2.068

14 (Mon) March 2011

Chicken Caesar Salad

1.0

at Costco

-Yangjae, Seocho, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

w MtG

Caesar salad is an Italianish dish.  It’s a salad consisting of romaine lettuce, olive oil, garlic, wine vinegar, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper, salt, egg yolks, parmesan cheese, croutons, as well as Worcestershire sauce and/or anchovies.  Generally, it’s attributed to Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who (or someone on his staff) created the dish at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, and later offered it as his subsequent restaurants in Los Angeles, where it became famous.  Now a staple at American restaurants and Italian restaurants around the world – not sure about Italian restaurants in Italy.

The version at Costco is plentiful and cheap at 5,000 won.  But otherwise a bucket of crap.  That chicken, for example, is it boiled?  Like most prepared foods at Costco, however, I’m dourly sure that the price will persuade me to come back for more.

Every 14th day of the month in Korea is designated as some ridiculous romantically-oriented special occasion.  It starts with February 14, Valentine’s Day, when girls present their boys with chocolates and other gifts.  This is followed by March 14, White Day, when the boys reciprocate.  My favorite one is April 14, Black Day, when those without significant others join together and wallow in their shared shame by eating jjajang myeon (black bean sauce noodles).

I had asked MtG to meet me at Costco so that we could discuss our plans for a business that we’re contemplating while I bought my wife a last-minute White Day gift: a bottle of Kirkland-brand super omega-3 fatty acid capsules.  She’s been harping about them for months.  Not so romantic, but hey, for Valentine’s Day, she got me a set of cutting boards, from Costco – that’s marital karma.

And my wife had a prior engagement, a company party.

(For more details re food, see WHAT)

(For more details re venues, see WHERE IN KOREA)