Eating habits

Eating these last few pieces of AYCE sushi was a real slog. Could it be my eating habits have changed?

When I was a kid, I had a health science teacher who told us our eating habits change every seven years. While I no longer hunger for Lik-M-Aid and cinnamon toothpicks, I have always regarded that lesson as fake science. But recently I’ve begun to wonder.

Specifically, this week I have been on my own at dinner time so I made a plan to hit the various Saratoga Springs dining establishments at happy hour. Monday started according to plan. I sat at the bar at Hamlet & Ghost with my Yelp friend Eric T, and we passed two hours watching the master bartenders make drinks with garnish held together with tiny clothespins. However, I found myself unexcited about ordering from the happy hour menu (other than a dozen dollar oysters, of course) and ended up eating a frozen pizza at home.

Tuesday was an off day but Wednesday was set: I would visit Morrissey’s for their half-off Wednesday sushi. If their online menu was correct, I would be eating uni for $2 per piece! But I was really enjoying watching an outlaw country music video (Heartworn Highways Revisited: check it out, as well as its predecessor Heartworn Highways) and I knew how that sushi would taste and decided I would have more fun staying home and eating leftovers. So I did.

Today, Thursday, I planned to visit the Mercantile on Broadway to see if was really true, per various Yelpers, that the food had gone downhill. So I was looking forward to a disappointing meal, and that didn’t sound like much fun. I parked on Putnam and passed by Wasabi, an AYCE place with passable sushi for $15 at lunch, and realized I could satisfy my sushi craving (sans uni, but with a lot of other stuff) for no more than I would have paid at Morrisseys. So I did. Ordered so much that I was warned for the first time that I would be charged for uneaten food. I finished it, but the last few pieces were a slog and I’m shot for eating dinner.

I don’t know if my eating habits have changed, but I do see a trend here. If I’m out with a friend, or in the neighborhood anyway, I’ll hit a favorite restaurant or try something new. Otherwise, I’m more likely to just stay at home. Fortunately, I have a freezer full of tripe, brisket and other treats so I’m not likely to starve.