You ever have one of those miraculously wonderful days where you run like the wind and you’re lighter than air, only to come home and eat your weight in Chinese food and weissbier?
Me too.
I ran a most exhilarating four-ish miles with Kate last night in absolutely perfect weather. Runner’s High got the better of us and we rocked the last stretch at damn near a 7:00 pace with these big goofy grins plastered on our faces –don’t worry, I didn’t take pictures. It was pretty cool though.
Then my better half and I went to see about this new Chinese takeout joint and ordered up everything on the menu.
Don’t you love how the lighting in my kitchen brings out the subtle nuances of my crab rangoons?*
Anyway, the Chinese takeout was…Chinese takeout. It wasn’t gourmet, but it got the job done.
And the story is pretty much the same with the beer: Franziskaner Weissbier of Munich. It got left at my house last weekend and I didn’t want to waste any of My Fancy Shmancy Hot Shot Good Beers on Mediocre Chinese Food, because come on. And anyway, haven’t you noticed how bad beer just pairs really well with Chinese?
And really, I’m giving this beer a hard time. It isn’t bad beer. It’s just not my favorite style. (That did not stop me from drinking a ton of it when I was in Munich.)
In my experience, German weissbiers just don’t have that banana-and-cloves smoothness you find in the American wheats (example of a fantastic wheat: Southern Tier’s Heavy-Weizen). They’re just…harsher. Like your beer is yelling at you. In German.
But for whatever reason, with this meal, it just worked.
Tomorrow’s run: the Jingle Bell 5k for Arthritis. My last 5k was a PR at a 9:03 pace, so my goal is to come in just under 9:00.
Big plans this weekend? What’s your favorite “bad” food and beverage pairing?
*I use a digital Canon powershot point-and-shoot with a zero-meter zoom lens and I have never spent more than seven seconds photographing my food. That’s why all my pictures look like crap. Dig? The point of food is to eat it.
Read other installments of Food for real people.
