I make it no secret that I love food. Ask anybody within earshot of me.
Go out to any meal with me and within five seconds of the food arriving at our table, I’ll have taken photos of it at six different camera angles. And you can’t forget me warning the table beforehand to not touch any of our plates when they arrive until I can capture all of the angles.
In fact, imagine my excitement that, as I write these very words, my pear quesadilla appetizer has arrived! Excuse me for a moment as I revel in its glory.
Oh, that first bite. The warmth of the crisp quesadilla combined with the cold sweetness of the fresh pear. Delectable.
What’s amazing about going out to eat is that it never gets old. Either:
- You try a new place. New sights, new smells, and new flavors; or
- You go back to a favorite. Savored dishes, beloved ambience, and sweet bliss.
You can explore a new gem or exploit a known treasure to your heart’s (and stomach’s) content.
And I haven’t even told you about the main course tonight! Here it comes now: ricotta gnocchi primavera and mushroom bolognese. I may not be able to cook gnocchi (ask the charred remains of my last two attempts), but I will take every available opportunity to order it.
I’ll be right back…
Being here…it’s exhilarating. Chatting with my kind waiter Anthony, who continues to check in on me throughout the meal. Enjoying the lively backdrop of riveting Tuesday evening conversation. Tasting every bite as if it were both my first and my last.
All you need to know is that going out to restaurants—alone, with a friend, or with a friend-to-be—is my happy place. If you ever wonder the lengths I’ll go to envision this happy place…the top photo in the Downloads folder on my work computer is of carbonara that I had in Rome nine months ago. I haven't gone a day without thinking about it.
As the top of the dessert menu wisely puts it, “Life is short, make it sweet” - Old Dominion.
And isn’t it so true? In the blink of an eye, January is already over, and February is well underway. I can’t help but smile when time feels frozen…as if this perfect moment is the only moment. Yet as I sit here, the last person in the restaurant, I can feel the evening quietly approaching its end. I guess I’ll have to settle for making another reservation.
Thank you for sharing this meal with me.