No internet still, and Verizon is less than forthcoming. So the Tumblr dries up a bit, in favor or short, pithy “tweets.” A question: To what extent are foreign-based customer support representatives taught to emulate regional dialects/accents? I ask because the first of many, many representatives I’ve spoken with about this internet situation—who was very helpful, by the way—had a Texas twang mixed in with what sounded like an Indian accent. I have since spoken with representatives offering flat Midwestern, nasal New York, and colonial (vestigial?) British. Very interesting. I’m sure there’s a pop psychology book about this that I’ll pick up the next time I’m at the airport.
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I have a new favorite restaurant in Philadelphia, and I am sad that I will have to save it for special occasions. It’s called Matyson, and it’s New American Etc. but with a twist: every week, they offer a different tasting menu based on a specific ingredient, five courses for $45 and BYOB to boot. When we went, the menu centered on lobster, which, if you think about it, is the best possible ingredient for this sort of conceit. (A few weeks ago it was onion, evidently. No offense to onion, but this is no contest.) It was insanely delicious and involved much more lobster meat than one might imagine for the price. And eating lobster and foie gras in the same bite made me feel so rich and important and powerful, like some character in a Tom Wolfe novel before something bad happens to him and his fatal flaw revealed.
They’re serving the menu for one more week—next week, I mean—and I recommend everyone go. Here it is:
Lobster Mania
Ceviche
Cucumber, melon, mint, basil & yuzu
Consomme
Local summer vegetables, breakfast radish, & chervil
Butter Poached
Seared foie gras, jalapeno corn cakes, blueberry-ginger sauce
Smoked
Poricini spaetzle, wild mushrooms, bacon, chicken jus
Summer Berry Tiramisu
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Okay, bye.
