Evening out
Feb. 1st, 2003 01:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrTonight was my night out, and B. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
minnehaha surprised and really touched me by inviting me to be his guest to dinner at Vincent's (perhaps moved to compassion after I had posted one too many LiveJournal entries about the hassles of trying to cook for a family of impossibly picky eaters). On the theory that I should seize this golden opportunity to try as many excellently-prepared interesting foods as possible (that my family wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole), he urged me to join him in ordering the six-course tasting menu, and so we did. B. is extremely knowledgeable about foods and wines, and has wide experience with food writing. He and Karen have done several well-received restaurant guides for conventions, including Minicon and Worldcon. (See here his recent post about his experience eating at the chef's table in the kitchen at Vincent's). B. could undoubtedly give you a better technical description of the various courses, but they were an amuse bouche of salmon tartare, a course of lobster ravioli, monkfish with califlower puree, oxtail in a wonton wrapper, seared breast of duck, cheese, and dessert. All the courses had various wines chosen to compliment the food. Since B. knows him, the owner, Vincent Francoual (and several key members of the staff) came out to speak to us, and Vincent gave us a tour of the kitchen after we had dined.
From there, B. took me to Kieran's Irish Pub. There we metjbru and daedala and listened to the Tim O'Malloys sing raucously about whiskey, the I.R.A., joblessness, and betting on horse-racing, etc. Songs like "Ye Cannae Throw Your Grannie from the Bus." We sat and watched the beautiful twenty-year olds smoke thin dark cigarettes, playing with exhaling smoke through their mouths as they inhaled through their nostrils, and we played with and admired jbru's Ipod MP3 player. I amused myself by noting the posters of Irish poets and the various messages neatly painted on the walls:
Finally, we called it a night. The music was wonderful, but I can only tolerate so much tobacco smoke in one evening. B. dropped me off, and I thanked him profusely and went in.
It is a pity that such a lovely evening had to end on a sour note, but when I went into the house, I was greeted by my caro spouso with the discouraging news that the hot water heater pipes have sprung a leak all over the basement. The water had to be shut off in the entire house. No water for flushing, for drinking, for cooking, for bathing, for anything. I reek of tobacco smoke and cannot even wash my makeup off.
Sigh. Well. That's tomorrow's problem (well, today's technically; it's well after midnight). I will try not to let it bother me until then. Today (yesterday, now) was too much fun.
Peg
minnehaha surprised and really touched me by inviting me to be his guest to dinner at Vincent's (perhaps moved to compassion after I had posted one too many LiveJournal entries about the hassles of trying to cook for a family of impossibly picky eaters). On the theory that I should seize this golden opportunity to try as many excellently-prepared interesting foods as possible (that my family wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole), he urged me to join him in ordering the six-course tasting menu, and so we did. B. is extremely knowledgeable about foods and wines, and has wide experience with food writing. He and Karen have done several well-received restaurant guides for conventions, including Minicon and Worldcon. (See here his recent post about his experience eating at the chef's table in the kitchen at Vincent's). B. could undoubtedly give you a better technical description of the various courses, but they were an amuse bouche of salmon tartare, a course of lobster ravioli, monkfish with califlower puree, oxtail in a wonton wrapper, seared breast of duck, cheese, and dessert. All the courses had various wines chosen to compliment the food. Since B. knows him, the owner, Vincent Francoual (and several key members of the staff) came out to speak to us, and Vincent gave us a tour of the kitchen after we had dined. From there, B. took me to Kieran's Irish Pub. There we met
jbru and daedala and listened to the Tim O'Malloys sing raucously about whiskey, the I.R.A., joblessness, and betting on horse-racing, etc. Songs like "Ye Cannae Throw Your Grannie from the Bus." We sat and watched the beautiful twenty-year olds smoke thin dark cigarettes, playing with exhaling smoke through their mouths as they inhaled through their nostrils, and we played with and admired jbru's Ipod MP3 player. I amused myself by noting the posters of Irish poets and the various messages neatly painted on the walls:Apostles of Freedom are ever idolized when dead, but crucified when alive.
Work is the curse of the drinking classes
Kind friends and companions come join me in rhyme
Come lift up your voices in chorus with mine
Let's drink and be merry all griefs to refrain
For we meet and might never all meet here again
Finally, we called it a night. The music was wonderful, but I can only tolerate so much tobacco smoke in one evening. B. dropped me off, and I thanked him profusely and went in.
It is a pity that such a lovely evening had to end on a sour note, but when I went into the house, I was greeted by my caro spouso with the discouraging news that the hot water heater pipes have sprung a leak all over the basement. The water had to be shut off in the entire house. No water for flushing, for drinking, for cooking, for bathing, for anything. I reek of tobacco smoke and cannot even wash my makeup off.
Sigh. Well. That's tomorrow's problem (well, today's technically; it's well after midnight). I will try not to let it bother me until then. Today (yesterday, now) was too much fun.
Peg
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-01 01:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-01 05:01 am (UTC)Come lift up your voices in chorus with mine
Let's drink and be merry all griefs to refrain
For we meet and might never all meet here again
I have a recording of this! It's called "Health to the Company". Of course, my recording was done by a trio of RenFaire wenches whose repertoire includes not a few baudy numbers as well, but they've got a couple of drinking songs in there too, and this is the second song on my tape.
Sounds like you had a great evening, hot water heater notwithstanding. And (in your other post) the Elf-brooch necklace is very pretty.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-01 07:30 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-01 08:51 am (UTC)You asked where the chef came from. Vincent Francoual was originally trained in France, and was the chef de partie at Lespinasse and the sous chef at Le Bernadin (both top New York restaurants). He was the executive chef at Cafe Une Deux Trois before opening his own restaurant.
B
colliding paradigms
Date: 2003-02-01 04:10 pm (UTC)was not expecting to read about it/them here, though. but intermingling worlds are just fun!
~off to stolaf band concert, yayy....~