Living in a Hotel Sucks.
It's the end of my second week in San Jose and I've been living in a hotel room and out of a suitcase for the last 12 days.
Can I just tell you...it sucks.
The closest I've gotten to a healthy meal was some instant oatmeal I had one day last week and a couple of pieces of free fruit that gets delivered periodically to the office (it's a nice little perk, don't get me wrong).
I can't say as I've had much in the way of vegetables in two weeks. Just the occasional stir-fry at lunch and this Indian spiced okra and lima bean mixture that I tried one day on a whim at the cafeteria (yeah it WAS that good). Otherwise, it's been a lot of eating out.
That said, I've managed to explore some of the local establishments on my own. **That would translate to not having someone in the background moaning about not wanting THAT kind of food. Regardless of what kind it is, THEY don't want it tonight.
My first expedition was to find a bagel shop. Not just any bagel shop, but one that has both decent, proper bagels AND salt bagels. Everybody has veggie cream cheese so that wasn't an issue. Since I'm not in NYC, I know that I have to lower the standards right off the bat. Not too bad - as long as it's not a modified roll or biscuit, I'm a happy camper.
The first place was a bit disappointing. My bagel was flat and under cooked. It looked like dough and tasted like it too despite the fact that it was toasted. The second place was TONS better. Main St. Bagels is the place. Went there the first time and it hit the spot. The second time I went back to get the same thing, they were out of salt bagels, so they MADE SOME FOR ME! Sweet! I'm sold.
Next up was my global selections for dinner. I started with the most prevalent out here: Mexican. Ate that three days in a row. Good stuff across the board. Then I tried a little Thai dive downtown. Not too bad but they used something funky in their Pad Thai that made my mouth burn a little. And not that "spicy" burn, it was that "acid" burn. Eh.
Then I went for the Chinese. I found another dive of a place that had some good and some bad reviews online. It was pretty good. The spring rolls had actual discernible vegetables in them. Not just a mush of fibrous goo. The Kung Pao chicken was spicy like it was supposed to be. Once you got past the heat, it was a little bland. But still better than ANYTHING you can get in SC.
After that I found a shopping center that had Greek, Italian, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, and Mexican all in the same place! My own personal Val Halla!
On day one, I went with the Greek place. Olives. Got some side orders of Falafel, Dolmas, and Baba Ganoush. All of it was tasty and I had plenty left over for lunch the next day. The piece of baklava I took back to my room was a bit soggy. :-(
Day two was Indian. Sangam Indian Cuisine. Apart from the table full of male pigs next to me, the food was pretty tasty. I had the Tikka Masala and the chicken was perfectly cooked. Sometimes it gets dry despite sitting in sauce for a while. I could have done without the daal, but I ate some of it for the fiber that I apparently am lacking this week.
This place is right near my temporary apartment so I'm sure I'll be back before too long, but only after I get my home cookin' fix for a while. Dolmas aren't all that bad for you, are they?