Ten Minutes

Ten Minutes

It mocks me.
The clock
The clickiti clack.
Pretty sure I had more
A lot less to deplore
Till my beloved arrives.

I am an artist
Recognizing art
That of cook’s smart
I am a sinner
Indulging in gluttony
Accused without attorney
Fine with that.

Also a student am I
Right now an intern
Waiting stern
Ready to rise
Once the needle tells my eye
That I may go and pursue
The artistic desire of mine
That some despise,
But fine with that.

Ten minutes till lunch
Long till I crunch
The bunch o munch
Not fine with that, but
Now a little shorter.

JiWon Moon
06-14-07

Ten minutes before lunch time is feels painfully long. Since I normally skip dinner or eat some fruit, lunch is the meal of the day and I, food lover, look forward to the very moment. Actually, this was written right during those 10 minutes and I went to get lunch pretty soon.

Daily Food 6/6~6/10

Sandwiches Lizz and I had outside Christ Chuch, Cranbrook. The carrots I do not eat raw! So Lizz took it all. This one was a small sandwich, but perfect for the day.

It had some kind of spicy seed mustard. The cheese was good. I prefer the one Linnea made last time, with sourdough bread and aoli, but this one was good too.




Rick made egg in the basket the morning I was leaving for summer. This is one of my favorite breakfasts, because the runny eggs smearing into the bread is such a delight. I also like the cute round and crunch piece, and of course bacon to occasionally add flavor. Lizz didn't like the grainy bread but I am growing to like its sweet taste.


I had Kyu Katsu Don at Sora, a Japanese restaurant in Detroit airport. I tried the beef katsu instead of the traditional pork because I had one last time. Yes, the egg is suppossed to be half runny and soft, and this one barely has it. It needs more onions between the rice and meat, and the meat itself wasn't that great either. Yet I do like it... I just like this dish. And actually altogether it was okay. Nevertheless, it is not worth around $13 + Tax.
Though I am not totally satisfied with the meal experiences here, I still like to go here before the flight because I do not eat in the plane for around fourteen hours till I get to Tokyo. I have a hard time eating in the plane not just because of the poor quality of plain food but the general atmosphere; I just can't eat during the flight.



I ordered kitsune(fried bean curd, marinated sweet) udon at a snack place in Tokyo Narita Airport. They seriously need to build some more places to eat, but after a long flight of hunger I am fine with this. They are super fast, taking only a minute or two after order, for they have all the ingredients ready to go. The soup is not the greatest, but the noodle is good. And I always like fried bean curd and scallions to go with it. It was something like 650-700 yen, maybe. I paid with dollars.

Happening 06/13/07

1. Today was the first day of my internship at Korea Times. I will be writing a 700-800 word short article for the student column section. So today I spent most of my time going through the old newspapers to see what other people wrote for the column and brainstorming the issues I would like to write about. I am not totally comfortable with the work environment, not just because it is my first day but also because out of four, I am the only intern who is not a college student, but I will find a way to deal with it. Everybody was very kind though, and we get free tickets for lunch at a nearby place where many people from different companies come to eat. The food was actually pretty good, especially compared to dorm food I am used to.

2. And yes, I am skipping dinner, for I go to sleep pretty early compared to what I am used to. I go to sleep at least before midnight, usually around eleven, so that I can wake up early the next day instead of sleeping in till ten. I am trying miserably to avoid the temptation of various icecream stores, especially Hagen Daz which is only about 5-7 minute walk from my apartment and which I always pass by on my way to the subway station. Anyway, I am still happy because I will be meeting my friend Mirae, whom I didn't see for a year, to have a nice meal and maybe watch a movie or go shopping.

3. I am so tired! It's only my third day and I hardly have jet lags, but still working for eight hours suddenly is very tiring, even if you enjoy it. I do have some pictures enough to make at least couple posts but I am too tired to connect my camera and go through bunch of pictures not yet labeled with proper names but sneaky numbers. Well, gdnite.

Beau Jack's: Bloomfield Hills, MI 06/07/07

So before going to St.Dunstan's production Amadeus out in the Greek Theater, Cranbrook, my host family and I went to Beau Jack's for dinner. Originally Linnea was going to cook something, but decided that eating out would be faster and therefore a better choice to get to the theater on time. Yet, though we only waited 10 minutes to get a seat despite its crowd, the food was served rather late and it did not make much difference. However, I still enjoyed the meal here.




The inside was dark, maybe a little too dark for me, more like a bar than a dining place. After all, Thursday to Saturday (Maybe Sunday as well), starting at seven they have a jazz piano going on, though you really should sit on the bar to hear it because the noise of the dining crowd takes over.
Normally when I complain about the light, it is usually because I cannot get good pictures with my camera. However, this place was pretty dark, that when I checked my pictures taken with flash, I was surprised to find out that my bearnaise sauce was so yellowish, while on the table the white crab meat and bearnaise seemed pretty much blended in color. Other colorful schemes such as Owen's nacho chips were clearly visible though, and I didn't have any other problems...... so I guess it is all about pictures again.


I like the coleslaw here. They are freshy, crunchy and not too sweet.

The bread was served warm, but not the butter. I wish the butter was a little warmer because it was rather cold. I do enjoy cool butter as well, and the butter did melt on the warm bread. However, when cutting the round butter, trying to put some on my plate, it did not work very well, and certainly not when the bread was not as warm as it was at first. This was a more doughy style bread, I should say, dense in the middle rather than light and soft. Not my favorite kind of bread, but still nice and warm.


Owen got what I call Monster Nacho, which is truly monsterous in its size. With the colorful chips and bunch of cheese and meat, it surely tastes pretty good. After all, it is Owen's favorite; I don't remember him ordering anything else, aside from the question whether it is the best choice.


Linnea ordered a Caesar Salad, which also came in a monsterous portion. It looked like a "If you finish in 5min it's free, but if not price doubled" kind of event dish. Can people normally finish that huge pile of salad? The taste was not the greatest but okay.


Lizz got a nostalgia burger, a triple decker with thousand island. This used to be my favorite and now hers. I used to believe that ketchup and maybe mustard is the only thing that goes with burgers, but I actually really liked thousand island sauce, which gives the name "nostalgia" to this burger. The burger is nice but so are the fries.


Since I had a T-bone steak the night before, the steak was out. Do I want fish? Nah, not today. Let's skip the burger since I already ordered it twice before, once a Nostalgia Burger and once my own creation. The honey mustard chicken with pecans sounded nice, but then I saw the veal on the menu.
Actually, though I like the tenderness of the veal, I prefer the flavorful beef. Yet maybe because veal is something I do not eat everyday, once I see it on the menu, especially as a daily special, I tend to go for it. Today at Beau Jacks, when I saw Sauteed Veal Oscar, I had to order it.



Breaded thin veal medallions were topped with Alaskan King Crab meat and Bearnaise suace, garnished with grilled asparagus. Asparagus is quickly gaining my favor ever since I tried it for the first time three years ago upon arrival to United States, for it goes very well with almost any meat, including poultry. Though I do like crab meat, I wonder if it is the best choice to go with veal, since it always has not much, but at least a bit of natural fishyness of a seafood. However I liked it, mainly because of its texture. I was happy that I ordered this, which is not always on the menu.

So, I would say my daily special dish, Veal Oscar, was the best among today's order. The Nostalgia Burger was good too. Though I did have some better burgers, the burgers at Beau Jack's are always a satisfactory choice. The nacho and salad were okay, but really, something has to be done to the portion. Nacho and salad are not something that you would be happy eating as a left over, soggy and unfresh.
Though I like Beau Jack's food, it is not a super duper restaurant. The food is good but not all of them are very impressive. Yet there is something, along with the interior and atmosphere, that makes me want to go there. Somehow I always enjoy the food and leave satisfied. Always ordering a burger, this time I tried something different and I liked even more. It is a comfortable family place.

Salvatore Scallopini: Birmingham, MI 06/05/07

So today, I went to Salvatore Scallopini in Birmingham with Lizz. Though I had a nice experience last Friday, today was not as satisfactory as I expected. First, the construction going on was even worse today, blocking the whole sidewalk. Second, our waitress forgot to bring the bread basket, and did not realize it till I asked her after I finished half of my minestrone soup. The soup was good again, though. Unfortunately, trying to remember bringing my umbrella, I forgot to bring my camera. Though deeply disappointed, I had Lizz's cell phone camera instead.

So let's talk about the food then. I ordered Penne Palamino e Pollo($8.95). Basically a tomato and cream sauce mix, it was pretty okay. I thought the penne was a little overcooked but it was acceptable, and the chicken was nice. I just had a better experience with the same dish last time. Though Lizz loved it, I thought it had a cheesy taste to it; a slight spiciness could reduce that, perhaps?


Lizz had a Chicken Parmesan sandwich($7.95). I didn't try because I was not in a sandwich mood, but Lizz said it was good and I remember the veal parmesan was pretty good here last time. I liked the parmesan chips.

So first, unlike the graceful lady on Friday night, today's server was not on top of things. The meals were okay but not very special. Maybe I should have tried something different, like Pasta Fresca or my own creation. I enjoyed Penne Palamino last time and for some reason today was not the best day. I prefer the dinner menu, especially the Chicken Tosca I had last Friday. Anyway, the meal wasn't bad. It is just that I was expecting something better when I walked 40 minutes for lunch, and that I had a much better meal last time.

Previous Review for Salvatore Scallopini: 06/01/07

Brio Tuscan Grille: Troy, MI 06/02/07

So today, I went to Brio Tuscan Grille in Somerset Collection with Linna. I was on the escalator while I was taking this picture. This is the inner enterance on the South section of the mall. You have to proceed all the way in to meet the other end, the outer enterence, in order to be seated. I was a little confused at first but the servers passing by kindly explained.

I thought the interior was cute. The color scheme was pretty nice, the frames interesting, and the stripy chairs. I wonder how it would look when it is darker.

The bread was warm, almost hot when first served. Again, I liked it because it was not heavily salted nor spiced. I like basic bread with nice texture, so it would go well with soup. In that sense, this bread was very nice, and so was the butter.

Originally aiming for an appetizer, I ended up ordering Lobster Bisque($5.95). Unlike the one I had at Capital Grill before, it did not have a chunk of lobster but latter bits of shrimp, which really didn't matter for a non-lobster lover like me. With the slight fishness of a lobster, this creamy soup was pretty nice. I only wish they would serve this also in a cup size rather than this bowl size. Taking SAT subject test this morning, waking up 5 in the morning to study, I skipped breakfast. Therefore I was hungry enough to devour this and then have the main dish, but I would prefer the smaller one. Eating too much of it decreases the satisfaction.

Linna ordered Petite Chicken "Under the Brick"($10.95), petite being the lunch portion(they also have the regular for $13.95). It came with mushroom marsala sauce, roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Geez, my opinion towards chicken breast is changing from yuckyhardtochewnoflavor to softgrillyblendswithsaucewell. Though overall the dish was nice, I did not find the sauce very impressive, and I would surely like more mushrooms. And the sauce was pretty good, just not spectacular. To my taste, the Chicken Tosca with lemon wine sauce I had at Salvatore Scallopini was better, but it evens out because I like the roasted vegetables......

I ordered Tournedo Di Manzo($13.95), a 4 oz. filet with romano crusted tomato and mashed potatoes. I guess the dinner portion has two, making it 8 oz. I ordered it medium rare and it came just the way I wanted. I liked the Hollandaise sauce as well, which I never tried with steak before. It was a little bit salty for my taste, but I could stand it because the meat was very good. The romano crusted tomato, which is under the filet, was something I wasn't even aware about when I was ordering, but gave me some pleasure as well. The only thing I did not understand was why they would give such a huge portion of mashed potatoes... which I could barely finish half. Anyway, I was happy with what I ordered.

So? The bill was $31.40 + Tip for two. This was the last-weekend-in-dorm meal for this year with my roommate. I would definitely visit this place again, next time probably pasta or Pollo Nicola. And some appetizers! They have some dinner only menus I would love to try, so maybe dinner once I get the chance. I really like their menu. Lots of interesting stuff to try. It was a satisfactory lunch, not just because of the meal but also pleasant service. Ah, the only problem is that I am a student and I do not always have money to spend here! Maybe with the money I do not spend on coffee anymore, perhaps? Anyway, my yesterdays' and today's meals are possible due to my end-of-the-year savings(?), which is quickly running out!

Salvatore Scallopini: Birmingham, MI 06/01/07

So today, after doing a pretty good job on my English finals, I headed to Birmingham for an early dinner. Anyway, I was seated on a small table for two. Yes, there should have been another person, but I was alone. Lizz could not come because she was broke. Linna wasn't feeling well. Cecillia and Cindy did not want Italian for tonight. And yes, my gluttony was strong enough to force me into a lonely dinner on friday evening. At least, since it was an early dinner and outside was still bright, I tried to think it as a lunch or somthing.

The bread was good, chewy on the outer side and soft on the inside. I like this kind of plain, non-salted bread the best. Some bread have their own flavor, but since I enjoy eating bread with soup, I prefer the plain kind with nice texture. I liked the tomato sauce that came with the bread as well, even though I generally do not like tomato sauce. This made me want to try the tomato based sauce pasta here, maybe with seafood, like Tutto Di Mare.


I ordered soup instead of salad. Did I mention how heavenly it was to get inside and feel the cool air, freed from the torture of heating sun? Anyway, I was leaning more towards the soup, especially because I liked the bread. Minestrone was the everyday soup and Tomato Basil was todays soup. I ordered the former, which was pretty good. It had some chunky vegetables including broccoli. I have had better soup, of course, but I liked it.


I was going to try the chicken, that was for sure. The question was, which one? I narrowed it down to Chicken Francese and Chicken Tosca, and decided to order the latter because I wanted some mushrooms. Though I was a little hesitant since the discription "lemon wine sauce" didn't sound very delectable to a lemon hater, having heard that this is one of the house best selling dish, I decided; I was pleased with what I ordered.


Every main entree in the "Plate of the House" sections comes with salad(or soup) and a side of pasta. This was not very impressive, though I remember the penne I ordered last time was nice. Anyway, this is just a "side" and the entree was big enough to fill me anyway, so I wasn't very disappointed.


The lemon wine sauce was pretty nice. It did not have too much of the sourness of the lemon but just the tint and freshness. The lightly breaded chicken was nice and soft, even for a chicken breast hater like me. Seriously, as a person who does not like lemon(including even lemonade) and chicken breast, I was not expecting to be satisfied when those two are put together.


I liked the mushrooms as well. It had little bits of roasted garlic, that had flavor but not the stinging spiciness. I tried not to finish the whole thing and leave the other piece for tomorrow, but I ended up finishing it all.


And though I was full, I really had to try this dessert. I do not remember the name, but it had three vanilla cream puff pastries with chocolate mousse-like cream, light whipped cream and anglaise(is this the right spelling?) syrup. The first time I visited Salvatore Scallopini, Ms.Speck, my choir teacher bought me a birthday lunch including this dessert. And I really wanted to try this again. Though it was not as fabulous as an year ago(also because I was very full), it was a decent dessert. I might want to share with another person though.

The other things I tried previously within a year were Veal Parmesan, Bruschetta, and Penne Palamino e Pollo. The veal was okay but I am not a big fan of "something parmesan" dish, because the sauce and cheese tends to ruin the texture of breaded beef. The other two were pretty nice. Next time, I would like to try either Veal Piccata or Filletto Diana.

I was pretty happy about tonight lonely dinner. With Chicken Tosca($14.25) and dessert(around $5), the bill was about $25 including tax and tip. The waitress was very graceful and kind, and the food was nice, and these two combined made me feel better after all my friends' betrayal. Ha!