festival of carbohydrates

After realizing that you are a cougar and waking up with a hangover so intense that the shower is too loud, there is only one thing to do….

Eat a lot of carbs.

And lucky for me, most of the events happening in Richmond this past weekend were perfect for carb loading.

Italian Street Festival – I would have thought that dragging myself to the festival of pizza and pasta would help me get over the ache in my brain brought on by too much red wine and tequila drinks. I thought wrong.

Upon arrival to the festival we stopped at the stand in front of Arcadia to have a meatball slider ladled with cheese butter sauce. My hopes were high that I could feel human again, until I heard it. We made our way through the crowd and a noise started to build that can only be described as pain in the form of sound. As we got closer to the stage area I saw her. It was an opera singer, belting out high notes in Italian that on any other day could have been enjoyable, but on this day, was like someone stabbing my temples with dull pencils. I tried to push through. I ordered a slice of Sicilian pizza and could only manage two bites before throwing in the towel.

I had to leave. I couldn’t take another minute of that sound, that loud, high pitched, Italian sound. I made it to one last booth, bought a cannoli, got in my car and drove back to my sofa.

After an afternoon on the couch, I felt a little better.

Festival of India – I felt really lame for wasting a whole festival day lying around my house and figured that if anything could make me feel better it was a little spice and a whole lotta naan. Once again, I made my way downtown and illegally parked.

Upon entering the convention center I was transported to what I can only imagine India is exactly like. Crowds of people wearing beautiful sarees packed in by the hundreds walking in every direction with no conceivable flow. Amazing aromas of spices and bollywood music bounced off the walls of the convention hall.

I got in line after line and shoveled in rice, naan, more rice and spicy chicken dishes until I needed to sit down. It was a tasty way to end the day (even though it was only 7:30).  I was full and ready for bed.

Beer brunch at Secco – You would think after a good night’s sleep two days after my drinking binge, I would be back to normal. If you are thinking that, you would be wrong. What I needed more than anything was more carb deliciousness. Here is what was ordered: two ciders, brioche bread with raspberry preserves and vanilla butter, Mike’s bagel with smoked salmon spread and a lamb burger with fries. It was a lot for two people, almost too much, but not really. I could have eaten the vanilla butter with a spoon, but they probably charge extra for that.

Tell me: What is your cure for a wicked wine/tequila hangover?