In case you are unaware, there is an excellent food website entitled Grub Street. It is not entirely global (the focus is on New York City), but I do like many of the articles. Now and then, they invite various foodies and other celebrities to share what they’ve eaten in a week, in a slightly voyeuristic series called Grub Street Diet. As I do not anticipate Grub Street contacting me anytime soon (…?), I decided to do my own version. And, while I am not at the level of many of the people interviewed, perhaps you’d like to see a glimpse into my daily food life (or at least, one week in the life of this part-time foodie)!
Sunday, July 31
I tend to start my day with tea (two Sweet & Lows, with a dash of soy milk) and either an apple (Gala) or a hard boiled egg. Sometimes I might mix at up and have some cream cheese on rye crackers (so exciting!). Today is a bit different because after my apple, I decide to get out of the house and head to Clinton Street Bakery after some errands (I also debated going to either Lime Tree or Tom&Serg, but the menu at Clinton Street seemed like my best fit). I am not disappointed. I feel as if I’ve been given an American hug (in the form of a ‘Farmers breakfast’) and it’s a great start to the week. Because I am not made of money, I make dinner. I’ve been trying to incorporate a lot more meatless dishes during the week, so tonight I’m trying out a chickpea, avocado, corn and feta salad (from a recipe I found on Pinterest, that I ended up tweaking…like I do with most of my cooking).
Monday, August 1
Usually, I volunteer with K9 Friends, which takes me out of the house until 1:30 PM, but as there was a bit of a scheduling conflict, I am not needed this morning. Thus, a relatively boring day at home, but I like these days best. And don’t judge me, but I’ve been on a HUGE ramen kick, so…that’s what I had for lunch (I know, burn my foodie card). I was hypothetically supposed to go to a fancy dinner tonight, but the PR company never followed up, so… Maybe next week? Following the meatless trend, I decide to make pasta (butternut squash ravioli with pesto) for dinner.
Tuesday, August 2
Up early for Flywheel, I’m home and chilling before leaving for Abu Dhabi. Trying to keep my numbers up for Zomato, I’ve planned to make two stops: Smoking Doll for a late lunch and Todd English’s Olives for dinner (with a friend from NYUAD). It’s a lot of food, but Olives is well worth my trip up (and the sore head the following morning). I pitched another cafe in Abu Dhabi for lunch, but scheduling didn’t work out for this trip. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Wednesday, August 3
Overnight in Abu Dhabi, I’m back on the road to Dubai, but not without a quick stop at the gluten free Tawa Bakery. The breakfast is delicious and exactly what I need to revive myself (this time in the form of French toast). After a quick shower at home, it’s back out again. I I have been looking forward to meeting up with another foodie, Liloneoftheashes, and am so excited to meet her at Coffee Club (the Palm location). Lunch is…well, nothing I would write home about (and am not going to do a review of), but it was fantastic to meet someone who has a refreshing take on dining in Dubai. Dinner wants to be takeaway, but we manage to reheat a great curry from Saturday and grill some broccolini (and to be honest, I’m still fairly full from dinner and breakfast). This was another night of maybe going out (this time to Oeno in the form of an overdue ladies night), but Dubai is a city where plans fall through or change all the time. Quite honestly, I was happy to stay in.
Thursday, August 4
Because I thought I was going to be going out on Wednesday (are you seeing a pattern in my week?), I’ve kept Thursday open to catch up on reviews and writing. Thursday is also a night where, if Hubs and I aren’t going out, then we’ll order in. We’re pretty consistent in who we order from (Freedom Pizza, GRK, Sushi Counter) and tonight decide on pizza. I don’t drink, because I have Flywheel in the morning and didn’t want to be a wreck in class. Usually, by Thursday, I’m firming up what I’ll be doing next week. Which, in this case, is nothing. I’m not that worried. I’ve got two hotel stays coming up next week, so it’s okay to have a night/week off. PR works differently in this country, so figuring your week out during the week isn’t at all unique. I’m also supposed to be finishing a novel.
Friday, August 5
For once I am NOT going to a brunch.
Oops.
I used to have a rule where I would only try and brunch once a month (or less), but since stepping up the whole food blogging thing, I find myself out and about quite a bit on a Friday.
In this instance, both Hubs and I get calls to join friends for brunch (at two different places). Because I love Zoe, I head back to Dusty’s (less because of the food, more for the drinks and company). In this visit, it’s just as fun a crowd and we get to meet not only Dusty, but also his Mom (and some random Americans). We debate heading to McGettigans, but leaving the brunch at 6PM, our livers are already pretty well spent. Hubs went to Q43 (I’m glad I didn’t have to find an excuse out of there). Home for me and some leftover pizza from Freedom is enough to qualify as dinner… We’re great adults, aren’t we?
Saturday, August 6
Because we went to bed so early, we’re up and relatively together considering the big day before. Heading to the grocery, we plan a number things to prep for the week. When I was working full-time, I used to spend Saturday afternoons prepping salads and lunches. While I’ve sort of fallen out of the habit, we’re feeling constructive, and manage to not only grill, but I make a pretty awesome lentil, rice and veggie salad that Hubs will be eating all week (no recipe, I more or less made it up on the spot). For dinner, we go over to our awesome friend’s house, and they’ve cooked up an amazing Jaime Oliver ragu…it’s savory and carb-y and everything I want to start the week.
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I’d consider this a fairly standard week for me. Being a food blogger in Dubai is a lot of ups and downs, and I give props to those who are dining out more than I am.
How about you, dear reader, what does a week in food look like for you?