Serendipity

Friday night
My brother was here visiting this weekend, and Friday night we went out to eat at our usual haunt, which was Dad's (and once-upon-a-time-Mom's) haunt for some 35 years.  Where we get handshakes and hugs and everybody knows our name the first initial of our name, because Dad was known as Mr. C.  I was nearly falling asleep by the time we were done with dinner, but my brother asked me if there was anywhere in town I'd been wanting to go, but not go alone.

I was pretty certain I'd heard of a wine bar downtown, so we asked the bartenders and one of them mentioned a wine store with a piano bar next to it, and I had just read about that bar in the online newspaper (a minority partner was being let go). I was fairly sure that wasn't what I'd been asking about, but I was way interested in checking it out.  We found the place and I was afraid the second I walked in that my brother wasn't going to enjoy himself (even though he'd made it my call, so pfffft!), but as it turned out we sat ourselves at the bar right next to the pianist, who had just finished a ridiculously long set (like 3 hours worth), and got into a delightful conversation with her.

I will need to work on getting up the courage to go back alone.  I know the manager, the piano player, 2 of the bartenders.  I absolutely must go back soon.  The piano player is self-trained and can't seem to believe that she's good enough, and I know she is.  She started another set before we left, on someone else's request, and it was absolutely delightful.  I was a musician once, but I was the kind who could just barely manage to be musical following notes on staff paper.  She has a real gift.  (And she told me where she works on her day job, so she was definitely reaching out to me.)  She'd only been there a few days, and my brother and I barnstormed with her as to artists and pieces she might add to her reportoire.

Bottom line: my brother had as much fun as I did.  :-)

Saturday night

I had a coupon.  Buy one at $19.95, get one half price, all you can eat crab legs.

Sounds good (if you're into that kind of thing), yes?

We got to the restaurant in question and the sign on their door said they had sold out of crab legs.  So my brother turned on the GPS in his truck and listed every restaurant imagineable within 2 miles, and the Asian choices sounded good to me.  We wound up back downtown at a Japanese steakhouse.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm. 

I'm devouring the leftovers now.  We got the special for two which gave us shrimp, lobster, chicken and filet mignon, all cooked on the tableside hibachi grill, along with veggies and fried rice.  If you've never been to a Benihana's, etc., I recommend the experience.  Benihana's is a chain - our restauraunt upon Googling turns out to be strictly local and run by a Korean couple who studied at a Japanese restaurant.  Mmm, the ginger martini was good!  And the restaurant is a couple of doors down from our attorney, so if I ever need an excuse to drop in for one of those ginger martinis or a spot of sushi....