(Lol.)

I had no reason to leave my apartment today, so I dragged myself out to the library. Having no reason to go to the library today, I thought I might as well write a Caesar blog.

Yes, I took my sweet time before addressing the back end of a certain road trip.

These entries promise to be accordingly disparate — I have forgotten much!

(But have I forgiven…?? 🤨)

Let’s see.

Lundi, 29 avril 2024 – Casse-croûte Mam’zelle Maria – Maria, QC

Notre dernier jour à Maria, je me suis récompensée d’avoir atteint mon quota de rédaction avec un petit arrêt à l’incontournable casse-croûte locale.

Pendant mes trente minutes de marche au bord de la route, j’ai beaucoup hésité quant à mon éventuelle commande. I ultimately chose not to choose, and I’m glad for it, because I would have gone with the poutine.

Alors que sa sauce brune très BBQ m’aurait déçue davantage sans un digne contrepoids césarien. To wit:

• C’est exactement ce à quoi je pense en pensant « salade césar ».
• Plus grande que j’aurais prévu.
• Good tang.
• Lettuce felt like real people lettuce. Lettuce of the folk, quoi!
• Bacon/croutons well mixed in.
• Parmed.
• Encountered one (1) way-too-hard crouton (swallowed it like a Tylenol).
• Some croutons were really little bitsy — suggesting a novel solution to the recurrent forking problem.

As for ambiance, there being a salle à manger came as a real surprise — I’d truly expected a window on the side of the road. Sinon: shout-out to the kid in the booth next to me who kept asking her dad if she could hit him 👀

Mardi, 30 avril 2024 – Brise Bise – Gaspé, Québec

This meal inaugurated what I dubbed at the time the twenty-fours hours of unseasoned potato. These fries, the breakfast potatoes at the hotel the next morning, and more fries the following evening… All egregiously saltless. My journalistic integrity (and my bitterness) requires me to flag this at the top.

That said, on to remarks more germane to our subject.

Actually — no — wait:

The whale art on the walls was top tier (and for sale!).

Now:

• Lettuce: good, sometimes wily (the aerodynamics much affected by bacon along for the ride via dressing — Nobels in physics, please study). 
• Croutons: disintegrated on arrival.
• Vinaigrette: odd. A bit too… persistent? Garlicky? 
• Bacon: I think there was some? (It hasn’t even been half an hour and I’ve forgotten.) 

2024-10-03: I hope you’re enjoying this meta moment as much as I am.

• Parm: shaved, harshing my vibe, overwhelmed any bite it was in.  

I was a little extra cranky because the waitress kept serving me in my mother tongue.

Fear not: my companion roasted me appropriately for this.

Mercredi, 1 mai 2024 – Le Ketch – Sainte-Flavie, Québec

Whereas extant manuscript or digital notes for the two prior salads were unearthed, this third and final one did not leave such traces. I can only assume: ’nuff said.

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And thus, out we fizzle. Until next time!
xoxo, Salad Girl.

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PSST! Rediscover the first installment of lost salads here.