Mussels and seabass and clams, oh my!

We had a really nice little party at 4pm at work yesterday to celebrate getting through (well, almost) the first week. It was really nice, the team gets along so well. :)

After work around 6:30pm, we met up and went by metro to a restaurant for a leadership dinner (long story on why I was included on that, not sure it's blog-appropriate though). Alessio, a team lead here in Prague, chose the restaurant and man was it amazing. Now, those who know me know that I don't really touch seafood except for breaded fish and shrimp. Well this place was intense.

That said, I do have a travel attitude of "don't assume you don't like something, and try everything once". So that's what I did. The place was beautiful. Champagne was poured, then wine. Then out came a little plate with one little item on it. I asked what it was. The reply was "tuna tartar". So...tartar means it's raw, right? Oh well, I've had sushi and liked it - down the hatch it went. I actually liked it but on my third bite it kinda hit me what I was eating, but it was down and all in all I liked it (probably wouldn't order it myself though).

We ordered our main courses and, not being accustomed to the whole first-course second-course etc. thing, I figured that was next. But out came three giant platters, spilling over with various treasures from the sea.

Clams in their shells, mussels, some kind of fish in a tomato sauce, and something that looked like white spaghetti.

Hesitant as I was, I just kept repeating to myself, "Try anything once." Mr. Russo scooped some clams onto my plate. "Here, try these Alia!" I was glad he put them on my plate for me because I might not have had the guts myself. I also got some of the tomato-fish and some of the white spaghetti, and also one of the mussels in a tube with breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs make everything less scary, so I tried that first. It was a definite no-no - the texture was like chewing, and trying to eat, a thick rubberband. Next I tried the white pasta. It had the texture of cheese, and tasted salty like mozzerella cheese. I said aloud, "Hmm this is good, is it cheese?" Mr. Russo piped in - "That's calamari."
"And that is...?"
"Squid."
And then I couldn't eat it anymore :( Yes, I'm one of those people.

Then came the one I was avoiding - the clams. I pried the little shell open and inside was a gummy sack of...who knows what. I knew I had to do this, otherwise I'd be a seafood waster. I told myself, if it's bad, I can just swallow and it will be over. But I decided to try chewing - actually not bad. It had a pleasant, non-fishy flavor and had the consistency of a fatty bite of steak. I actually managed to get all three down, but politely declined when I was offered more. :)

Then the main course came, along with what seemed like endless wine. I had ordered tortellini stuffed with mortadella, which I'd never had before but Mr. Russo assured me it was meat, not seafood, so it was a win in my book. It was fantastic but I literally could not eat anymore at the end, so I passed off what was left on the rest of the table. I also tried a bite of seabass, which I really liked.

I couldn't eat another bite, that is, until I saw the dessert menu. I'd never had creme brulee, so I decided to try that, and man was it good. Desserts are good in any culture and never contain seafood (or grapefruit, the only food I claim to truly despise in this world).

All in all, I was glad I tried all those new things, loved the restaurant, and had a really swell time.

We took the metro home and I went for a nightcap with Moff and Danger, even though I didn't feel like drinking (the waiter mistakenly brought me a beer, so I just gave it to Moff). I bid farewell to my new friend Danger that night, as he was off to Bangalore for another office visit.

And that was that. :)

Oh - one more thing I have to add. You know the "that's what she said" jokes, of course, well we had a reeeally good one at the restaurant. Moff and I were sitting next to each other, and he mentioned he was sitting awkwardly since his leg was right where the tables were adjoining, so the table legs were in his way. I said, "I can move over a little more," to which he replied,
"Nah, I need a solid 8 inches."

That is, indeed, what she said.