Yesterday was B's birthday, and it was quite the fun day. We played Descent: Journeys into the Dark (a dungeon crawl type game). Then nine of us made our way to Cafe Sierra for the $40 Buffet of Goodness where we ate entirely too much (but I specifically only had 2 donuts all day to save room for the buffet).

The things I ate:

1. Lobster Thermidor (2 because they were nummy--I began the meal and ended the meal with this).


2. Red Pepper & Cherry Grilled Salmon (I think this was one of my favorite things I ate, I wish I would've had more).


3. Teriyaki Salmon (also very tasty).


4. Jellyfish Salad (jellyfish has a weird consistency, like glass Thai noodles but also gritty).


5. Clam Chowder (best clam chowder I've ever had--I only eat clam chowder at this buffet & PD's Mongolian Barbecue).


6. Peking Duck (this is not the Peking duck I've seen on Iron Chef and was sorely disappointed: the skin wasn't crispy and the meat tasted muddy).


7. Seafood Dumpling (2 these were delish)


8. Shrimp Dumpling (only had 1 of these because they're fairly large and I wanted to save room for other things)


9. Alaskan Grilled Escargot (only 1 because they were tough, the stomach-foot was still attached and they didn't have nearly enough butter & garlic)


10. King Crab Legs (2 nummy nummy goodness)


11. Giant Prawns (3, but the shells & legs were still on, so I had to deshell/devein them myself, which was easier than I anticipated)


12. Red Pepper Chili Lobster (parts of lobster were cut up and put on this covered platter, the meat was very soft, which was good, but it was hard to get at the meat in the first place)


13. Mango Pudding (I've had mango pudding at a restaurant in Chinatown and it was heavenly, at Cafe Sierra: not so much, kind of flavorless).


14. Flourless Chocolate Cake (very rich and moist)


15. Tiramisu (was soaked with coffee, leaked onto other things on the plate)


16. Chocolate Raspberry Cake (I think the best dessert, even the whipped cream on top was good).


17. Chocolate Covered Marshmallow from the Chocolate Fountain (not very good, I think because the chocolate was semi-sweet).


18. Cotton Candy (3--I had to make up for all the baseball games I've gone to and never got cotton candy).

The highlight of the evening, though, was my brother, whom I'll call Leo (because when he was younger he either wanted to be called Leo or Zian from Kickboxer) eating a smoyster. What's a smoyster, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It's a s'more/oyster combination. Earlier in the day, Laura was so happy that there were oysters that she grabbed three and brought them back to the table. B and I have had a previous horrendous experience with oysters at the Aladdin buffet (they smelled like sewage and tasted like feet and I think I still haven't completely recovered from allowing B to peer pressure me into eating one). She gave one to her husband, and they both said they tasted good. Then Leo asked Laura if he could have her oyster and try one for the first time. He ate it and said it wasn't so bad. Said it tasted kinda cucumber-y. B said aloud what I was thinking: that it was a conspiracy on the part of Laura and her husband and Leo to get us to eat something gross. B ended up trying one later and said it was not the gross experience of the Aladdin buffet, which I believed but refused to try. Later on, Laura and I were still eating like piggies while the other seven members of our party wanted to leave. Conversation turned towards the gutter, as it is often wont to do when you get a lively group of individuals together (most of whom are of the nerdish persuasion as we are), and the table began to scheme ways in which we could bring down the class level of Cafe Sierra. One strategy was B taking off his shirt and using it as a napkin. But it was a nice shirt. When I went back for my last lobster thermidor, our friend Andrew thought up the idea of a smoyster, and when I got back Leo filled me in. And then we started talking about how cool it would be to actually eat one. And as Laura and I were trying to bribe Leo to actually do it, I finally said the magic combination of words:

"I bet you wouldn't do it for a dollar."

See, in my family, we seem to have the Marty McFly complex, and we can't back down from dares or bets--it's a matter of pride? I don't know. I admit even I have this problem. I'm sure it's a disease to which there must be a cure, because George, Leo and I all suffer from this sickness. While on the freeway, you can't say, "I bet you wouldn't jump out of this car at 65 miles per hour," because, odds are, we might do it. At either 18 or 19 (I forget when exactly), B dared me to do exactly that and I undid my seatbelt and unlocked the door and pulled it open with all intentions of jumping out because I honestly didn't care if I lived or died, and B had to swerve and pull the door closed. I think the mentality here is, "I'll show you and won't you be sorry when I actually do it. Ha ha! Sucker!" I think we grow out of it, because when the magic combination of words are uttered these days my body doesn't automatically shut down and go into auto-drive and do the thing, but I have to say, it's a struggle not to.

So, of course, in the case of smoysters, there are logistics. For instance, how can you make a proper smoyster at a buffet without access to graham crackers? Two ideas were proposed: 1) use the ladyfingers from the tiramisu or 2) get a piece of cheesecake and use the graham cracker crust.

Leo went back and got an oyster, then he went to the chocolate fountain and put some chocolate on it, and opted for the cheesecake graham cracker crust substitution, in what I assume was a bid for authenticity. And the boy ate it. We have pictures/video, but I have to obtain them from Our Mike (since we had two with us yesterday: Our Mike, whom we've known for seven years and have Thanksgiving with and who is my hero because a couple weeks ago he brought me the final episodes of The Sopranos since we don't have HBO anymore, and, Their Mike, which is Laura and her husband's friend Mike, but who is also very pleasant).

It was so awesome. And now I have the memory of smoyster for always.

Labels: family, food, los angeles, restaurant

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