I admit I get a little enthusiastic sometimes, and sure it might be embarassing, but I mean it when I´m enthusiastic. Sometimes, I think my enthusiasm is warranted, like, for example, when I´m sort of pissed that I ate so much meat on this trip in a country that has so much meat in it that I like to imagine half the country has scurvy, despite obvious empirical knowledge that scurvy is not plaguing the fair people of Spain and knowing that there is no correlation between eating too much meat and having scurvy . . . FOR NOW. So I´m enthusiastic because I´ve been craving me some delicious vegetarian cuisine, and knowing that imagine how happy I was when walking around my new digs in Madrid(Cats´s Hostel! I know, it´s perfect right?) post-Sean and Scott Roughest and Toughest European Tour 2007, sponsored by Maoz Vegetarian, I saw a green sign with the outline of a woman in black holding a platter, and the words Vegetariano, Macrobiotico rigth beside her. This place is ´La Biotika,´ right at the corner of Amor Del Dios and C. St. Maria, and it´s a place to get enthusiastic about. Like most restaurants in Europe, there´s a menu of the day at La Biotika, and when I had lunch there today, this menu consisted of the starters of vegetable soup and salad, the latter of which was topped with walnuts, almonds, and a sesame sauce. The soup was mild, with a little spice at the end, and so hearty it was almost creamy. I saw the chef, a very friendly dude, cut the parsley fresh and top the soup with it. The platter was Bulghar wheat, creamed pumpkin, and green beans with tofu, arranged in a trinity in the center of the plate. At first, I thought the portions were somewhat small, but they were actually quite filling, so much so that I barely had room for desert, which was red tea and honey with an orange cake topped with kiwi and coconut shavings. Every part of it was delicious, and at the excellent price of €8.60, I felt like I was getting a really good deal. Besides the food, the dining space itself was refreshingly modest. Most of the vegetarian restaurants I´ve been to, including some in America and one in Montpellier called Tipti Khali, have eastern themed decor or some style that reminds you you´re having an alternative food experience, and frankly, it´s kind of tiring. La Biotika looks like any cafe, even having an easily visible window to the kitchen where the chef lays plates for the waitress to take. There´s nothing in the decor reminding you that you´re wise and possibly Asian(I´m looking at you, Great Sage) for eating vegetarian, leaving the focus entirely on the food. And you know, food tastes better when you´re not feeling patronized by the room.
Oh yes, Sean left, and he´s long safe in Baltimore by now, and I´m here across the Atlantic for another six weeks. I´ve gone nearly 36 hours on my own in Europe, but I´m still composing the Official Blog of my Thoughts on what the next six weeks will bring, and how the past five weeks have changed me(hint:only somewhat) so, stay tuned. For now though, I´m split between reflecting and planning for the hectic month ahead. I bought a round trip ticket to Lisbon today. I´m riding the night train tomorrow and I´ll wake up on Sunday to a new city, a new country, and a new month. I´m still trying to figure out how I´ll get to Morrocco, and I´m not evening worrying about Lithuania for now. And that feels great. I feel unrushed. Not less nervous about everything, not less awkward, just not in a hurry, not anxious about where I´ll sleep or how I´ll get places. Those questions always get answered, and nothing will be ruined no matter how they´re answered.
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