What's on the menu?
Feelings for dinner, it's possible.
An example of the food this menu has been inspired by. Watermelon sashimi. My own picture.
May I take your order?
Thank you, TikTok, for inspiring me. Sometimes that app is useful.
Either way, I love the implications of describing my most inner emotions as food. Meals, even. I love cooking and food. Yet I hate the act of eating. Which describes my relationship with emotions very well.
A little bit of an explanation for how this menu is built. The further we get into the courses, the more an emotion is experienced. So, the dessert can be seen as most important/most experienced. I cannot vouch for that statement, though. Because I do fear most emotions are too complicated for me to ever truly know how to express and experience.
The photos that are put in this letter are pictures of dishes that I have made. I work in hospitality, as a part-time job. Maybe - who knows? - I will make it my actual job. But for now, it’s a hobby and a passion.
Disclaimer: They’re not available to be orderered seperately, by the way. If you go for the course, you will have and finish all.
Amuse bouche
Sweet potato soup
It’s of the utmost importance to start light and classy. Nothing too filling, since there’s plenty to come. But just to get the feel for the restaurant. For the vibe. I would say the amuse bouche of my emotions would be contentment.
Contentment is quite the word. It’s broad. I do feel it occassionally, but it never lasts long. Just like an amuse bouche, small and quick to be gone. Making you long for more. That’s why I would serve a soup. Preferably sweet potato soup with a dash of cream. Warm, comforting, yearning. In a small glass.
Iced tea
A drink to start the evening with? I will be serving a cold glass of iced tea. With a lemon slice. No need to rush into the alcoholic beverages just yet. The iced tea should satisfy. Yet it will still leave you thirsty. Contentment, yeah?
First course / starters
The first course will be consisting of three small dishes. Rather, I would like to name them small. We’re slowly heading towards more adventurous recipes.
1. Salmon with lemon mayonaise
The amount of anxiety the plating of this dish gives me. Every single time. It’s not the main course, not even close. But it has a lingering taste. You can never get it out of your mouth. It’s familiar, almost cozy. You will be frowning because of the mayonaise - albeit occassionally - nonetheless. Despite the issue that you never liked it. But I do eat it often. To build tolerance. And I will feel the aftermath for hours to come.
2. Garlic bread
Next up, which pairs nicely with the salmon, is garlic bread. Delicious, golden brown baguette. With so much garlic you would never speak to anyone ever again. Still warm as it comes out of the oven. I can already feel my mouth starting to water. Exactly what my feeling of longing conveys.
3. Prawns in a garlic butter sauce
We are staying in the fish theme. I love any seafood, really. It’s a starter, because my annoyance is always on the surface, too. It is probably rooted way deeper. The amount of feelings I have but never own up to, I could write an entire recipe book about. But the prawns will be nicely roasted in the pan, with oil, garlic and some spring onions. Then the butter will be added for the sauce. Incredible to pair with the garlic bread. Creamy, strong, full of herbs. Definitely something that is present.
Any blonde beer
See how the starters all go well together? Which is important, naturally. And it sucks, when we do think about the fact that they are feelings. The starters will be paired with a blonde beer. Nothing too strong - not the best in comparison to the fact that you will be eating seafood - but it’s a safe option.
Both the salmon and the prawns. My own picture
Second course / main
Weizen
I would say the main course is the emotion(s) I experience the most. Everything is connected, after all. But I can assure you, the main course will be served with a nice Weizen*. Refreshing, definitely bitter and in general a taste that lingers on your tongue.
*Wheat beer. I am European, specifically Dutch. So, my apologies, Americans.
Goat cheese crème brûlee
The star of this evening’s menu would be the main course, naturally. You will be served a goat cheese crème brûlée. With an non-optional side of serrano ham - which I will be assigning the title of regret - which will only cost you a little bit extra. You have no say in it, though.. And not taking it will make sure you cannot think stop thinking about what you missed out on tonight. Bitter, savory, the taste of guilt. Yet, it’s also surprising. The more you eat of it, the more you will start to appreciate the taste. There’s definitely a limit, though.
Homemade fries
We will be having a side of homemade fries. They’re crunchy, tasty. With a truffle mayonaise and normal mayonaise. Enough salt to not taste your tears through it. There’s no need to feel shame for enjoying salty fries. As long as you can ignore everything else bugging you, right?
Salad
The last side for this main course will be a refreshing salad. Lettuce, of course. It’s a mix of corn salad, arugula and a salad mix - whichever the store may have in handy today - with some tomatoes, cucumber, honey mustard dressing. It’s easy. Definitely looks good. And, despite all the saltiness and the different tastes of the goat cheese and fries, it compliments well. The salad, I would say, is almost impossible to be lacking at a restaurant. Because, what kind of life is a life without wonder?
Goat cheese crème brûlée. Ft. my colleague his hand. My own picture.
Third course / dessert
Stroopwafel parfait
If anyone were to ask me what my favourite dessert is, I would absolutely say ice cream. My love for ice cream is so incredibly big. But more fine-dining focused restaurants - most of the time in my experience - don’t serve ice cream with their desserts. Which I must admit, does make me feel a little sad. As if ice cream is not worthy to be seen as special enough?
Either way, the main dessert would be a typically Dutch stroopwafel parfait. Topped off with a homemade stroopwafel and homemade caramel cremeux. It’s genuine, soft. Sticky. And absolutely perfect, to me. I absolutely adore it. I don’t think I will ever not love. Homemade stroopwafels are always a bit too hard, I find, and these are no different. It takes effort to bite into it, to get a taste of the goodness. The soft parfait underneath - hidden underneath the seemingly star of the dessert - makes up for it though. Creamy, comforting.
Which makes love the emotion that we surge for in this dessert. Just maybe, if it were served with ice cream, I would find it even more pleasurable? Or would I stay stuck at the main dish, trying not to think about everything else I could have ordered?
One scoop of ice cream
Since I love ice cream so much, I will be ordering a single scoop of ice cream next to it. Nothing too much, since that parfait will be keeping me full for the entire night to come. Right? Or maybe I will order two scoops, since I am craving it so much.
One scoop of vanilla. Classic, safe, soft. A lovely pairing to the taste of stroopwafel, truly. Or maybe a scoop of maple syrup walnut? I love the taste of the gooey maple syrup - the occassional crunch of a walnut - and the slightly nutty but definitely sweet taste of the ice cream on it’s own. Yet, cinnamon ice cream sounds amazing, too. One of my favourites. It may not pair well with the parfait, or the stroopwafel. I do want it. Or…-
Fruit salad
Just because I can - I am the owner of this restaurant, after all - I will be serving one last dessert dish. A fresh bowl of fruit has never wronged anyone. It can almost serve as a palette cleanser, in some sort of way. To reconnect with the simpler pleasures of life. To appreciate it. I will always be expressing my gratitude for the fact that I can even write this. That I have the privilege to experience such amounts of food. I don’t have to worry about when my next meal will be. Or where I will sleep tonight. If I am safe in my own bed. And that’s something I don’t take in consideration often enough. Hence why I must be eating not enough fruit, I suppose.
Pornstar martini with prosecco
It is of the utmost importance that this pornstar martini is paired with the prosecco. Just as that the fruit salad served as a palette cleanser, so will this prosecco. Maybe, just maybe, will the champagne cure me of all that is wrong. Then - finally? - I will enjoy the fruity cocktail.
Black coffee
To end this evening of - I would say wonderful, but I think I mean rather confronting - eating, you will get a cup of black coffee. No, there is no option to ask for sugar or milk for that matter. You need to taste the coffee itself. To own up to it. And maybe - just like I have - you will start to love black coffee. No matter how bitter, dark, depressing or brooding it may seem at times. Because it’s still one of the “smaller” pleasures in life.
Stroopwafel parfait, homemade. My own picture.
Until next time?
Thank you for coming by Milena’s corner. The name still reminds me of a sandwich shop or a café. But I hope it can be seen as something more refined. Not that it would matter to me. I want to serve the food that makes me feel. And hope to touch people that way. Food is the way to the heart, right?