Breakfast at Oasis Café this morning, the first time we have ever been there, and what looks like the beginning of a fine tradition. I’m always so proud when Ess colors with her crayons, eats our food, and enjoys herself when we eat out. I look ahead to summer vacations and little weekend jaunts during the school year with great excitement. I love to get a glimpse of the world through her eyes, to see the world again through that lens.
So, Emily and Nick very kindly got us tickets to the Blenders’ holiday show. We went there on a couples date, and stopped at Hen House for brunch beforehand. I was waiting at the table while Mykala waited at the door for Emily and Nick to park their car in the downtown Minneapolis maze. While sitting there, I noticed the nice logo of the restaurant, and being a very new iPhone owner, I thought it was super cool to be able to attach this picture to a text message and send it along. I clearly did not think this through all the way, because Mykala later pointed out how incredibly rude it was to send a picture of nice hot coffee while our friends froze in the outdoors trying to park. I regret the error.
Just ate at Wok in the Park in St. Louis Park. Wow! Not only was just about everything on the menu vegan-friendly by request, but they had two flavors of vegan cheesecake. One of them we actually thought they’d made a mistake and told us it was vegan. Nope: the head chef stopped by and explained to us how he made it without any dairy or animal products. Yum.
Today, we ate donuts at a new place named The Donut Cooperative. I wish I had a picture of the fresh powdered cinnamon vegan donuts we devoured. Whenever these new restaurants open, Mykala and I joke that our visiting them condemns them to a horrible future of insolvency and closure. Thus far, I think we’re responsible for the closure of two bakeries and an Italian ice shop (shoppe).
This is us during our 2-day-prior to our 2-year-anniversary celebratory dinner out. It was an absolute blast. We savored and shared our way through a delicious 4 course vegetarian flavor fest at a tremendous Minneapolis restaurant called Restaurant Alma.
Family dinners are extremely extremely important. I haven’t always thought this. In fact, I’ve usually considered food to be simply a necessity for living, nothing more. I dislike eating out in a mindless pattern (and I had better start to cook or train the cat to do so, lest we exhaust my wonderful wife, our only cook). On the contrary, I really enjoy eating out and trying new things… when there’s no obligation (perceived or otherwise) to eat the whole thing. My ideal dinner would be sharing a bunch of newfangled dishes at a restaurant… my nightmare is receiving a huge plate of something I feel obliged to consume. I have this problem where I think “all or nothing” re:the food on my plate… it’s easiest for me to eat all of it or none of it. It is supremely difficult for me to eat a little, unless my mono-food voraciousness is held in check by social obligations to my fellow diners. Hence the sharing.
Mykala and I finally managed to attend our first ethnic Wednesday event (that’s the Dan-Ryan-Emily trip to a local non-crappy non-american restaurant) yesterday, and it was a complete success. Halfway through dinner, as the subject turned to marriage, Mykala turned to look at me and asked “Am I nicer to you now than I was when we were dating?” I guess I was a little surprised at the question, but without hesitation answered “yes, definitely”. We had fun dating, but marriage seems a lot better. That reminds me of this quote from a recent “Room for Debate” discussion at the New York Times called For Women, Redefining Marriage Material:
Anthony Bourdain’s show on the Travel Channel continues to amaze me with its fantastic writing (does he do the writing for his voiceovers? I think he does…) and exotic locales. In the Spain episode, Bourdain visits his close friends, the father and daughter team who run the world class restaurant Arzak. A good quote from the father:
