Monday, April 1, 2013

Fondue for Two! Fondue for Two!

Last week I got my phone nabbed while browsing around the Nordstrom Rack in Union Square. One minute it was in my jacket pocket, the next minute it was gone. Another woman's phone disappeared minutes from mine. Everyone was helpful, but despite our best efforts it was clear our phones were just not coming back. Managing not to shed a single tear, I went directly to the Verizon store, moping and sighing dramatically on the train the entire way there.

The Verizon store broke me. They manage to incite my anti-capitalist rage like no other. The same exact services that were offered a year or two ago (unlimited data and upgrades) are now more expensive and blatantly without any clear reason. Verizon and these other massive companies can be awful with no accountability and no commitment to customer service because at the end of the day they know consumers will pay out their asses for the services regardless.

After hemorrhaging way too much money I got myself a new phone, a new phone that I know was made by workers suffering atrocious conditions across the world. I was overwhelmed by the frustration and ridiculousness of the whole thing and feeling chock full of guilt for my privilege to have this phone and get a new one within an hour of my previous one being stolen.

On the defeated walk home with Ketch, he decided to cheer me up by taking me to Vnote for a delicious dinner! We shared the new Fried "Calamari" Mushrooms as a starter, which was a little squishy but mostly breaded tastiness with a super yummy and flavorful dipping sauce. A definite must for mushroom lovers, but definitely should be avoided by people with texture issues.



Then we shared the best salad ever of my life no joke. Or maybe this is just my new favorite salad but whatever it is it's freakin' awesome. Red and golden sweet tender beets, thin delicate slices of fresh red onion, long green wax beans, and feta-like tofu crumbles all mixed in.  It was so fresh and absolutely the most mouth pleasing combination of flavors. We gobbled that baby up. Dessert being a daily (multiple times) necessity for me, we decided to try the fondue (for two).

Vegan fondue is not a common occurrence so this was definitely an extra special treat. It was actually a serving for at least four people, with heaping piles of chopped up pineapple, cantaloupe, 2 pretzel rods, chunks of fresh chocolate chip cookie, banana slices, and strawberry slices. In the middle was a pot of warm, gooey, pudding-like chocolate with a little tealight candle underneath to keep it warm.

I'm pretty sure by the time we were done, we had chocolate smeared all around our mouths and the ends of my long long hair were definitely sticky with melted chocolate. The tiny forks needed to dip and munch the fondue treats were probably one of my favorite parts of the whole experience.  I asked Ketch if he thought it was a bad idea to take them, but being an adult who loves this local business and nursing the fresh wounds of theft, I ultimately decided against it.

At $14 the Fondue is not cheap, but it's seriously a magical dream come true. It's worth a treat-splurge or split four ways with other chocolate-loving friends. And does soothe a scorched-feeling heart.


OOoooooOOOOooOOooOOOOoo fondue, you look GOOD.