I often think I make good judgments, especially when it comes to taste. I often pick out great clothing items, great restaurants, and great friends as well - so it is never a favorite thing when I am proved otherwise.That explains why I felt almost sick walking out of Wolfgang Puck's The Source after a birthday dinner Monday night. The restaurant received great reviews. I made sure I asked the waiter for recommendations. I considered all options --- and yet, I chose the worst dish they could have made: a deep-fried herb-stuffed sea bass paired with Thai chili sauce that was too dry and too insipid for its price.
Not as quickly as I put down the cutlery, the taste (or the lack thereof) of the fish lingered and turned into a sour-bitter feeling too hard to swallow. Worse, it provoked unwanted thoughts of some other bad choices and questioned some other decisions I was going to make these days, among which the potential dates with this one particular guy.
We met a while ago, and working around the same area sort of prevented us from doing anything - or at least that was what I hoped. I secretly adored him for his creative mind, his positive outlook, his exciting life, and his gorgeous visage. Anyway, after sometime, we finally went on this date - which felt instantly so comfortable from start to the very end... As I went back to my daily life, I couldn't stop thinking about him, his tender touch, his naughty wink, his passionate kisses, and his beautiful smile. Sitting at my desk, I was toying with the idea of going on the next dates....
Yet as that sour-bitter taste of the deep fried seabass lingered in my palate, I began to wonder if he was the right guy at the right time or not - and if he was, whether it would be the right move to show him how much I liked him and how much I was looking forward to our next date. And after all that, I couldn't help asking - why would I let one bad dish ruin the prospect of my dating life, or worse, doubt my taste?
In the end though, I felt that those choices are made for a reason, if not for satisfaction then at least for a lesson that we would remember for a long time. I will surely avoid Puck, or at least the fish, at all cost. Maybe I will decide to let down my guard and let my heart take me to wherever it's meant to be, and if I get hurt, oh well, then I can start wondering all over again.
Photo: by Steve Gosling
