Delicious Szechuan

Oooooo-eeeeee!  I got some of the things of the things done today I needed to do.  Around 5:00 or so, I steamed an artichoke and made a dip for it with a little bit of butter, garlic, and dijon mustard.

If you look closely at the dipping sauce I made, you'll see I made an error in the science of the sauce.  It's clear that the milk solids AND the fats in the butter and also the garlic decided to get together and bond to the mustard, leaving everything in a clump at the bottom and some strange watery mess to rise to the top.

Not my best dipping sauce.

Anyway, I probably had about a tablespoon of butter total.
Apparently artichokes are really freaking good for you.  And they taste great (except for that weird astringent feeling you get in your mouth at the end).  They're like wings, as they're also an activity food - my favorite, except much better for you.

So around 8pm I drive into the city and pick up my good friend Sandy Jeans.  He's selling his truck, so need to use it as much as possible before does.  I had asked him to go with Home Depot with me, to which he agreed, and as a token of my gratitude (and also so we could drive around awhile), I took him to my favorite Szechuan place in NY - Grand Sichuan Palace in Bay Ridge.

Somewhat less romantic with the Business Improvement District acronym at the end.

Bay Ridge - Italian, kind of suburban, little enclave on the water in South Brooklyn.  Also home to Sichuan Palace, which is not a palace but has great food.  I've been before and had an idea what I wanted, and ordered various dishes for both of us to share family-style.

Dan Dan Noodles

Chenyu Spicy Dumpling - Andy asked if it was pork inside, to which I said yes so he'd keep eating it.

Dan Dan noodles were spectacular.  I didn't realize now much I liked them til afterwards.  More subtle than the rest of the dishes we ordered, the noodles were soft but firm, and soaked up the broth while grabbing some of the chili oil on their trip to your mouth.
The Dumplings were pretty good as well, the sauce the best part.

Ma Po Tofu

Then we had Ma Po Tofu, which was served in a thick sauce with ground meat and spices.

Chong Qing Chicken - my fave.

Finally, the Chong Qing Chicken.  Really nice and spicy, szechuan dishes like this are fried in red pepper oil before the spices are even added.  This dish had tons of Szechuan peppercorns - little peppercorns that numb your mouth in preparation for what's coming.  I love this dish, because I love heat.

Sandy Jeans sweating into his food.

I had to gently tell Andy he didn't have to eat all the hot peppers.  In fact, no one really does.  Maybe one or two, for fun, and to make sure you're not a a little baby-child, but this guy was eating every single pepper on his plate - and sweat was dripping off his nose onto his plate.
We were there for that reason; every dish we ordered was bright red, but no one eats all those hot little dried peppers.

Delicious meal.  A lot of food - and there's more in my fridge now - but I don't feel badly about it.  It was a veg-heavy day and some spicy Chinese was a-ok with me for dinner.


Still not smoking.
Still not drinking. (you have live in New York to appreciate just how many temptations run into PER DAY to drink)

Exercise: None really.  My legs are pretty sore today from all the squats yesterday plus the walking, so I figure it was time for a day off.  I was kind of limping earlier - just taking it easy today.

Bedtime.  I have a lot to do tomorrow plus go to work.  Have a good night.