It was a full day of eating for both

Bonus points to you if you identify the quote in the post title, which describes my Monday.

I've been using (this week and last week, anyway) my Mondays to travel up to the Northside to do some coffee shop reading and cook dinner with Alex. Yesterday, we met at Uncommon Ground (a cozy place that focuses on local produce) where we had an all right pizza and this "korean chilli-spiced fried calamari" that wasn't as spicy as the name implies but was delicious and tasty. We also learned that all beers are $4 on Mondays, and I tried a Unibroue Apple Ephemere, which is nothing like hard cider and was refreshing except for the acidic aftertaste. I'll definitely go back; they had lots of tasty-sounding things on their menu, especially some of the mixed drinks.

calamari, close-up

I forgot to mention--on my way up there I stopped on Chinatown where I bought BBQ pork bun and a sesame roll, with the real purpose of my stop being to buy dumpling wrappers for the making of potstickers. At other end of the freezer from the dumpling skins I found--mangosteens! I'll have to crack another one open today, as the ones we tried last night were not quite thawed and one seemed partially rotted...frozen may not actually be a great alternative to canned, which is the only other way you can find mangosteens in the US (to my knowledge).

Anyway, post Uncommon Ground, we went to Whole Foods and then Alex's apartment to make potstickers, from the recipe I previous mentioned on this blog. Except for the first batch--where I forgot the essential step that actually make the pot stickers stick, they turned out beautifully. We used chard instead of cabbage, and it was a nice substitution.

After potstickers, I hankered for some bubble tea, and we managed to find a place, delightfully named Yummy Yummy, that sells real fruit bubble tea after 9pm. The store was right across from a bus stop, and after some brief farewells, I headed back home. It ws a good and scrumptious day.


Unfortunately (and unreleatedly), this morning I found myself forced to deal with the fact that I have misplaced my apartment keys, which is really bad news. It happened after I returned upstairs with my laundry last night, meaning they are either in the apartment somewhere that I failed to look this morning, or they have vanished into the aether that is our sketchy-ass, barely-lit back stairwell. The hunt will resume this evening. Earier today, in one of the bathroom on campus, I noticed a flyer posted saying, "If you have lost your keys, come to room [some number] to pick them up." I considered going, even though there is no chance they are mine.

I'm currently sitting outside on the main quads, using my laptop which is acting like a real laptop (battery life, wireless internet, portability...). It's gorgeous out, though the temperature is dropping rapidly. Yesterday was actually quite a bit warmer than I expected, and consequently I was stuck carrying around my coat and sweating in a long-sleeved shirt all day. I think it's actually too chilly now to be sitting outside, typing.

Edit: I found my keys (yay!). I had to throw out all the mangosteens (boo). I think the good news outweighs the bad here.