Reading the fine print

I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to pay the majority of my attention to fine prints on receipt, emails, advertisements, etc. This is more of an adapted habit after a number of commercial traps I feel into. Originally it was a good thing to pay enormous amount of attention to fine print -- so that I do not get tricked again; know the limitations of a seemingly good deal; do not look like a fool when confronted otherwise, etc. However, sometimes reading of the smaller and lesser important font might not always be a good thing.

In a recent email from administrative assistant about weekly meetings going to be held, I opened the email thinking the meeting is going to be held at normal time. The first rough scan of email I immediately started reading the un-emphasized lines, completely ignoring the bolded, underlined, red fonts listing the re-corrected time and place of the meeting. Of course we all want to read what we want to read to constantly prove that we are right, I ignored the "instead of" from the email, and went ahead for the preparation with the original time. Only later after running frantically around the lab did my confused coworkers reassured me that the meeting was, indeed, at a different time. It was a definitely an awkward situation, and again I felt like a fool when confronted that I was wrong. So I just concluded that there is no right things in life. Would that be a little extreme?

StateFarm

There are times that I was clueless about some of the major companies that exist in today's society. Apparently there is a major auto insurance company called StateFarm. The first time I came to its exposure is when I was conversing with one of my ex-roommates whom I did not get along with. From my perspective, she was cranky, self-absorbed, passive-agressive, etc. I'm sure from her perspective I was the same. Flash back to the beginning of a fun summer break after a hard working college year, I was asking her about her summer plans out of curiosity. And the conversation goes like this:

"Are you doing anything for the summer?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna work for StateFarm."

"Oh cool, what kind of work are you going to do?"

"Just some filing and organization."

"Oh cool, so what kind of vegetables do you guys grow?"

And I never heard from her again. For a while I was confused as to her lack of response, only later I was so curious to look up online of what kind of vegetables do StateFarm grow. Indeed, they don't grow any vegetables, nor any animals of that sort. Thinking back to the currently situation, I wasn't sure if she took it as my attempt to disrespect her or if she through it was just plain cluelessness.

Bistro Francais in Georgetown, Washington D.C.

Among the crowded but gradually declining M street long sits this classic authentic French restaurant, Bistro Francais. I have been to this restaurant a couple of times, mostly due to finding emergency food after a tiring shopping streak, or the foodie frantic restaurant week. Both times I had a peaceful, yet non-significant dinner. 

Seasonal Vegetable Soup was okay. I usually prefer soup that is a little clearer, and more broth-like. So instead of creamy and cloudy soup that is filled with many different ingredients, I normally go for the broth that is simple. Therefore due to my unique preference in soups, I would only give this soup an okay.

Minute Steak Maitre d’Hôtel: Bistro style sirloin steak topped with parsley butter & french fries. This was a great dish. The beef steaks were not grilled too much to be considered a kebab, which is something that I often wonder. The tomatoes were flavorful and juicy, onions were under grilled and spicy. Beef steaks were also on the rare side and juicy.

gbAMSA Clinical Fellow Panel design

I didn't try very hard this time. There are two versions for this flyer. I personally really like the second one, but the first would do the job to catch the eyes of the general public.

WiseguyNY Pizza in Chinatown, Washington D.C.

Wiseguy NY Pizza located at the edge of Chinatown is a place I came upon when I was on the craving for good pizza. Coming from NYC, good pizza that matches the standard of a snobby New Yorker is hard to find in DC. My company and I eventually decided to go for a try at this place after seeking the overwhelming positive reviews created by happy pizza lovers on yelp. The place is filled with classy hippy old money hipster vibe, with limited amount of seating area, and decent music volume.

You can order their pizza by slices or whole. We grabbed a quick bite hence got a couple slices with different toppings. Their pizza is delicious, no doubt. They are similar to NY pizza, but not exactly the same. 

I ordered a only cheese pizza and a slice of mushroom pizza without pizza sauce on top. On the side was a small bowl of fresh motz salad with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil in light Italian dressing and a piece of garlic bread on top. I have had the best tomato salad and the best garlic bread of my life here. Nothing I have tried beats that small  bowl of red, yellow, and green goodies. The garlic bread is buttery, soft, and fresh. They showed me what amazing a freshly baked garlic bread can be. This place is my current new favorite pizza go-to place.

Hannya in Miami, Florida

Sushi! was not always the first type of food I think of when I am starving. I visited this restaurant when I was on the crave for Ikura, or sushi with salmon roe on top. There isn't a lot of good Japanese restaurants around south beach Miami, but the quality of raw seafood served in Hannya was definitely much better than some of the fish I have had in D.C. or Maryland.

I stopped by this restaurant during lunch time, at a time where this little corner area wasn't welcomed by many customers. Exposed bricked walls and wave-like lighting adds more of a rustic rather than zen-like feel to the surrounding, fitting right into the culture of materialized Miami.

Thai Ice Tea with milk was authentically American. Yummy.

Gyoza was deeply fried with pork and vegetable fillings inside. It was crispy and warm. Perfect for my acid-filled stomach as an appetizer. The prices for their appetizers are fairly reasonable, and it seems like Hannya does pay attention to the presentation of their dishes.

I ordered Ikura sushi thanks to my sudden craving for salmon roe and the freshness of their fish, I had my best time in Miami with these rolled up pieces of sushi. Crispy seaweed combined with fairly large load of salmon roe. I first consume half of the salmon roe as appetizers. Pop the eggs in my mouth, taste the saltiness and the smoothness of its membrane. Then I consume the whole sushi with about 5 salmon roe eggs left on top for the perfect degree of salt to rice pairing. Absolutely delicious!

By the time I finished those sushi I was too full to get to the vegetable Udon Stir-Fry. I packed it home to enjoy it later. The udon was still chewy and delicious after 2 hours, and bak-choy was fresh, crisp, and sweet. Mushrooms, even through it is canned, is still flavorful. This dish did not disappoint me, I would definitely go back again the next time I'm in Miami.

Season 52 in Rockville, Maryland

Season 52 is a chain restaurant that specializes in dishes below 500 calories and fine dining. How exactly did they determine the calories of their dishes, I do not know. After I have heard about the limited calories, I tried imaging burning up the food in a calorimeter, but seems like a lot of work for chain that alternates different menu on a weekly basis. 

Not only with bar and booth setting, they have a very nice Californian style wine room/cabinet behind the warm fireplace featuring a larger than normal list of wines. How cozy.

Ahi Tuna Tartare: layered with wasabi-avocado mousse, tropical salsa, Hawaiian sea salt crisps. I forgot the snap a picture of the Hawaiian sea salt crisps, but I have to say the sea salt crisps was quite disappointing. It was no more than crackers strangled with large amount of black salt crystals -- very salty. Other than that, the layered avocado with tuna tartare was delicious. Fresh tuna combined with mashed avocado reminds me of a healthy meal.

Caramelized Grilled Sea Scallops: Creamy lemon risotto, Baby broccoli, roasted asparagus. I am not a fan of the creamy lemon risotto, and the sea scallops were bad quality with large amount of seasoning. With that said, the steamed baby broccoli was great with the risotto. I would not order this dish again due to the bad quality of sea scallops served.