Spectacularly Bad

I really struggle to eat well when I'm traveling alone for work, and this past week was no exception. I went to DC again for a class, and on Thursday night I tried to find something relatively healthy for dinner near my hotel. It was a minor disaster.

I chose a national chain restaurant (that shall remain nameless) where I thought I'd be able to get some vegetables and not look too awkward eating alone. This particular chain has recently revamped its wine list, and I decided to try their Estancia Meritage (usually a red wine blend). Apparently the staff has not been educated on the new wines: my waitress brought me a glass of some unknown white wine. Strike one.

Having cleared up the wine confusion, I headed to the salad bar and loaded up on spinach, mixed greens, edamame, chickpeas, & sunflower seeds. I returned to my table, lifted my fork, and uncovered a large (thankfully, dead) black insect. Strike two.

Giving up on the salad, I waited until the waitress brought my entrée: a petite sirloin (which I ordered cooked medium), steamed broccoli, and mashed cauliflower. (In hindsight, perhaps ordering a steak wasn't the smartest decision. I'll take the blame for that one.) I cut into it and discovered that it was completely rare in the middle. Not just rare, but raw - cold and still a little bloody. Thinking that maybe I could still salvage part of the meal, I stuck my fork into a broccoli floret, but it was so overcooked that it fell apart on contact. Strike three.

After a short chat with the manager, I left with a corked and almost-full bottle of Estancia Meritage (that's right - they gave me the bottle, once they finally found the right wine), and without paying.

Discouraged and disgusted, I headed down the street to Chipotle to get a chicken burrito bowl with guacamole and extra cilantro.