PERILS OF PREDILECTION
The third of a three-part series devoted to
The fine art of choosing your restaurant repast
The guidelines for procuring a proper closure are not as transpicuous as they are for the other components of a fine meal (aperitifs, appetizers, entrées), but they are extremely important nonetheless. Moreover, having begun your regalement with a certain sense of style, there is no reason for it to be consummated on any less auspicious a note.
When contemplating an appropriate beverage, for example, bear in mind that coffee is to be preferred over tea and espresso over both. This is not only a matter of good form, it is also good gastronomy. Unless you have the constitution of a billy goat, the liberal ingestion of a series of oiled, buttered, creamed, and reductively lethal foodstuffs has been known to have an incommodious effect on one's peristaltic equilibrium. The potent bitterness of espresso is extremely beneficial in expurgating the concomitant queasiness and in restoring some semblance of order to your antagonized innards. Should you have visions of walking the floor in the wee hours, try the decaffeinated version of this soothing elixir.
Cappuccino is more properly consumed during an afternoon's respite at a quiet cafe, but it is still not without its redeeming gastronomic value. If ordered following dinner, make certain that you specify the unadulterated original -- steamed milk and a touch of cinnamon only. Bastardized versions, laced with liquor and/or weighted down with gobs of sweetened whipped cream -- are to be avoided at all costs -- as are assorted other fortified nationalistic concoctions.
Despite our ongoing love affair with decadent delicacies, fresh fruit and/or cheese is still the only civilized way to conclude an exceptional evening at table. If you must indulge your sweet tooth, however, a simple, homespun fruit tart should certainly take precedence over some exotic chocolate depravity that will undoubtedly deliver the coup de grace to your already deteriorating nether regions.
Should you feel the need of a postprandial restorative, you would do well to remember that vintage ports and fancy desserts wines of either French or German extraction could very well represent next month's mortgage premium. These pricey items are best savored at home. A congenial, modestly-priced snifter of Cognac, Armagnac, or brandy (unflavored) is a suitable denouement to any fine meal.
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Bon Appétit!
