••• Chispas y Resplandores •••

January 2010.  At Sola Restaurant just north of Roscoe Village in Chicago, my family had brunch before seeing me off to a train back to school in Denver.  We had gone to Sola before, but only for dinner, and may I say, in general, the food is spectacular there, but this brunch did something different.  I ordered the Five Spice Waffle - Rhubarb Compote and Mascarpone Cream Cheese.  While the toppings were to die for, all warm and gooey sitting on a hot fresh waffle, it was the waffle itself that really caught me off guard.  For those that don’t know, Five Spice is a Chinese spice blend of cinnamon, anise, ginger, cloves, and fennel.  Anyway, this waffle that looked normal was so full of flavor, carried such a strong aroma, and gave way to such an experience that I could not soon forget it.  I don’t know if anyone else has experienced a meal so good that they felt high afterward, but that is the only way to describe it.  Each bite, the creamy mascarpone, the sweet, tangy, and gooey rhubarb, and the earthy, nose-tickling, explosion of flavor in the waffle, gave way to just feeling more in touch with the smells in the air, it seemed blood was flowing to my head, and the breakfast slowed down.  I was in the most perfect place, perfectly, and I don’t use that word lightly, PERFECTLY satisfied by that brunch.  Afterwards I was full, not stuffed, just full, feeling like I would never be hungry again in only the best way, my mouth still resounded those flavors and textures, those smells, and I still felt light, still like floating, still like that day could not have started on a better note.