Sunday morning started off great - an old college chum picked me up and we went to brunch at Toast on Market. I had read about the place before, so I was happy to try it. And I'm always happy to spend time with an old friend! Our server was a charmer, with a big smile on his face. I decided I wanted to order three things off the a la carte menu, since everything sounded so good, I wanted to try as much as possible. He thought that was funny. And then he brought me my food on two plates. Which was goofy, but it made me laugh. When I clapped at how good my plates looked, he laughed again. He said he likes making people clap. I should've said honey, stick with me. But I didn't. 
OK, seriously, that food was DELICIOUS! I got the lemon souffle pancake, which was light and rich and lemony and sweet, all at the same time. IN A PANCAKE. Yum. I also got one egg (always a favorite) and their potato casserole, which was also yum yummy. Thumbs way up for Toast on Market! I definitely have to take the work guys there with me next time! Oh, and our adorable server also came and told me happy birthday when he saw me opening the wonderful gift my wonderful friend gave me. I love a cute server with good manners.
After brunch, one of my work pals and I went to the Louisville Slugger museum and then just wandered around town, enjoying the beautiful weather. Then it was time for our last production, Gnit, by Will Eno. I've heard about Will Eno for years but I've never seen one of his plays. I have, however, been in a production of Peer Gynt, which Gnit is loosely based on. So I'll admit to having some pre-conceived notions before the show began.
I enjoyed a lot of Gnit - it had some terrific dialogue and the physical production was amazing. The actors were all terrific (well, I thought one was perhaps misdirected). I enjoyed how it stayed true to Ibsen's plot, but yet made its own statement. I also greatly enjoyed Eno's conceit of having a very few actors play a great many characters (including one actor who played the WHOLE TOWN - genius). But I think, as a whole, the methodology of putting this production together made the whole become less than the sum of its parts. Or something.
Eno has some very offbeat language and has written rather esoteric and arch passages. The play is directed in a very arch, presentational way. And Peter Gnit is acted as a smug and arch jerk. That's a lot of offputtingness (thank you, I just made that word up). If one of the pieces of the puzzle, such as the actor, had played against the irony, I think the production would've been more successful for me. And an actor who inspired compassion and affection would make the pathos and sadness of the emptiness of Gnit's life even more tragic. At least, that's how I saw it. Most of the audience members were happy with the production just as it was. So...there you have it.
Again, I wasn't blown away by any of the productions at Humana, but I was happy with the breadth and scope of the writers chosen and the topics they chose to write about, so I have hope that the new regime is headed in the right direction. But I always enjoy my time at Actors Theatre of Louisville - the whole festival runs like a beautiful Swiss clock. The staff, the volunteers, the locals all make the experience so joyous. Thumbs WAY up.
After our last show, we had the dinner I was most looking forward to. I again didn't get a reservation at 610 Magnolia, with Chef Edward Lee, but we did get a reservation to his new casual/small plates restaurant, MilkWood, that just happens to be in the basement of Actors Theatre! What a coincidence! We had heard great things all weekend from people who ate there, so my work pals and I were really looking forward to it. The renovation of the space is really terrific - there used to be a cafe downstairs that was dark and not very attractive. Now, it's all wood and exposed brick and light. Very conducive to a good meal!
I opted to go for the pre-theatre menu, even though we weren't seeing another show that night. I ordered the charred romaine salad appetizer - it had grapefruit, warm ricotta and some pepitas (I think). It was delicious! Lots of textures and flavors that went really well together. My main course was the fish of the day, striped bass, with a celery root puree, apples and radicchio. This dish was also delicious, though I have to say the proportion of radicchio to fish seemed off. Too much bitterness. And there was very little celery root puree, which was disappointing, because it was so good! Next time I go, though, I think I'll get what one of my work pals ordered, the smothered miso chicken. I had a taste - it was amazing! For dessert, I got the vanilla pot de creme, covered with a rich chocolate ganache and berries, with a small tuile that had sea salt on it. Wow!!!! So rich, so delicious. And the perfect small size. I generally can't eat a three course meal, but this one was just right. My work pals also enjoyed their meal, thankfully, so hooray! AND we got to say hello to Chef Lee on our way out, which was a nice bonus. After dinner, a work pal and I went to have one last mint julep before heading home. My mint julep was so large and so strong, I couldn't finish it. But it was a nice way to end the trip.
Or...so I thought. We got back to the hotel around 9:30. By midnight, I was pretty sick. I don't know if I got food poisoning, or if it was a virus, but let's just say I was a semi-permanent resident in my bathroom for many hours. We were supposed to check out of the hotel at 6am Monday morning. At 5am, I texted my work mates and said there was no way I could get onto a plane in my condition. They scurried and helped me out by booking my hotel room for me for another night. I called Delta and paid extra to get on a flight for the next day. And I spent the rest of Monday in and out of the Marriott Downtown Louisville hotel bathroom. I'm sure housekeeping got a fright when I had to call them and get them to send up more toilet paper. After awhile, things calmed down and I laid on the bed and watched movies on HBO. I guess it was good to see some movies I hadn't seen before (Crazy, Stupid, Love = really good; We Bought A Zoo = would've been a Lifetime or Hallmark Channel movie starring Ricky Schroeder had Matt Damon not signed on; When Harry Met Sally and It's Complicated were movie-comfort-goodness), and I dozed most of the day, but I definitely would've preferred to end my trip on a happy note, with happy food memories. I hate to pin food poisoning on such a nice restaurant, so I'm trying to stretch my imagination and think I got a sudden stomach flu, or maybe it was just because I ate so much all weekend, or maybe it was karmic repayment for being so mean about avoiding that former co-worker, but...it's difficult.
My college chum kindly drove me to the airport on Tuesday morning. When I was getting ready, I couldn't figure out why my face was so red. When looking more closely, I noticed that I had dozens of broken capillaries and broken blood vessels around my eyes and nose! That's gross! Yet another reason to not be a bulemic. But I put on a lot of makeup and got out of there. The trip home was uneventful, no one mentioned anything about being nose heavy, and I spent another day laying around and dozing while watching tv. There are worse things, I guess. Things are better now, but I think I won't be ordering any striped bass again any time soon...
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