The Odd Couple

The concert was wonderful. Jordan Hall has fantastic acoustics, and the cellists and lutist and violins sounded superb. Vivaldi’s music possesses an amazing serenity. I could use a little more serenity.
Downtown Boston: 5:30 in the evening on a Sunday. We popped into the Cheesecake Factory in the Prudential Center, and popped back out again, because there was already a wait. That place must have a license to print money. Wandered into Legal Seafoods where there was a table.

I used to work in Kendall Square right above Legal and I practically had a “stammtisch” at the bar from working late nights. One of the things I loved to eat when I wasn’t dieting, and in those days I seldom dieted, were the “Mussels Au Gratin.” Mussels, covered with cheese, crumbs, garlic and butter, all in big quantities. The regular size HAD to be shared, and the small size could easily be shared due to the serious calorie count. In the past years, Legal obviously messed around with the recipe trying to make it more “nutritionally correct,” which pretty much ruined it. Now it is gone, baby, gone from the menu. I guess I’ll have suck it up and make it at home.

I settled on grilled scallops with Cajun seasoning, green beans and rice pilaf, more or less healthy choices. Significant other ate the seafood casserole with cheese. Looked good, too.

At a booth across the way, I noticed someone who looked like my sister-in-law, who is German. Not her. Just a 50-ish woman with her husband. Looked again. They were eating a S**TLoad of salad, frisee, which is not my favorite. Never seen such a godawful amount of frisee. They each had a cup of clear soup, some kind of fish broth, no doubt. And that was it.

Now who would go to Legal and eat salad, for crying out loud? Maybe chicken or steak, but salad? They didn't order a main course. Noticed they had water, not wine. The rolls were gone, couldn’t see if they had used the butter Doubtful. Then I noticed they wore wedding rings, European style, on their right hands. Possibly German after all. Europeans usually know how to live well, but these two had that lean and hungry look. Leading the low-fat lifestyle. Live to be 100, in a joyless kind of way. A Frisee Couple.

Go figure.

The scallops were fantastic, seasoned perfectly and generous and everything a scallop should be.
Still amazed that anyone would just order salad. No seafood except maybe a scallop or piece of shrimp in the clear broth. Why?

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