It's Okay . . .

First Lady Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is being skewered for having the audacity to go on a binge at the new Shake Shack that recently opened in Washington, D.C.  As you know, she is tackling childhood obesity and advocating healthy eating and revamping school lunch programs.  The media called her a hypocrite and nitpicked to the point of calculating that her meal totaled 1,700 calories.  I don't agree that this makes her a hypocrite.  Even I, the Skinny Gourmet Guy, like to pig out every now and then.  Life is too short to be strict about your diet 100% of the time.

Salt & Pepper Gaufrettes

Just this past weekend I spotted Salt & Pepper Gaufrettes at Epicerie Boulud near Lincoln Center.  Despite my love of Pop Chips I bought them and devoured them over the course of the weekend.  My friend Melody and I even have a tradition of having chicken wings at Blondies, a sports bar on the upper west side.  Sometimes we unwittingly go there on nights of championship games and the place is packed and noisy.  We do this 3 or 4 times a year.  So, lighten up and live a little!

PS - here's a description of Gaufrettes.  It's really just a fancy name for potato chips, but read on:

gaufrette
[goh-FREHT]
1. Thin, lightly sweet, fan-shaped wafers usually served with ice cream, mousse and other such desserts. When baked on a special gaufrette iron (similar to a waffle iron), the wafer's surface is waffled. Before cooling and crisping, gaufrettes are sometimes curled to form an ice cream cone. 2. Gaufrettes pommes de terre  are crisp, latticed potato wafers.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.