I really do try to take it easy on Sundays. I work all week, take my long rides on Saturdays, and then Sundays start out with breakfast, reading, a cup of coffee, church, and then trying to roust my wife out of the house as early as possible to go eat something good.
Today it worked out well. Micha is a slow-mover when I want to go somewhere. She’ll do the dishes and then walk around the house finding garbage to throw out on the way to the car. And all this after “getting ready.” But today, we decided to go to a restaurant that’s about 45 minutes away (named 두오즈 if you care to look for it). I checked on line and the site said it wouldn’t open until noon, so we took advantage of it being market day to go a bit early and buy some garlic (50 bulbs). While we were there, I found out the restaurant was already open (it was about 1045), so we headed out for it. Turned out, everything was wrong. It didn’t open at noon, and it wasn’t open at 1045. It opened at 1140, and we had to wait 10 minutes.
But we got in and ordered. Now, I love this place’s Kimchi stew (김치찌개), but I can never have it anymore because Micha loves their Pork Jumulleok (a kind of spicy, marinated pork), and since I like it too, and we can get good Kimchi stew closer to home, we always get the Pork. Toss in a little mung bean kimchi pancake (this would all be so good with a bottle of makgeolli, but I’m driving), and you’re feasting like a king. Incredible flavors.
On the way home, we stopped by a bakery cafe that was absolutely packed. That usually sours my mood, but if you’re not in a hurry, it’s not so much a problem. I went to order as Micha held a table outside for us (it was a bit warm today). The baked goods turned out to be pretty good, and on a whim I bought a Grapefruit-ade that turned out to be really quite refreshing. Micha actually drank most of it instead of her iced coffee, but I didn’t mind. If she’s happy, I’m happy. I didn’t want to take any pictures, so I have none other than the name of the place.
We stopped by the market again on the way home and bought another 50 bulbs of garlic. It’s the season, and Micha will take these bulbs, peel them, crush them, flatten them to a half-inch thick in a gallon ziploc freezer bag, score them into cubes, and then throw them in the freezer. Sure, fresh garlic is great, but this is one of the most brilliant things I’ve ever seen. Need garlic in a recipe? Pull out the bag, break off a cube or two, and toss it in. I agree with what Micha said when we were walking in from the car, “We’re rich.”
