Monday, March 10, 2008

Life Begins At...








It's probably time to start posting again, before I lose all three of my faithful readers. When one is as old as I am, one can get both lazy and forgetful. In addition, there's that problem that someone I like to quote once put into words: "Some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps." But that's another story...

As for a rundown of the events on The Birthday:

- Intended to take the day off, but was behind on some projects, so into the office I went, intent on leaving by noon or 1:00pm. The day was gray and raw anyway, in contrast to the previous days of bright, glorious sunshine.

- Regardless of the fact that I wasn't missing out on beautiful weather, I finally escaped work in a cranky mood around 3:00pm, almost getting into a verbal altercation with a chirpy bus driver. ("Leave me alone and do my bidding, snatch! I'm forty today!")

- Met B. for a brief wine tasting at East Beach Wines. By that time, I was ready for some imbibing, but I didn't let the Babcock Winery reps know that I found their pours a mite niggardly. It wasn't their fault I was ready to guzzle the spit bucket. B. bought a mighty fine (and spendy) Babcock Pinot Noir (Ocean's Ghost, 2005) for dinner later that evening; I'm really very lucky to have such generous friends.

- After a brief, good-humor restoring nap, I showered, dressed in what passes for my idea of finery, spritzed myself with a well-horded sample of Amouage Jubilation XXV, and readied myself for dinner while sipping a sidecar out on the porch while listening to Hummel.

- Dinner at Bouchon with B. and J. Bouchon has been on my list of places to eat for years, and this seemed like a suitable occasion. Definitely worth the wait, and worth waiting for an occasion -- like one's fortieth birthday -- with this kind of gravitas. The menu:
~ Flutes of 'J' Cuvée 20 Brut NV all around
~ Crisp Sweetbreads with sweet pea risotto & pea tendrils
~ Bourbon & Maple-Glazed Duck Breast with duck confit, succotash of corn, fava beans, applewood-smoked bacon and butternut squash
~ Apple Tarte Tatin on puff pastry, caramel-rum sauce and cinnamon ice cream


- Tried to have an after-dinner drink at the new Coast restaurant/bar at the Canary Hotel, but discovered that it closed up at 11:00pm (a hotel bar?). By then, was so tired that going home was in order. In all, a great night spent with two of my very best friends.

- Breakfast on Saturday morning with J. -- a buckwheat waffle at D'Angelo's Bakery -- was pretty damn good also.

- Sunday night, J. and I had tickets for a Philip Glass concert of chamber music with Glass on piano, Wendy Sutter on cello, and Mick Rossi on percussion. I love Philip Glass, even if he gives some people gas or makes them want to reach for the laudanum. One of the high points of the evening for me was Metamorphosis 2, which can be viewed and listened to here.

So... being forty maybe isn't so bad?

Update: By the way, this is not a Birthday Blog.