Posted on 02/21/2019 2:45:09 PM PST by RoosterRedux
I was never falling-down drunk. I was never belligerent. I always got my work done. I was never unkempt. I was always clean, I was always shaved, I always performed at work. I was always kind and gracious in the dining room. But I lived in hell.
When we opened Joe Beef in 2005, we were inspired by Martin Picard at Au Pied de Cochon, by these grandiose bistros of Paris, by seafood towers, by excess. We were two portly men who ate and drank well. I was and still am very insecure about anybody coming to the restaurant and not having a spectacular meal. I want people to drink and eat to excess. I promote it.
The community of people I surrounded myself with ate and drank like Vikings. It worked well in my twenties. It worked well in my thirties. It started to unravel when I was 40. I couldn’t shut it off. All of a sudden, there was no bottle of wine good enough for me. I’m drinking, like, literally the finest wines of the world. Foie gras is not exciting. Truffles are meh. I don’t want lobster; I had it yesterday. What am I looking for, eating and drinking like this every day?
I started asking myself questions about alcoholism. What was I showing my children by eating and drinking like a Viking in front of them at the cottage? I wasn’t acting on many opportunities because I was hungover most of the time. I was medicating with food. I was medicating with alcohol. And finally it just got to a point where I was just really unhappy. My managers knew it, my staff knew it, and it strained my personal life at home. I Googled “Stop drinking,”
(Excerpt) Read more at bonappetit.com ...
If you can’t manage yourself and enjoy the things you love without excess then you only have yourself to blame. Willpower exists, you only have to harness it.
Reminds me of the Toby Keith song “You ain’t much fun since I quite drinkin’.”
There was that view into the weird world of food, which seems to be its own separate planet.
And then there is the whole wonderful story about getting sober. That's something I know about and am still learning about.
I was never an alcoholic (I don't think), because after I quit drinking I never had any cravings. But, that said, not drinking is also a "whole 'nother world"...very different and quite wonderful.
I was reminded of my experience by this story.
You go from wondering if life is worth living without alcohol to discovering life for the first time since perhaps childhood.
Anyway, thought youse guys might like this article.
A glutton operating a restaurant that focuses on gluttony.
I don’t see a downside here.
/sarc
There’s no doubt are a lot of alcoholics on this site, but not me. I’m only on my third liberation! B-u-ur-p!
Yeah, thanks.
I never went to Joe Beef, but Montreal has a great food culture, lots of great food and restaurants.
reminds me of Ecclesiastes... wasn’t that the book that talked about diving into all the different things in life: studies, food, drink, music, etc and realizing that all that really matters in the end is your faith in God?
A fabulous restaurant if you want to splurge on decadent rich food and great wines, but it’s more enjoyable on an expense account. Big steaks with a big price tag $$$$$
Long. But this is a good story. Sometimes, even very successful people need help. They need to learn that success is not necessarily tied to doing things in excess over decades, just because you’ve always done it that way before.
On a much smaller plane, I can identify.
As a 21 y/o college student in Ohio, I used to get really drunk every New Years Eve. When I was about 22, I began to think;
“Why do I have to get drunk to passing out, or drunk to the point of pretending I don’t know what I’m doing when out with friends? Can’t I still have a good time without overdoing it every single New Years Eve? Who am I impressing? Nobody. Nobody, really. They have their own lives, and to be frank, don’t really care what I do.”
Besides, once you’ve been wasted, every other time after that is pretty much the same. It was then that I decided I would stop thinking that I had to go out or lie about going out then.
I was over that insecurity, over feeling that Peer Pressure.
This was during the height of the Disco Era. I realized that I could still go out, dance, drink a tiny bit, then eat something, then still have fun and go home. No need to drink myself unconscious.
In fact, that’s what I should not be doing.
I have a very high tolerance for alcohol, so I’m glad I learned this lesson early.
But I used to enjoy a few beers at night to wash down sips of Jägermeister. I never got drunk or had any of the medical problems that come with drinking.
But, in my case, I just came to the conclusion that I had been drinking steadily for too many years. And whether I noticed it or not, I came to realize that I was slightly hungover during the day.
And when I quit, my body and my mind showed me exactly how much alcohol had become a part of my life.
By its absence.
Without alcohol, even the relatively moderate amount, life was a very different experience. And that's a good thing.
Actually some of it was “Enjoy it now because you are going to die one day”. The point was not to cling to it. You have no treasures here. None. Your kids will toss their baby pictures in the trash when you are gone.
Libation?
I have always enjoyed not drinking, just not very often.
I called it, "Beer Pressure"
Lol!
Back when I was drinking, I never enjoyed a night of not drinking.
When I didn't drink, I didn't sleep that night...and was sick as a dog the next day. Strange I thought.
Boy, oh, boy, do I sleep now. Like a baby.
Thanks for posting it. I liked it as well. I went through my own phase of drinking and eating to excess so I can relate.
It does catch up to you. I dont do it anymore and it’s been tough to direct my attention elsewhere.
That was really interesting, thank you. I was a waitress in college & a restaurant/bar is a toxic workplace for some people. There’s lots of alcohol, lots of drugs & some people won’t say no.
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