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.

9 comments:

Stash said...

OH....sweetbreads.

Hm, now I have to go have some. At Prune maybe. More later.

Happy birfday! ;)

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you didn't take pics of your dinner.

Joe said...

stash: Sweetbreads really are one of the foods of the Gods, aren't they? Offal-haters be damned!

h: You know I thought about bringing the digital, but sometimes I really do think that it's incredibly tacky and embarrassing to take pics of every course. You know how I hate to embarrass myself. Besides, this is not a food blog. However, I now have no pictures of my 40th Birthday. Posterity shall suffer.

Anonymous said...

You have more than three readers. That annoying Joe My God with the old man smell just added you to his blog roll. You're a teen leader now!

Steven said...

I wish I could blame it on my age, but I've been lazy and forgetful ever since I can remember.

Papagayo said...

start posting again! we misses yous!

Salty Miss Jill said...

OMG! Happy Birthday! Looks like 40 is off to a most befitting, glorious start!
I'm glad you went to Bouchon...I'm both envious and thrilled for you. (I have the cookbook. That's as close as I'll ever get to dining there.)
Sweetbreads will be on the menu when I cook your dinner, love.

BigAssBelle said...

happy birthday cupcake!! i've been MIA, so am late to the party.

but SWEETBREADS! yum!!! and duck! what a delicious birthday you had.

now about 40: it was fabulous for me. hope so for you. i loved the years post-40. magic.

so did you quit blogging after 40? please don't . . .

BigAssBelle said...

where are you, cupcake?