A Nice, Simple Meal

A favorite meal here at Chez Cicerone is edamame, sushi rice, and some grilled fish, usually rare tuna seared a bit on the outside. Tonight, though, we had a nice pair of mackerel filets, broiled with a little bit of salt and pepper. Such things are usually served with a little dish of soy sauce, which one can stir a bit of wasabi into, if one likes. Also on hand, typically, is gari, which is thinly sliced pickled ginger. Gari serves as a palate cleanser, or 'tongue Zamboni,' and is nice when you've a lot of different things on your plate. It really wasn't necessary tonight, as we were lucky enough to have some Bambic to serve that purpose, however. Bambic, from Jolly Pumpkin, is 30% "Lambicus Dexterius," and 70% Bam Biere, and is as tasty and refreshing as any gueuze. Also, though the gari wasn't required, an apres-tif of Winter Ginger Ale provided us with a different sort of pickled ginger altogether....