An Unfinished Experiment (actually, a food report)

As I wind down my 40s and gaze into my 50s, I think a lot about things I should or shouldn't be doing.  I should be working out.  I shouldn't be spending so much money.  I should be saving for London (actually, I should be saving for retirement, but, hello, I can't go completely nuts).

After work on Monday, a handsome work pal and I went out for drinks and dinner.  I already knew I had plans with my gal pals for Tuesday night, so I thought, "Hm.  Now's my chance to see if I can go drinking EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK."  That'll close out my 40s, gosh darn it.

The best laid plans, and all that.  I had a grand time Monday, had a grand time Tuesday, and was preparing to have a grand time Wednesday, but was stopped by a little bit of a dainty tummy.  Was my body telling me not to drink anymore this week?  Or was this just a coincidence?  The world may never know.  I guess I'll just have to see if there's another week this year that lends itself to constant partying... ;)

Anyway, for some food chit chat:  Monday night, my work pal and I went to Meson Sevilla on Restaurant Row.  I went there a few years ago for my birthday dinner and enjoyed it.  I haven't had tapas since I went to Mercat a la Planxa in Chicago last summer - tapas is always excellent food to pair with drinking.  Somehow, they just go together.  So my pal and I got a small pitcher of sangria.  Not just sangria, mind you.  Raspberry limoncello sangria!  Oh, wow to the nth degree - it was delicious!!!!  And very potent.  I was quite tipsy when I got home, but as I was drinking the sangria, it just tasted like icy fruity deliciousness.  I highly recommend that sangria.  We also ordered some pan con tomate (which also had serrano ham on it, yum), a spanish tortilla and some chicken croquetas.  Everything was really delicious; they all had good textures, nice depth of flavor and they went well with the sangria (the evening was really ALL about the sangria).  But we did still feel a little hungry (and the sangria pitcher wasn't empty yet), so we ordered a plate of albondigas (little meatballs in a tomato sauce).  Yum yummy.  The meatballs were very light and flavorful, and the tomato sauce had a sweetness that also paired nicely with the sangria.  We were finally full and had no need for dessert. 

After drinking a half a small pitcher of sangria, I needed to walk a bit before getting on the subway, so my work pal and I walked across town.  We were about halfway to our respective subways when I thought, "Gee, I should put my earmuffs on."  That's when I realized I left my earmuffs at the restaurant.  Darn it.  But I was a little too tired and too tipsy to walk back.  So I spent two days without my earmuffs, which was weird.  I guess I never realized how important my earmuffs are.  I do now.

Tuesday night, I met my beautiful gal pals in Chelsea to eat at Le Singe Vert.  We meet there quite a bit - it's near their work and/or apartments and it's just a cool place to be.  The bar is fun, their wine list is excellent, the food is delicious and the waiters are French.  Need I say more?

I couldn't decide what wine I wanted to get, so I asked our adorable French waiter about the grenache.  He said it was pretty good.  Then I asked about the malbec.  He said the grenache was better.  So I guess the malbec isn't pretty good?  The whole exchange made me giggle.  But the grenache was delicious and I will totally get it again.  In fact, I would've had two glasses had I not consumed half a pitcher of sangria the night before and had I not decided to try my 'drink every night this week' experiment.  Had I know about the dainty tummy episode, I might've gotten that second glass of wine!  Oh well. 

I asked our adorable French waiter about that night's specials and when he mentioned lobster ravioli, I knew what I wanted for dinner.  I LOVE lobster and pasta.  It's one of my favorites.  And this dish was so good, though not very attractive to photograph.  The sauce looked like a heavy alfredo, but it was really light and creamy.  It paired beautifully with the lobster, which was in chunks in the ravioli, giving a little texture to the dish.  This could already be a contender for my end-of-year food awards.  I had to stop myself from wolfing it down and felt very magnanimous when I offered some to my gal pals.  Please remind me of this when I complain about being heavy...  I even got some profiteroles for dessert, though I didn't eat them all.  But I love the profiteroles at Le Singe Vert, especially the bittersweet chocolate sauce topping.  They're just so good.

It was another delightful evening with my beautiful gal pals - we always have so much to talk and laugh about, I love being with them.  Plus, adorable French waiters always flirt with them, so it's nice for me to join in the fun.

Maybe it's just as well I didn't carry out my experiment this week.  I've got a couple of trips for work coming up and I'll need to try new food and drink in each locale.  I don't want to get out of control so early in the year.  I should pace myself.  After all, I'm in my 40s for another two months or so...