Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Presents

Last night Sandy and Dave gave Linda and me a great Christmas present when they treated us to a wonderful dinner at a new restaurant in the area, the Next Door Bar and Grill. That simple name is misleading because it is quite an elegant place, with fantastic decor and equally great food.

They offer what very well may be the best sushi and sashimi this far from the ocean. Three of us started with that, and Dave stayed on the sashimi wagon with his main course.

LK opted for cooked food and started with chicken livers in a cognac sauce and then braised veal cheeks with spaetzle and red cabbage. Thumbs up on both.

Sandy and I had scallops with an arugula and pancetta salad with a sweet-and-sour vanilla sauce that may have been the tastiest bit of greens I can remember.

It was a great night, and a wonderful Christmas present from two of our most special people. Sandy said they thought the dinner was a great idea because LK and I were impossible to buy gifts for.

I assume that means that one of us has simple tastes and needs and does not require anything making it hard to buy gifts, whereas the other one gets whatever they want whenever they want it and therefore is impossible to buy gifts for. Of course, I am not naming names.

I've already given LK her Christmas present. While we were in St Maartin on our cruise, I bought her a Pandora bracelet and told her then that it was her Christmas present. When I reminded her of that today, she argued that I had said it was Cruise present. Silly me - I didn't even know I was expected to give a Cruise present but - faced with the idea of having to go to the mall on Christmas Eve afternoon - I convinced her she had misheard me.

I asked her if she had bought a gift for me yet. She hardly took a second to answer that I already had my gift. "Your Christmas present is that the bracelet is the only gift I got."

I think LK has perfected the concept that it is the thought that counts.

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