The Best Meal of My Life

Yesterday, my friend Jason Selva had let me know that one of his students named Ali happens to be a Chef at Breeze in the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Ali, was kind enough to offer us a 10 course dinner that was paleo themed. With my weight being a non-issue this tournament, I happily obliged.

However, there was a big if. Would my mouth be ready for this after having my wisdom tooth pulled out just the day before?

Time would tell. First, there was training to be had at Gracie Barra Burbank (http://www.gbburbank.com) under Professor Alberto Crane. My main concern with training was just to stay healthy and get a good work out in. Alberto was understanding, and had me run the training session to my desire. So, I made the session all based on drilling sequences. I always like doing chain drills, e.g. double-leg to guard pass to bottom man recovering and sweeping, then bottom man escaping to his feet. We did this for about an hour, then broke off into live rolling.

I had the pleasure of working with Dan, a blue belt under Alberto, who was an accomplished collegiate wrestler. He worked a good pace and helped me get the most of my workout. I got chin checked a few times during drilling, but my mouth was fine, and the wound from the extraction seemed to have recovery very well.

Afterwards, I had a nice lunch with Alberto, and then headed back to my hotel. I rested for a bit there, before doing my hotel cardio circuit. 30 Minutes of Elliptical with sprints, and then 30 minutes of bicycle with sprints. I was impressed with my performance, as even with my heart rate reaching over 170bpm during a hard sprint, my breathing was super controlled. I could even hold my breath and continue pushing no problem. I can’t recall a time that my cardio has been this good.

After showering up, I met up with Jason, Monique, and Javier from Selva BJJ to indulge ourselves in a 10-course dinner.  If you have been following me for some time, you know how passionate I am about food. I was happy that my teeth presented no problems during this dinner, and man what a dinner it was.

I like to think that I have a somewhat cultured palette – but it is clear that I have so much to learn! I felt like I was Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel, as Chef Ali would present each course and give us an explanation of the origins of the dish and a breakdown of the preparation. I have eaten many great styles of cooking and food, but this wasn’t food – it was edible art. My taste buds have never been so happy in my life. Just one great dish after another, each with unique flavors that were crafted to perfection.

This meal alone made my trip to LA worthwhile. It has opened a new door for me, and it is clear that I need to make more friends with fabulous chefs, lol! If you live in LA, you need to dine here and indulge yourself at Breeze (http://centuryplaza.hyatt.com/en/hotel/dining/Breeze.html).

Needless to say, I slept like a baby that night. I also enjoyed a parting gift in the morning from Chef Ali – a chocolate, banana, date, and hemp milk smoothie. As expected, it was the perfect start to the day. I then went back to train with Selva BJJ (http://selvabjj.com) and got an amazing workout. I finished that workout at around 189lbs, after drinking a third of a gallon of water. I was pretty surprised at how low my weight was, considering that I haven’t been holding back on eating over the past 2 weeks. My metabolism is still very strong, so I definitely have to take advantage of it.

I have had Mexican, Japanese, American, International, and Persian cuisines so far in LA – so it was time to get some Caribbean flavor. I had some great Jamaican Jerk Chicken and veggie patties for lunch in a hole-in-the-wall place. The sweetest lady served me there, and man was the spice in that place kicking like karate – lol!

Now, I am just chilling in the hotel until later tonight. I might do a light workout, although my weight is so low that I will probably pass and just do a healthy but hearty dinner to pack some pounds.