Uhhh...wanna go on a date...with me?

This first part has nothing to do with the title of the blog or anything after this, but I have to admit that I lost to Andrew "Doms" Sterrit in a push-up contest.  There will be a rematch next Monday though and redemption will be spelled "Joseph Esch."

Now, on to the real blog.  If you've read any of the previous posts you know that my dining experiences are a main focus.  When was the last time you went out to eat at a nice restaurant by yourself?  Well, I'm like the rest of you, I like to have good company as well.  Last year, when I went to most of the places I'm going to write about, I had a girlfriend.  Too put it bluntly, that ship sailed at the beginning of this school year and consequently I have not been on a date in a really long time.  So not only has my love life been non-existent, but my eating adventures have suffered dramatically.  There is not an activity that I enjoy more than good food and good conversation (as I've typed many times before this), so I've been trying to remedy the situation.

We (the BC student population) got an e-mail last week outlining upcoming events/talks on campus.  One of these was about getting an internship this summer, naturally I skipped right over this one because the lecture listed below it was titled "Why you aren't dating and what you can do about it."  Hooray, problem solved!  I asked the two guys I live next door to if they would come with me.  One has a midterm tomorrow he needs to study for and the other responded with an effective "No way in hell."  So after dinner tonight with a bunch of guys from my hall (shout out #bros) we all went our separate ways.  Some went back to the dorm, some went to the library, and I made the extremely cold and lonely walk to a lecture hall about how to get a date.  On the walk up I was thinking "A good start for me to get a date would be to shave the nasty goatee I'm sporting and to not be a loser going to a lecture for desperate people."  Unlike the majority of the people attending the lecture as part of a class requirement, I was there to hear the magic formula for getting a date.  This is a very humbling thing for me to admit because I've always fancied myself as being quite well versed in talking to girls.  But it's been a very long drought so I left my pride at the bottom of the Million Dollar stairs and made the walk.

The professor who gave the lecture is very well known for being funny and engaging so I figured even if she didn't pass out a magic lamp that granted dates, I would still enjoy the lecture and get a laugh.  She had flashcards for the ten reasons why we (single people...) aren't dating.  This is where I began to get skeptical.  Some of her reasons were; you spend too much time smoking weed and are lazy, you get your emotional fix from your dog, you're afraid of rejection, you're satisfied with random hook-ups, and you're afraid of commitment.  Her reasons didn't wholly apply to me.  I don't smoke weed, I don't have a dog, I'd rather take a girl to dinner and talk than "hook-up" with her, and it's not like I'm asking anyone to marry me, just to grab some coffee.  

I skipped the rejection one on purpose.  Prior to coming to BC I didn't think I would ever even have this problem.  In high school there was always a girl who was willing to hang out on a Friday or Saturday and catch a movie or just hang out.  Since I've been at BC I've actually gotten the "Ohhh, can I get a rain check" line three times, and I still have three outstanding checks.   What?!?!?  I didn't think that happened to people as desirable as me (joking).  Part of this problem is I have high standards and a false sense of confidence which = my playing out of my league = not gonna win them all.  That wasn't a knock to any girl who's ever said "yes" to me, rather a thanks for entertaining the thought that maybe I have a great personality. Regardless, I've gotten over being afraid of a girl saying "no."

One of the professor's ending points was really good though.  She said that you aren't supposed to be sure about a first date (or a Level 1 date as she called them).  The whole point is to just get away from other people and have a conversation and see if the interest to go on another trip to White Mountain (classic) is there.  So ladies, when I come up to you and say "Yo girl, your daddy letchu date?" you don't have to be sure if we're going to be together in three months.  Heck, I won't be sure that I won't leave after the first 10 minutes when you've already ordered the most expensive thing and are talking about how many push-ups your ex-boyfriend can do, but let's be unsure together and go get a stinking sugar cone with a twist and rainbow sprinkles. 

Kingston Station

Ok, so I know that Teatro was the first restaurant I went to and I was planning on looking back at my bank statements to attempt to have some chronological order, but they only go back one year so I've given up on that and am just going to have to rely on my memory.  Kingston Station is about as good as it gets for your run-of-the-mill dinner.  I've probably been here 5 times and have no intention of not going again.  It has a cool location in Downtown Crossing that makes it close to the Commons, Opera House, Theater District, and shopping (the closest I've come to taking advantage of the shopping is looking at the elaborate window displays in Macy's).  From the Park St. T stop it's a 12-15 minute walk through a nice part of town.  The restaurant is frequented by yuppies as an after work watering hole and that gives it a fun atmosphere.  The young, vibrant crowd can be heard talking about anything from the huge merger their company just went through to the last concert they went to at the House of Blues.  Oh, and the food!  My favorite thing to get here is the Ahi tuna burger.  The chef slathers a wasabi mayonnaise on top that gives the mild burger a great kick.  I've also had the steak frites, a fairly standard dish that is hard to mess up.  A recent discovery here is the truffle fries.  They are covered in gruyere cheese, green onions, and truffle oil.

If you didn't pick one of the cold drafts to wash these down with, they might clog your arteries on the spot, but even if they did it would still be worth it.  Also, the French onion soup here is very good.  Once again, a standard dish that is hard to mess up, but they didn't so that's good.  A bowl of this soup along with a couple of pieces of their bread and a Sierra Nevada makes for a great, cheap dinner.

My Love Affair Begins

  Any one who knows me remotely well knows that I have a love affair with the outdoors.  It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I always want to be with her.  The start of this flame can be traced back to when I was only a wee little lad.  My grandparents have a house in Island Park, Idaho about 30 minutes from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park and my family and I have been going on road trips there for even longer than I can remember.  The childhood trips spent in the Yellowstone area are undoubtedly the roots of my love for the outdoors, however this love did not manifest itself for quite a while.

Most of the time my family and I have spent in YNP has probably been in a car, and when I was younger I was completely great with that.  Who wants to walk when you can ride, right?  We LOVE driving around and seeing the animals.  Between my parents, sister, and myself we have more pictures of elk and bison than one could ever possibly want to look at.  Of the 175 or so nights I have spent in the area, 0 have been spent in a tent.  We have a house to stay in for Pete’s sake!!!  The amount of hiking that has been done is minimal as well.  The boardwalks through all of the geyser basins have been done (I think) and one year my mom tried to kill me and my sister by hiking the entire South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  There are two activities that I think everybody looks forward to the most each summer;

            

Horseback riding is really funny.  My whole family has been around horses enough to know what to do.  We're the people that show up with cowboy hats and boots on.  We look at the people who show up in shorts and t-shirts like they're idiots.  It's funny because if we really knew what we were doing and had that much experience we wouldn't be going on a trail ride, we would be riding our own horses.  Whitewater rafting is just a rush.  Once again though, we (not so much my mom) like to act as if we're John Wesley Powell going down the Grand Canyon.  My sister and I can both paddle strongly and listen to the guide.  My dad is deaf though, so he'll be doing his own thing and it usually ends with my mom hitting him to get his attention.  The point of this little interlude was to show that the things I grew up doing in Yellowstone aren't part of my normal activities, but they definitely introduced me to another world.

I remember the first time I went camping with my Boy Scout troop.  I was an inexperienced Tenderfoot and I could not have been more nervous.  I remember the feeling of dread that had engulfed my entire being.  What if I forgot something?  What are we going to eat?  Do I have my sleeping bag?  How do you pitch a tent?  I remember my mom dropping me off at the church parking lot and feeling like I had just been thrown to the wolves as she drove away.  I don't remember the actual trip, but it couldn't have been that bad because I stayed in Boy Scouts and went on many other trips.  

The trips to Idaho and being in Boy Scouts are undoubtedly where I was introduced to my love.

So The Civil Wars is a band that has been around for a little bit, but are just now getting popular.  I won’t claim that I found them before they were popular, but I was definitely listening to them before they exploded on iTunes.  I am a huge fan of this video, and song for that matter.  The obvious comment to make is “Whoa, I didn’t know Johnny Depp was in a band.”  Well, he isn’t, this guy just looks uncannily similar.  And how great is that house?  I love how old it is and the character it has.  I’m sure some great stories have taken place there.  My favorite shot is when the camera is focused on the girl and you can see the guy playing guitar through the far door.  I think that shot really captures the lines “I don’t love you but I always will” and “I don’t have a choice but I still choose you.”

Teatro

Teatro was the first restaurant I researched and went to in Boston.  It has a great location right across from the Commons and is just a short walk from the Theater District.  The arched ceiling and mosaics combined with the contemporary lighting makes for a great ambiance.  The first time I went I think I had some sort of boar ravioli.  It’s not on the menu anymore but I have a pretty distinct memory of it.  There is beef carpaccio on the menu and it is more than safe to assume that of the two times I’ve been here, I’ve ordered it at least once.  

The first time I went to Teatro was on a first date with a girlfriend.  Apparently I was wearing my big boy pants that night because when the waiter asked us if he could start us off with a drink I boldly said “We’ll take two glasses of the house red.”  My heart was absolutely racing as I just waited for our server to ask to see our ID’s.  The next words out of his mouth were some of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard, “Yes, of course.”  The smile that was on my face after the waiter left was so big it hurt my cheeks.  I was obviously trying to impress a girl, and I did that by ordering wine, but I could not play it cool for another second.  I had to have a giddy moment before the waiter came back.  Not that I know any more about wine since first ordering it at Teatro, but I have become better at hiding my ignorance that was made very obvious my going straight for the “house red.”  Teatro was definitely a great place to take a girl on a first date to impress her.  

After dinner my date and I decided to walk towards the bright neon lights coming from the Theater District.  I could not believe everything was going so swimmingly, so I decided to push my luck a bit further.  No, I didn’t try to kiss her.  We were standing under the glow of the lights and I looked around and said “You know, I bet we could get a drink at any one of these places.”  That is called false confidence.  Once again, the big boy pants.  I saw the W Hotel and figured a hotel bar would be our best bet. 

It is 100% my dad’s fault for giving me the confidence to believe I could pull this off.  I had spent 19 years watching him walk into every place he went acting like he owned it, so I just emulated him by throwing my head back, puffing my chest out, and throwing condescending looks all around.  I positioned myself behind another customer to distance myself from the bartender to lessen the chance of hearing the dreaded “ID” word.  I caught his attention by giving him the subtle head nod and when he asked me what I wanted I was caught completely off guard.  I didn’t have a clue what to say.  I had never done this before.  I didn’t even belong there!  I said the first thing that popped into my head, “I’ll take a glass of Chardonnay and a scotch on the rocks.”  I gave him a ridiculous amount of money for two drink and Cassidy, my date, and I went and found some seats.  The drink scorched my throat on the way down, but I didn’t care.  I was living a scene out of a Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly movie-a romantic dinner with a beautiful girl followed by drinks at a posh location.  I could not have been happier.  I finished my firewater and Cassidy sipped her wine until it was gone and we ventured back to BC for another day of classe

The Beginning

I’ve contemplated starting a blog for a while now.  I actually had one a couple of years ago when my sister made one to keep everyone updated on her study abroad adventures.  I think I made one post and then realized my life as a high school student was not nearly as interesting as the places she was going, so needless to say, my debut effort was short lived.  My life as a college student is far from unique or “blog-worthy” as well, so this blog is mainly for selfish reasons.  I live a life I enjoy quite immensely and hopefully this will be a sort of Pensieve (Harry Potter?) for me that will enable me to reflect on past experiences and get joy out of them even after they have long passed.

The title of this blog, “What’s Next, Please?”, lends itself to giving the impression that I am not content with living in the present.  While of course I have this feeling sometimes (as most do), that is certainly not the intent.  The things I will probably write about most are food and trips/adventure.  Those two ( I guess maybe 3?) things are so important to me.  I always look forward to my next meal and seeing a new landscape.  Oh, and music will definitely be a staple as well.  Nothing cutting edge or hipster, just stuff I really like. 

The first quite a few posts will be retro-active.  I have eaten at several wonderful dining venues that deserve a spot in my memory bank.  Cheers.