Some food reviews are good, and some are... not.
For the past week or so, I've had what feels like a nasty cold. My throat is sore. I cough when I talk. I have difficulty swallowing because it feels like my throat is swollen shut. I took 4 home COVID tests over the past week or so, and all came back negative. But apparently the latest strain that is circulating sometimes does that. So just to be safe, I had a PCR test yesterday (results take 24-48 hours to come back).
I also really wanted some comfort food for dinner - preferably, that I didn't have to prepare myself. I wanted Mapo Tofu. I've been dying for real, authentic, Chinese food since moving away from Atlanta, and leaving my job that involved multiple business trips to China each year (but not before those perks spoiled me and raised the bar on Chinese food for me!).
I found a Chinese/Asian Fusion place here in Tallahassee, it gets decent reviews, and while not fully authentic, their menu showed Mapo Tofu and indicated that it is spicy (as it should be). I was excited. This place, Azu, had promise.
As it was served to me, I noticed that sauce looked more brown than red, but I figured it would be only mildly spicy as they probably needed to cater to the local population here in Tallahassee. And as I ate my dinner I became more and more concerned. It wasn't very spicy. It wasn't even mildly spicy. It had NO spicy or heat profile. And yet the menu said it should be spicy. Link to Menu
I packed up my leftovers, and returned to my apartment alarmed. I had lost my sense of taste. Surely I had COVID. This seemed terrible. I took the day off of work so as not to impact my colleagues and share my germs. And then... I got my test results back tonight. Negative. Which is great. For me. But it also means, I will not return to Azu. Their spicy dish was so bland I thought I'd lost my taste buds. Cannot recommend.
