i was a pretty picky eater as a child. this, coupled with my family's propensity for all things Tex-Mex, has shaped me into an adult with a somewhat limited palette. i am not at all ashamed of this and sometimes actually feel a sense of pride at my mastery of culinary creations involving beans and cheese. however, there are times when some additional experience would be beneficial. tonite was one of those times.

i met with a friend from college and her mother at a local bistro for dinner. the red flags should be raised to half-mast at the mere mention of "bistro." my friend ordered an artichoke appetizer for us to all share. i have encountered artichoke in various forms on several occasions, so i had no cause for concern yet. but when this artichoke came out it was in it's quite raw and natural state - a state which i had not previously witnessed. go ahead and raise the red flag to the top. remembering the cardinal rule of dining on unfamiliar items, i watched my friend from the corner of my eye to see how she handled it. i saw her pick a "leaf" from the artichoke, dip it in some fancy sauce, and put it in her mouth. i thought i had gleaned enough crucial information to try it out for myself, so i followed suit and grabbed a leaf, dipped it, and popped it in (in one smooth, elegant motion i might add). i chew and chew and chew and chew on this dang leaf and i am not making progress. dismayed, i steal another glance at my friend's plate and notice she has only put a tiny portion of each leaf into her mouth! so immediately i know i wasn't supposed to eat the entire thing. but i'm committed to the leaf at this point, so i continue to chew. still making no headway, i finally give up and swallow. that bad boy scrapes my throat the whole way down.

not long after the painful swallow, my friend's mother asks if i don't care for the artichoke. i finally was out with it that i wasn't well-versed in the way of the artichoke and had accidentally eaten the whole thing. the mother then admitted that she had in fact been wondering where the remainder of my leaf had gone...

they were both really quite gracious and gave me a quick lesson in eating artichokes. i only tried one more after that, but i think i have it down. next time i'll know...to stick with the artichoke dip, that is.