lava cake with vanilla ice cream as one can get. Savory desserts is the trend in fine dining and my son embraces this movement.
His girlfriend, Monica, works on the savory side for Chef Bull in his new restaurants in Austin. Monica and Andy are amazing people who love what they do. They both have worked for some of the premier chefs in Texas and are very knowledgeable. They try new foods, new techniques, new restaurants much like I try a new author or a new TV show.
In honor of my son's birthday, let me illustrate how their worlds are so very different from mine. While they still lived in Dallas, I took them to eat at Rise, a restaurant specializing in souffles. We had wine with our appetizers and then ordered three savory souffles (so they could try different flavors) and also placed our order for three dessert souffles (again so they could share. I'm not really into sharing food.) We talked about the decor and the general location of the restaurant when all of a sudden, my son asked, "I wonder what they do with the egg yolks?"
Now egg yolks never cross my mind unless I'm frying an egg and want to make sure the yolk is not runny. I know souffles are tricky to make and one must be careful that they don't "fall" but I had no idea what role egg yolks play in souffles.
Andy and Monica, however, proceeded to have quite a spirited discussion about egg yolks. Did the restaurant buy whole eggs and throw the yolks out? Or did they just buy egg whites? If they bought whole eggs, what else could they do with the yolks? By this time I had figured out that our souffles were made with just the egg whites which is why Andy and Monica were so interested in the yolks.
Now most of my dinner conversations stay within the sphere of my table and with my dining companions. Again it is different eating with chefs. When the waiter came by, Andy asked him what the restaurant did with egg yolks. This young man looked completely baffled by the question. The next thing I knew, the chef/owner of the restaurant stood by our table explaining that he bought whole eggs and used the yolks in the breads and some of the souffles. They then discussed chef's jackets and menu design. By the end of the discussion, the three of them were pleased and I had finished my chocolate souffle without having to share. Win all around!
Happy Birthday, Son!
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