Gloria and I
met 19 years ago. We’ve always tried to
commemorate the meeting by dining out. Our
location, our physical conditions, and the ability of of local dining
establishments to provide a genuine high quality meal have all been factors in
our ability to keep our tradition active.
We’ve had
some good meals, some mediocre meals, and the rare, truly atrocious meal. The worst meal, at a Zagat-rated restaurant on
Siesta Key was probably the worst dining experience I have ever had.
Last night we
dined at Bonefish Grill in Johnson City TN.
We had the foresight to make reservations. When we arrived, the parking lot was full,
the line to be seated quite long, and wait times approaching an hour. We were seated within 10 minutes.
Bonefish
Grill is a chain. They serve a limited
seafood menu that varies with seasons.
The servers were polite, attentive, not overbearing. They knew the menu items, could tell us how
each was prepared and how it would taste.
The house has an extensive wine list.
Once they knew we didn’t want wine they never pushed the bar items.
We had two
appetizers to share, our entrees came with a well-prepared winter squash, green
vegetables, and several carbohydrate option.
We dined at a leisurely pace and brought food home with us.
As she almost
always is, Gloria was disappointed at the lack of a sugar-free dessert. Other than that difficulty, it was a great
night out and we enjoyed our celebration of 19 years as a pair.
Tonight we
will convert 2.27 kilograms of potatoes, 4 eggs, 2 onions, and some matzah,
into that most traditional Ashkenazic poor folk’s nostalgia food, latkes. While we’ve never lived in a shtetl, our road
is not that unlike one if one takes away the electricity.
We’ve invited
our neighbor, Mike, an actual MOT, and another downstream neighbor who thinks Hanukah
is “Jewish Christmas” and who can’t understand why we don’t hang lights and
celebrate Jesus. We will try to explain
the reason for the festival of lights tonight.
It’s a good thing to do.
Otherwise we would surely wind up in trouble for trying to add a mohel
to the nearby churches’ mangers scenes.
Winter Brissim, anyone? Don’t sit
in the front row!
In a mild
break from tradition, I’ve made a leek-onion-balsamic marmalade to serve with
the latkes. I doubt it will venture far
from my plate.
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