Chez Tze
I don’t think I’ve been to a dinner party since last October where I wasn’t doing the main cooking. And last night I cooked not one thing; I was at Chez Tze. No, it’s not the hottest Franco-Asian gastropub; it's the apartment of Jonathan, one of two brothers who took it upon themselves to feed me a gluten-free, tree-nut free, soy-free meal as part of a series of dinner parties they’re throwing.
In discussing the necessary menu modifications and disallowments, Jonathan, main chef for the night, reassured me that he was perfectly happy to make adjustments to the menu because the food was secondary to the company.
I swooned a little.
Are more people like this and I just don’t know them? Or have friends and new acquaintances always been like this? Or have they had the potential to have such a great attitude and I just never gave them the chance or trusted enough to let new friends feed me? Very possibly.
I go out all the time to let strangers feed me but I feel like there is a deeper level of trust to let new friends feed you, or me for that matter. I admit I was a little nervous, until I reminded myself of the above mantra “Strangers feed me all the time and I do fine.”
We had dinner in the eat-in kitchen, such a lovely rarity to experience in NYC and I was put at ease as I watched the flurry of careful preparations: separate pans, separate dishes, asking of questions and voicing of concerns.
The menu:
Starter: Quesadilla made with corn tortilla for me, spinach wheat for others - filled with jack cheese and two kinds of sausage. And a mango salsa, that I heard had a spectacular Humpty moment.
Main: me, rib eye with garlic/ginger marinade and broiled. Others, filet mignon in green curry.
Sides: me, steamed basmati rice. Others, coconut risotto. And a veggie stir fry, mine was plain, others, I don’t quite know. Looked good though.
Dessert: very tasty blackberries, the fresh homemade whipped cream mentioned in the below post and a David Glass GF chocolate cake, that I didn’t have because it had soy. And some port wine that made me a little tipsy. Really David, it did!
I think I'm ready for more of this-more trust, more eating dinner at friend's houses. More, more, more!
In discussing the necessary menu modifications and disallowments, Jonathan, main chef for the night, reassured me that he was perfectly happy to make adjustments to the menu because the food was secondary to the company.
I swooned a little.
Are more people like this and I just don’t know them? Or have friends and new acquaintances always been like this? Or have they had the potential to have such a great attitude and I just never gave them the chance or trusted enough to let new friends feed me? Very possibly.
I go out all the time to let strangers feed me but I feel like there is a deeper level of trust to let new friends feed you, or me for that matter. I admit I was a little nervous, until I reminded myself of the above mantra “Strangers feed me all the time and I do fine.”
We had dinner in the eat-in kitchen, such a lovely rarity to experience in NYC and I was put at ease as I watched the flurry of careful preparations: separate pans, separate dishes, asking of questions and voicing of concerns.
The menu:
Starter: Quesadilla made with corn tortilla for me, spinach wheat for others - filled with jack cheese and two kinds of sausage. And a mango salsa, that I heard had a spectacular Humpty moment.
Main: me, rib eye with garlic/ginger marinade and broiled. Others, filet mignon in green curry.
Sides: me, steamed basmati rice. Others, coconut risotto. And a veggie stir fry, mine was plain, others, I don’t quite know. Looked good though.
Dessert: very tasty blackberries, the fresh homemade whipped cream mentioned in the below post and a David Glass GF chocolate cake, that I didn’t have because it had soy. And some port wine that made me a little tipsy. Really David, it did!
I think I'm ready for more of this-more trust, more eating dinner at friend's houses. More, more, more!
Comments
Just in case it enhances anyone's understanding of the meal, let me note that neither quesadilla got mango salsa, as it all ended up on the floor and my pants legs thanks to Jeremy. The allergen quesadilla received a black bean dip and jalepeno hot sauce treatment instead. I consider Green Tabasco to be the condiment of the gods, but my brother got the cheap stuff instead. I don't believe the green curry used was A Taste of Thai brand, but Jon can correct me. The two allergen stir fry sauces were miso + butter for the string beans / peapods and simple soy sauce for the peppers / carrots / onions / mushrooms.
And for those playing at home, note that "chez" and "Tze" rhyme.