Fine dining (bread and water)

At a recent auction my dad bought a 100-dollar gift certificate to Tiburón Caribbean Bistro for 115 dollars, the profits going towards ALS research, and this evening we dined at the downtown-Minneapolis restaurant. It was dead when we arrived, but that was to be expected at 5:30 on a Monday evening, and was certainly no indication of the quality of the experience. The atmosphere was pleasant (a large, snaking aquarium divided the bar from the dining room), and the food was excellent. There were a great number of appealing options, so I ordered all four courses from the chef's June specials, which may be a first for me in spite general feeling that specials should be ordered as often as possible. This month's spotlighted country is Cuba; although I can't attest to the authenticity of the food's nationality I can attest to the deliciousness of all four courses, which were: Fried Plantains with corn salsa, queso fresco and topped with lime sour cream; Lobster Stuffed Avocado Salad a light and refreshing salad, served on a bed of field greens drizzled with a light balsamic dressing; Mojo Chicken with a warm avocado mango salsa—sautéed chicken breast with a sweet citrus glaze served on a bed of coconut rice; and Fried Ice Cream topped with chocolate and mango sauces and fresh berries, and served in a fried cinnamon tortilla bowl. I'm hoping a return trip in a later month can be arranged.

Later this evening I went to Kinkos to print photos and to Cub Foods to pick up water for Laura's forthcoming graduation party, and I decided to grab some bread while I was out. Since my local Great Harvest bread store closed during the past semester, I've been having a great deal of difficulty finding a loaf a whole wheat bread that doesn't have that Wonder Bread consistency that afflicts all of the rectangular, presliced loafs in the bread isle. Byerly's the local upscale grocery store has "artesian" breads of excellent texture, but each one uses soccer-mom-safe white flour. Whole Foods has good bread, but its even more expensive than Great Harvest's Honey Whole Wheat. So this summer I've been turning to Cub Foods for my staple food. That's right. Plain ol', brown-bagging, florescent-lit Cub Foods. For some reason they've started carrying high-quality take-and-bake loafs from the New French Bakery in Minneapolis, and the price ain't bad either.

I was, however, slightly chagrined to find myself going through the check-out line with only bread and water, which seems only a step above the chips and soda the solitary young white male shopper behind me had in his basket.