I got home from work and almost immediately turned around. The snapper I'd taken from the freezer last night hadn't thawed, and I was feeling lazy. Happily, Conrad is an enabler in situations like this, so a quick browse of Opentable.com (and if you're not signed up, why the heck not? Come on people!) later, we were getting ready to head down to Michigan Avenue. Dinner at The Lobby in the Peninsula Hotel beckoned. I duly showered and decided to wear my light blue khakis for the first time. Sales at The Gap are a lovely thing sometimes. Gads but I'm such a big homo.The Peninsula is supposedly the hotel where all the stars stay, but at 6:30 on a Friday night, the The Lobby was a little quiet. A lot quiet. Ah, no matter, it's a big airy space with lots of light from the wall of windows overlooking the Shanghai Terrace restaurant, and we were able to have an enjoyably quiet conversation.
Conrad got to order wine - I still have a few weeks to go - and asked for an Oregon Pinot Noir. I launced myself into the breads set out for us, and we debated our menu choices.We've been eating very very lightly lately. Low cards for Conrad's dietary needs. Tonight I made up for it, indulging in some bread in each course. Smart idea. Conrad and I decided to order appetizers but switch halfway through, so it was a spinach salad for me - it included some roasted tomatoes, heart of palm, asparagus, and a crouton slathered with a green olive tapenade.
His was a bowl of wok roasted mussels. I think he had the better choice, for while mine was certainly a pleasant bowl of roughage, his mussels floated in a fragrant, piquant broth that had bits of garlic and lemon grass in it. Springs of thyme and a few thin rings of red jalapeno offered clues to other ingredients. I was glad to switch, enjoy the juicy mussels, and especially enjoy dipping a slice of his garlic bread into the liquid.
I think I liked my dinner better, so let's call this meal a draw. Conrad ordered the grilled salmon.
I thought it rather a plain fish - I think it was Atlantic salmon, an inferior fish to something like a good sockeye - with nice sides of tomato and olive relish and sauteed spinach. 
He liked it, though, and washed it down with a second glass of the same wine. Mine was the roasted monkfish: crispy topside, floating in a crab pot-au-feu broth that wasn't at all spicy as promised but was more than tasty enough regardless. Alas, only one crouton to sop in the soup, drizzled lightly with rouille.
No dessert for us. There was a buffet of chocolate treats just set out nearby, and certainly they were lovely, but we behaved after indulging through dinner. I DID have rabbit food, on the other hand, so kudos to me. No, I musn't joke, I really liked the salad, simple as that.
What then? Over an hour spent browsing at Borders. And now home to cap the night with, well, this. LOL. Well, there are worse ways to spend a night!
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6 comments:
Three things:
1) I'm scared of empty restaurants, but your dinner seems to have been good. To be honest,most people eating at 6:30 PM are doing so because they're 80 and have a coupon.
2) I am intrigued by the little Staub pot that is holding the vegetable side and as I am mad for Staub I would have been tempted to liberate it. To make things worse, I can't find that item in Staub's catalog and now I will be haranguing friends in the restaurant supply biz.
3) Blue khakis huh? I have the same flat front khakis from the Gap, (as I recall you bought those on sale in Nawlins?) but in more conventional colors like tan and olive.
Oh another thing, Conrad's shirt is great!
I love the pants. Steven, I bought 6 pairs of the more conventinal colours, but these ones are a softer fabric with a different closure. Love them.
Staub pot? Never heard of them. Let us know how the hunting goes.
I'll tell you a secret: I prefer to dine early. In my parents' house, dinner was always at 6 sharp. My worklife/swimming doesn't usually allow that, and we tend to dine out 7:30ish when we go out, but I really do like to eat early. The restaurant was enlivening by the time we left.
And I will pass along your compliments on the shirt.
Staub is a brand of enameled cast-iron cookware along the lines of Le Creuset, etc. They're very heavy and are well regarded by professional Chefs.
I'm a late diner. If I eat by 8:00, I consider it an early dinner. I would prefer to eat around 10:00, but after a long day in the yard I'm often ready for bed by 11:00 or so.
One of the reasons I love New York so much is that it's possible to get a good dinner at 11:00PM.
My Aunt and Uncle eat promptly at 6:00 also. If the dinner is late, there's hell to pay around there. If they eat here, I shift dinner to about 7:00, but then I'm rooting around the fridge for leftovers at 11:00.
Nooooo, no snacks later. Eat well before bed time and just have some water to drink later on. Really.
Jeph, given your penchant for wearing shorts al the time, I can barely picture you in pants, period. Shorts =Jeph, not to mention roller blades!
I'm guilty of the shorts thing too, I'll wear long pants if I HAVE to.
The neighbors are always quite amused when they see me crossing the street to get my mail in February wearing shorts and flip flops when the snow is two feet deep.
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