The Great Meltdown

I failed to mention at the end of my last post that I seriously injured myself while making the storm closure chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  My stand mixer lives in a lower cabinet all by itself and after I cleaned things up and went to put the mixer away, I leaned over and snap! something in my back said oh-no-you-didn't and it was all over.  I spent most of the day yesterday trying to avoid sitting down or moving my left leg in general.  Compounded by the lingering lack of electricity at the office, my stress level reached a peak.  Since not moving my left leg made it impossible to operate a clutch, LAM ferried us to the office so we could check things out in the dark, while I contorted myself sideways in the passenger seat with the seat heater on high.  It actually helped.  Until I got nauseous.  I am a terrible passenger.  When I'm riding with students on the track, this does not happen because I am completely focused on what is coming up next and giving them instruction and coaching before it happens.  When I am riding in the car with LAM, I am looking around sideways, behind and to the left.  And then I get sick.  While I was pondering my miserable situation, I suddenly developed a craving for...grilled cheese.  My love for grilled cheese is not a secret.  There was once a time in my life when I would eat little else.  Enter one new fast(ish) food chain that opened in our area: Melt Down.

I had been meaning to try this place for some time now.  Think of it as comfort food for foodies.

The menu didn't disappoint and neither did the soda fountain.  I had to stand there and ponder the concept of grilled cheese as though it were a food that was completely new to me.  Soda was provided exclusively by the New Hope Premium Soda Company.  They don't use high fructose corn syrup, phosphoric acid or caffeine.  I'm not exactly behind the no-caffeine thing, but everything else they can leave out.  Not having my teeth eroded by acid or calcium leached out of my bones is win-win.

The first item to arrive at our table was LAM's tomato soup.  That's a creme fraiche smiley that you're looking at.  It's impossible to be in a bad mood or feel sad while looking at this.  Even less so when you're eating it.

Next up was my "grilled cheese", although, I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable with calling it grilled cheese, since it was so much more.  Brie and pears on french bread with some sort of garlic and chive (and other stuff) dipping sauce with parmesan potato chips and a spicy pickle.  Honestly, the evening couldn't have ended any better.  I even forgot all about my back.

Until next time...
-ESM