Culinary Delights. . .

Nils sends the following text message:

"Culinary delight of the day- Ben Ford's filling station (son of Harrison) a gastro-pub in L.A. Sell fried pig eyes and suckling confit - look it up!"

So, let's do that!

A quick perusal of the menus do not indicate any fried pig eyes as Nils' text indicates, but there are a plethora of other pork products for the curious infidel that lives in all of us.

Potted headcheese for starters, various preparations of cured and smoked meats, including sopressatta, bresaola and coppa, and tucked away in the entree section, simple BBQ pork ribs. Sounds delightful!

After a perusal of the menu, I didn't find anything particularly over-the-top nor offensive to my broad palate and frankly, was slightly unimpressed by the menu. Now, with that being said, there is a whole 'nother ideal to eating and it's called dining. Reading a menu is one thing, but sitting down for a dinner in a restaurant is completely different. What may seem mundane when written on a piece of paper may come alive in the mouth with interesting flavors, contrasts and textures. Adding to that experience, the ambiance of the restaurant and the speed and quality of service can open up doors of elation and satisfaction previously unknown. Of course, good company doesn't hurt either.

I recall a time when Nils and I were doing "market research" for a restaurant concept, which consisted of drinking all day on a Sunday as were caroused from one bar to the next restaurant and so on, until it was 9:30 at night when we happened upon The River House in Palm Beach Gardens. We had already had one meal that evening and by this point food was a quiet afterthought.

Nils and I sat at a lone 4-top in the middle of the nearly empty dining room and ordered a singular bottle of wine from the menu. If memory serves me correctly and in this case it does, we ordered Conundrum. I can attest that we really didn't need it, but we wanted it and men shall not be denied. Especially so, for a couple of probably odiferous men clad in flip-flops, board shorts and offensive and mildly stained t-shirts.

The waiter simply couldn't comprehend why these two slugs were invading the quiet of his restaurant garden and the other staff quietly kept watch over us as they prepared their stations for evening's end.

I guess they expected us to start running rabidly in circles, flipping tables over while babbling nonsense about evil government brain rays that were controlling the universe or something, but Nils and I were quite content to enjoy to our deliciously crisp digestif of white wine. An entire bottle of it.

And frankly, we were glowing with the simple knowledge that our mere presence within the confines of this fine establishment was making everyone else ill at ease. What kind of nuts show up poorly dressed and rather shady in character to order a bottle of fruity white wine at 10:00 p.m. Sunday night? Well, think Raoul Duke and his attorney in a deserted, late-night diner in Vegas.

After the cautious second return trip of the waiter, we made it quite clear that his presence was not required and possibly we would be ordering something else, but we would let him know. Do you have another bottle of the Conundrum? He disappeared for good.

In the end, it was a great time for us over a simple bottle of wine and the unexpectant waiter walked away with a 50% tip on a $50.00 check for his patience. A favorite memory of ours and gives righteousness to the thought that dining is much more than words on a piece of paper.

Back to the pig eyes.

Well indeed it was. And here is the proof. And not just deep fried pig eye, but deep fried pig eye that has been stuffed with more pig! In this case, with tender ham hock meat! Allah, peace be upon his pedophilia, is surely enraged. I call it genius. Not sure if I'd eat it, but maybe after a few draws from my favorite green bottle. . .