Better
We had made plans some time ago to get together with our friends Ann and Bob last night. It was up in the air, then it was on, then it was off, and then somehow on again. Ernie had suggested we try the chicken place downtown (Watson's). When I pulled up the menu yesterday though and saw that glasses of wine were $9 I suggested we meet at Fries and Peanuts for a drink first. It just hasn't been a $9 glass of wine kind of week.
We planned to meet at 5:30 and they showed up at 5:31. It was their best on time record I have EVER experienced in all the time I have known them! We sat and talked and relaxed and then of course that morphed into the "well, should we just eat here then?" Ann looked over at Ernie though and said, "but, it was ERNIE'S idea to go there." I told her she was a sucker and she laughingly agreed. So we walked over and as it turns out we had perfect timing. There was a bit of a wait but there were four seats at open at the corner of the bar. Once we were there I realized it's just not a white wine kind of place so I ordered a cocktail. I know! ME! I must say it was utterly delightful. And there is something about having a maraschino cherry stem in my glass that makes me feel like a little kid.
We got to our table and decided to share an order of pork rinds because really....what else can you do when there's a blackboard of specials that lists pork rinds? They were wonderfully porky and crispy and the order was more than enough for the four of us. They all went with chicken and a side of mashed potatoes. I went with the Nashville hot chicken, served with pickles, potato wedges, and white bread. The chicken was a leg and a thigh and was really fantastic. For whatever reason I just wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. I will say I don't think it was all that hot. I've never had the proverbial Nashville hot chicken so what do I know but this didn't make me break a sweat and I don't think I'm that much of a hotness fiend (I just read this over and thought, 'hotness'? Wouldn't that be known as 'heat' Cynthia? Geesh). Delicious flavor though...moist but crispy and fried a little dark...perfect. Oddly, it did need a bit of salt and I rarely add salt at a restaurant but with that it was utterly perfect. Pickles? Great. Potato wedges? The only 'eh' component. Bread? Just right. Oh, and we had a tremendous server too. I had heard it could get a bit pricey but my chicken was $11 and was more than enough. You can't argue with that. You could have added more sides but I don't think you needed to.
As we sat there murmuring to each other and happily eating Ann said, "We always wish we saw you guys more but it never seems to matter that we don't." And I knew exactly what she meant. They have tremendously busy lives and ours can get hectic as well, but it still feels as though we see each other all the time. I felt so relaxed when we got home. I've been out of sorts a bit this week but I just felt relaxed and happy last night. Owen lured Ernie down to the basement to play guitar and do God knows what else. I curled up and watched a couple of DVR'd The Chews and paged through a new Food & Wine. When I went to bed I stuck my head in Leo's room and said, "You're spending time with me tomorrow if it kills you." He gave me one of his sweet lopsided smiles. I happily went off to bed and fell asleep immediately.
A good Night.