As I reflect on what I expected to
find dining at Rustica, I see that in some ways my expectations were fairly
correct, yet in others completely wrong.
I had anticipated a very intimate dining experience, and that is what I
got. Though it was not as dimly lit as I
had imagined, the small space and atmosphere did create an intimate feel. I anticipated perhaps feeling somewhat out of
place being there with friends rather than on a date, but we were certainly not
the only non-couples in the restaurant and I could imagine going there with my
family of five.
In terms of the food, I was prepared
to be blown away and I was. The food was
excellent and rich, as I had expected it would be. I was glad I ate minimally during the day
because I was very full by the time we left, especially after the spectacular
brownie. The menu was smaller and more
incomprehensible than I had expected it to be, hence me needing to pull out my
phone to look up some of the words. But
in terms of quality and presentation, my expectations were met, if not
exceeded. The price of the food I was
actually pretty shocked by. I was
thinking there was no way I would be walking out of there paying less than $50
for an entrée and tip. I was able to get
that and split a brownie spending no more than $40. My main concern with dining at Rustica was
that the food wouldn’t be worth the price, but I almost think I was getting a
deal. It would be a different story if I
had been drinking alcohol and buying appetizers, but I was able to walk out
feeling completely satisfied without my heart sinking from the money I spent.
I chose Rustica because I thought it
would be the most different dining experience I would find in Kalamazoo,
although I didn’t expect it to be extremely different than what I had
experienced in the past. My family goes
out to eat a lot and we enjoy all types of food. Looking back, I realize Rustica was much more
different than I had anticipated.
Despite my family’s frequent eating out, “farm to table” type of dining
is not very common where I am from and therefor not a very common thing for my
family to experience. The higher end
restaurants we typically venture to are either seafood places, steakhouses or
strictly Italian. Having such a wide
variety on such a small, seasonal menu was not something I had much experience
with, and this added to my enjoyment of the restaurant. Eating at Rustica has made me more curious
about local foods and seasonal dining.
I think the most glaringly wrong
expectation I had for eating at Rustica was that it would “provide a classic, European, and
obviously rustic menu.” The problem with
this assumption was not that it was incorrect, but that I don’t even know what
it means. After reading “Culinary Tourism”
and discussing our reviews in class, I have begun to realize how meaningless
those words really are. There are 50
countries in Europe (51 if you include the Vatican), so describing something as
“European” is about as vague as you can get.
It goes back to the notion of “authenticity.” It is a term that has been thrown around so
frequently it has lost its meaning.
Describing something as classic European is ridiculous and completely
indefinable. Calling something European
gives me absolutely no idea of the flavors or textures involved. Although I see that this assumption is
obviously ridiculous now that I look back at it, I am glad I made the
mistake. It signifies the importance of
specificity with descriptions and the problems with assumptions. Saying something is authentically European
depicts an assumed understanding of what European is, even though that is an
indefinable term, even for Europeans.
The experience of reflecting before,
during and after my dining experience made me practice mindful eating and think
more critically about what it is I enjoy and dislike about dining
experiences. Thinking about what my
experience would be like ahead of time made me very aware of everything I was
experiencing as I experienced it.
Reflecting afterwards also made me think critically about the food and
ambiance of the restaurant. It made the
experience more fulfilling and the memory more rich. I think going through this writing assignment
and comparing it with what we have been learning in class such as what we
learned from “Culinary Tourism” has helped me improve my mindful eating skills
and will make me continue these practices in the future, whether I am eating a
duck from Rustica or a hot dog from Coney Island.
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