Black Bear Diner

Before I launch into my tirade this morning, let me just say that I'm well on my way to 9 lbs. now! (In lay terms, that means 8.6 lbs. but 9 sounds much better!)

We were supposed to meet another couple at the Black Bear Diner last night. They cancelled, and Manny and I felt gypped that we weren't going to get to go out to dinner, so we went anyway. We've eaten at Black Bear for breakfast, but wanted to try dinner. Besides, it's a new restaurant in Napa, and any new dining opportunity is worth trying out at least once. For those of you who aren't familiar with Black Bear, their specialty is comfort food...and lots of it. They actually have large and small portions of almost everything. And the small portions (as we now know) are the same size as what you would get in any other restaurant. So the large portions are for the likes of Paul Bunyon! The menu, well, "comfort food" really says it all. Anytime you need to drown your sorrows in something other than alcohol, this is the place for you. Think fried chicken, meat loaf, fish and chips, mashed potatoes, steaks, trailer-trash green beans (and no, I don't mean that as a cultural slur), macaroni and cheese - you get the picture.

I am nothing if not determined, so I ordered the safest thing on the menu - a taco salad. The waitress asked, very politely, "Large or small?" I asked what a small was like, and she made a shape with her hands that was the size of an appetizer salad, so I ordered large. The good news was that there were no beans - the bad news was that it came on, not a plate, but a platter big enough to hold a 15 lb. turkey! (I exaggerate, but only a little). There was the requisite fried tortilla shell on one end, and then the rest of the plate, to overflowing, was covered with lettuce and tomatoes, with a little cheese, chicken, olives, and avocados. Now I have to say - this was one fresh salad, and the salsa I used instead of dressing was very good. But does any human need to eat the equivalent of a head of lettuce in one sitting? I think not!

So, in summary, my tirade revolves around overabundance. The whole there are poor people starving in Ethiopia thing. When I looked at the size of the people in that restaurant last night, it was abundantly apparent that we, as a country, need to give some serious thought to portion sizes, waste (and waist), and general self-control. The next time we feel the need to drown our sorrows, we should forgo the alcohol and the food and try exercise or some other diversion instead. WE DO NOT NEED TO EAT SO MUCH!

I'll leave you with that thought for today.