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Monday, May 17, 2010

A (So-Called) Date Night Adventure.

Friday night marked a momentous occasion in my little world. It was a Date Night. The second one in less than a month!

Now, for the two of you reading this who are not mothers of young children, that might seem like no big thing, but let me assure you, it is. Was. A very big deal. One involving the curling of hair, application of makeup, and payment of babysitters.

We intended to start the evening off at our favorite children-not-welcome bar/restaurant. Because we? Were child and stroller free!

That dream came to an end about 30 seconds after we sat down. The very same moment a 40-something pseudo-sorority snot informed us that every open table was reserved. Every. Single. One.

I almost said something about her needing to save all that room so she’d have somewhere to put her overly Botoxed face when it slid off her anorexic bones…but I just grabbed Brian's hand and  harrumphed out of the restaurant.

So instead we decided to try this heavily hyped eatery we’d never been to. It’s helmed by a former big city chef, has a “concept” and lines that frequently extend out the door, so we figured it was a safe bet.

Forty-five minutes later, when the food still hadn’t arrived, we started ripping the carefully designed, shabby chic atmosphere to shreds. Upscale country? We decided it looked more like a junk saler’s wet dream.

A half hour after that, when we finally got our ridiculously garnished plates and dried out food, our conversation quickly moved on to the kitchen staff’s questionable parentage and obvious inability to read a recipe.

Heck, even our dessert (a slice of cheesecake they semi-graciously comped us), tasted like a bar of perfumey soap with a little bit of cream cheese thrown in.

In other words? It was not good.

In fact, I’ve had better meals at Cracker Barrel (whose cuisine and décor they were all too obviously trying to one-up).

But you know what was good? The opportunity to indulge in a couple hours of unadulterated snark with my husband—without worrying about covering the baby’s delicate ears.

Because while it’s nice that she’s finally getting old enough to eat in a restaurant, it’s even nicer to eat in a restaurant without her.

And that? Is why we’re going to have to do this date night thing a little more often.

11 comments:

  1. Oh gross. I'm sorry not even the cheesecake was good. But at least you had the time with your honey, that was worth it at least.

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  2. I'm so glad you still enjoyed the date even though the food and service was not good.

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  3. I probably would have asked the sorority snot if I could speak with the manager. Did you kick her? I would have WANTED to.

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  4. Even a bad meal out is still a MEAL OUT!! With no dishes, no kids and no clean-up.

    I'm planning a date night for the Hubs in two weeks. For a fancy steak night dinner. I don't eat steak, so I'm a cheap date, and he gets to verymuch indulge in the biggest, most expensive cut. And I get to dress up. Fun for everyone.

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  5. Wish you lived here. We have this fantastic cozy fondue place: only 4 tables, and a long bar. But you're all cozy and private and get to dip fondue all night with fantastic wine.

    We can walk there from our house..

    Sorry..but, maybe this'll make you move closer to me.

    Glad you got a night out...that's so essential. It cannot be overrstated, can it?

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  6. Sorry about the bad food, atmosphere, attitude, etc.

    My husband and I have been married for almost 21 years and it's been our date nights that have gotten us this far.

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  7. I think date nights are imperative. Sorry your food experience was less than stellar.

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  8. Good for you, finding the "cup-half-full" version of this experience! By the way, I gagged when I read about the soap-cheesecake.

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  9. Sounds like a horrible meal but a great date!

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  10. Too bad the restaurant sucked, but at least you got to go out as just husband and wife! Yay for that.

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  11. I don't care how bad the service is - I love being out without the LO. For the record, though, you are lucky that your daughter will sit in a restaurant with you. I can't keep Peanut's attention for more than half an hour in any eatery!

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