Word: rice
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...Anne Rice...
...even completed Anne Rice's The Vampire Armand before I had to push the book away as you might do to a meal you've started and are too full to finish. Several times I sat back in my chair with a full stomach and sighed gustily, and yet I wouldn't call the feeling one of satisfaction. It was, in fact, reminiscent of eating an entire chocolate cake, followed not by an expected satiety but rather by a too-sweet nausea. The Vampire Armand is such a dessert, so rich that one bite is an indulgence...
From the outset of Armand, it becomes evident just how fascinated Rice is by her subject. Rice bestows upon her novel one of the most complimentary gifts any writer can give--an image-rich setting. Couched in the velvet, vibrance and vixens of medieval Constantinople and Venice, Armand continues the vampire exposition that began with Interview with the Vampire. Figuring to a small degree in Interview (whose later film spawned my eighth-grade obsession with Brad Pitt) was Armand, the head of the Paris coven of vampires. How was it that Armand rose to such otherworldly prominence? Armand relates...
...good sushi lies in the oft-overlooked rice, which has to strike the right balance between vinegar and salt. Straying too far toward one or the other extreme is treacherous and detracts from the flavor of the fish. Additionally, the consistency of the rice is imperative. Once the proper proportion of ingredients is calibrated, the rice is compacted on mats into little rolls. In the absence of adequate air between the grains, the texture and flavor are ruined. When the balls of rice supporting nigiri sushi are too compact, they interfere with the customer's experience of the fish...
...point. A soy bath drowns out the nutty taste of more delicate fish like suzuki (sea bass) or yellowtail. Crab sticks ($3) are supported by thin strips of cucumber and held together by a ribbon of seaweed on top of a gently formed and richly textured ball of rice. Velvety tuna is pounded into the texture of tartar and mixed with scallions in the Tuna and Scallion Roll ($4.50). Iridescent slabs of yellowtail arrive on a platter ($16.50) with translucent pink tuna slices, striated salmon, and a seaweed purse brimming with giant red roe. A fat pink shrimp is split...