balliceaux and the naming of a phenomenon

balli- so good for drinks, but i'll get to that later. first, my version of the garcia effect: NAGATFT, or never as good as the first time. this is a food phenomenon that i have encountered over and over. here's the lowdown: i go to a restaurant and order x. i am wowed by x and think (perhaps too often afterwards) about returning to said restaurant for x. so, we go back and i order x. and it IS NOT AS GOOD. the level of NAGATFT ranges from "what the hell is this?" to very good/close to last time, but the thrill is gone. why does this happen? do i build up the food memory so much that the real thing can't possibly live up to how i have idolized the first experience in my head? am i over thinking things?

so, to balliceaux - both times we have been here we have been received by hostesses with attitude. the first time my meal was okay. i don't even remember what i had other than the pickle plate. which is great if you like sour pickled veg, which i do. hubs had the heritage burger which i tasted. and oh! heaven with the angels singing!. now, i will mention here that i rarely eat burgers and when i do eat them, it is from steak from whole foods which is ground and prepared in my own kitchen and on my grill. i digress. the heritage burger. juicy, nice charred flavor, fat ripe juicy tomato, buttered, toasted and fresh (to the best i can recall, local...that seems to be a theme...local) sourdough buns. hubs barely used sriracha at all. anyway, last friday i was hankering for a burger (you can take the girl out of Texas, but never ever the meat eating Texan out of the girl). despite plenty of open tables, the hostess tried to seat us at a 4-top by the door. we requested a 2-top further back and were met with a scott-hamilton-watching-bad-figure-skating sigh and were told that the tables were reserved. i pointed out to her that, per their website, and the resultant pdf that is downloaded by clicking "FAQ," reservations were taken for parties of 6 or more and that a 2-top can hardly fit 6. another epic sigh, and a "hold on" and a little wait later, we were seated at a 2-top in the middle of the restaurant. our waitress was friendly and came to our table quickly, thus preventing my head from exploding. i ordered the burger, medium, and hubs got the bubble and squeak (mashed taters and cabbage casserole). they were out of the grilled veggie skewers that he originally wanted.  long food story short, the bubble and squeak was unimpressive and the burger was NAGATFT. not even close. undercooked (it's possible that my burger could still moo). no satisfying char. had to add lots of sriracha. the 5 cheese plate featured two house made cheeses and "a cow, a sheep, and a goat" or so we were told. no other explanation was given until we asked (after the mostly unremarkable plate was served). however, i discovered mountaineer. yum! a semi-hard nutty cow from a family run Virginia farm that uses sustainable methods. we had the olive oil cake for dessert. a bit dry but lovely light lemon flavor and meringue-like icing. oh, and the lights still flicker (they haven't called an electrician in the 6 months since our last visit?), which is disorienting when one has some adult beverages on board. speaking of...

on to the heart of the matter: the drinks. fabulous times infinity. before switching to beer (a wheat on tap), i had the ginger snap:  to the best of my memory this had disaronno, vodka, cinnamon syrup and ginger. hubs had a tom yum yum: vodka, rum, ginger, lemon, lemongrass syrup and "local" chili.  both were amazing. the ginger snap was sweet but not sickly so and had actual cinnamon at the bottom of the glass (which i have read is anti-inflammatory and can lower blood sugar. if that's not a great reason to order many ginger snaps, i don't know what is). hub's drink was like a spicy mojito. i will be back. but probably just to the bar.

in other news, i am totally addicted to watching the olympics. yeah sean, lindsey and apollo! very little else gets accomplished once 8 pm rolls around. after 2 weeks, i will have piles of magazines to read.and don't get me started on the dvr backlog. i may never catch up! am going to throw caution (or more likely my money) to the wind and get my car washed tomorrow. i just can't stand it anymore it is so yucky after the snow and crap on the roads. so, prepare for a downpour next week.