dinner at The Arbour

We have favourites.  Oh yes, we do.  There is our trinity:  Maestro, Mama M, and Amara.  But we're happy to wander over to Union, Perle, or Agnes.  And that's just the Pasadena places.

Dinner tonight was at another: 

The Arbour.  I am embarrassed to say it's been a while, and I can't remember offhand the last time we wandered over there, likely with Natasha.  Van had never gone there, though, and with his sister Cathy in town, we thought it was prime time.

It's a great location - not close to us exactly - not too far to walk, but we don't always want to walk that far.  I like the bar and the cozy interior.  We find the food reliable and the cocktails good.  I was happy that we could finally get Van there.

It was, in fact, tasty food.  I enjoyed my cocktail - The Impressionist, a martini flavoured with a chamomile tea and lavender - a goodly bit, though I had wine with dinner.  The salads were fine.  My sea bass?  Lovely!  Nicely seasoned, well cooked.  I did steal some crispy rice cake from Conrad, though, and I preferred it to the polenta cake on my plate.  Deserts were fine - I went with a dark chocolate mousse as a concession to sharing with Conrad.  The savoury courses were the highlights, though.

Service lagged.  I won't lie.  It felt like ages just to get water then to get drinks ordered (it was ages - about a half hour).  The place was busy, and I was happy to see that.  And it's not like we weren't enjoying each other's company.  We all noticed the lag, but I think we would all be happy to be back again before too long nonetheless.