A melancholy lament

Hey I guess you're lonely when
I gave you all it took so then
Stranger than it's ever been

~~ "Godless" by The Dandy Warhols

We had an email yesterday from one of our favorite restaurants downtown, LaSalle Grill/LaSalle Kitchen and Tavern. (The Grill is downstairs and is the fancy place that has the wine dinners we occasionally go to and is considered one of the best restaurants in town. Its upstairs companion is more casual and we go there more often for dinners before a show or a drink after. They share the same kitchen, though.) They were offering a dinner for curbside pickup consisting of Wagyu beef burgers, their wonderful mac n cheese, a couple of other things, and a 6-pack of good beer. It was a great price and it was hard to say no, especially when we're doing what we can to support local restaurants. 

Our last night out for a meal was March 7th, when we went to dinner before a show, so we jumped on the deal. I just told Ken that I wanted to ride along when he went to pick it up. I've been out a couple of times to the pharmacy and the store, but I find that when I'm driving, I feel oddly on high alert, like someone is going to plow into me at any moment. Considering our rural area, it could even be a plow. So I feel very weird when out driving right now. I was looking forward to just riding along and seeing our beloved downtown. 

I didn't anticipate how utterly sad and emotional it would make me feel. I mean, I really did not see that coming. I thought it was a chance to get out and enjoy a little ride on a nice sunny day. The first hint I had was seeing a fence along the main drag into downtown where someone had woven into the chainlink "Stay Strong USA" with a heart. That's when I started getting choked up. It only got worse as we got into downtown. There were still cars out and about but they were much sparser than an ordinary weeknight evening. 

I saw so many familiar places and sites but everything was closed down. No one was bustling about going to dinner or grabbing a pint at Brew Werks and the marquee at the Morris was dark. Our usual haunts seemed...well, haunted. 

By the time we pulled up at the LaSalle, I was feeling genuine anguish. Because I was the one curbside, I put my mask on. When our server came out with our food and put it in the back seat, I said, "Stay strong! We love you guys!" and I felt a tear fall out of my eye. Then another server brought out our 6-pack and put it on the floor of the backseat and I said, "Hang in there!" and we thanked him. 

As we drove off, we went by Fiddler's Hearth and Madison Oyster Bar. No inside patrons. No one walking on the streets. Speaking of that, even the streets of South Michigan Street (what could be considered our small red-light district) were empty, and The Torch and Peaches were closed. I said, "Man, you know it's bad when even the strip clubs are closed!" 

What I thought would be a pleasant little drive downtown—and my goodness, I'd forgotten what a simple joy I felt as a kid when my parents would say, "Let's go for a drive!"—turned out to be something that made me feel really sad. It made me think of all the fun times we've had downtown, out for dinner, out to see a show, out to take visiting friends to show off our Riverlights or to have brunch with the Kansas City/Chicago Crew the morning after our annual house show, out to take in a South Bend Cubs game on a warm summer day, out for the Riverlights Music Festival, out for Art Beat, running into friends and family, sharing hugs and laughs...all the little things that make my life so enriched and joyful. 

I miss them. I miss them all. 

So tonight I'm going to allow myself to feel sad and mourn those things. I know they're not gone forever and I know we'll get back to enjoying all those things and more. We'll make new memories. But I don't know when that will happen. At the moment, things feel broken, and I feel like the repairs will be slow and sometimes painful. Will some of our favorite places survive? 

It pains me to say it, but I just don't know. I hope so. 

It’s so tasty, too!

Last night, we headed downtown for a “Flavors of the Mediterranean” wine dinner at LaSalle Grill. Ken is going on a business trip next week, and thought it would be a nice treat for us to do before he left. It came at a good time, because man, has this been a weird week, or what? And it’s not even done yet.

Anyway, LaSalle Grill is one of the nicest restaurants in our area. We don’t eat there often, because it is also one of the most expensive! This is the kind of place where you don’t take pictures of your food, do you get me? Every so often, they have one of their wine tasting or beer tasting dinners, though, and it’s a chance to experience several different kinds of food paired with appropriate wines or beers. It’s a culinary adventure! Join me, won’t you? [waving you over] Come on! It’s fun! (Sorry, I’m in a silly mood.)

Here is last night’s menu, so you can get an idea of the food they serve there.


AMUSE-BOUCHE
Bacon Wrapped Date
Edamame Hummus, Harissa
Fenugreek Pickled Shallots

FIRST COURSE
Big-Eye Tuna Crudo
Caramelized Fennel Salad
Crisp Sunchokes, Rosemary Sea Salt
2009 Contine Colosi, Biano Sicilia, Italy

SECOND COURSE
Olive Oil Poached Monkfish
Grilled Zucchini, Olives & Radicchio
Light Balsamic & Tomato Broth
2010 Louis Jadot, Pouilly Fuissé, France

THIRD COURSE
Spiced Lamb & Couscous Fritter
Green Cardamom Yogurt, Charred Eggplant Purée,
Fried Goat Cheese, Citrus-Cumin Vinaigrette
2010 Tres Picos, Garnacha, Campo de Borja, Spain

ENTREE
Ras El Hanout Braised Short Rib
Chickpeas & Lentils, Fava Beans,
Preserved Lemon, Pomegranate & Dried Fig Jus
2009 Chateau Teyssier, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, France

DESSERT COURSE
Walnut Baklava
Cinnamon-Anise Crème Fraîche
2007 Royal Tokaji, 5 Puttonyos Aszú, Hungary

I practically had to be carted out of there in a wheelbarrow. The wine portions are generous, and all told, I probably had about a half a bottle of wine. But what really got to me was the sheer richness of the food. The portions are small, but I still felt very full, enough so that I didn’t finish my dessert wine. I was like, “Okay. No more.”

We go to some decent places, and it’s hard to beat a good steak or a nice piece of fresh fish when we’re on the coast. But what is fun about this place is all the different flavors that you get to try, and the way they combine them. I’m not a big fan of anise, but oh man, that baklava was to die for! The complexity of some of these flavors made my taste buds do the can-can.

The bacon-wrapped date was so good, but gone so quickly! Two bites, and that little bit of deliciousness was gone. (I looked up the definition of “amuse-bouche,” and it literally means “entertain the mouth.” I love that! It is a one-bite appetizer, thus only the one date.) Probably my least favorite was the short rib, because that’s a piece of meat that is mostly fat. The flavor was delicious, though, and with the beans, it was very hearty. (And yes, Hannibal Lecter jokes were made about the fava beans!) My absolute favorite was the tuna crudo, which is the same as sashimi. The stuff just melted in my mouth, and the salad, sunchokes (AKA Jerusalem artichokes), and sea salt were just an amazing combination. I can still almost taste it.

We also laughed about the lamb & couscous fritter, because couscous always makes us think of something I said when our friends Kim and Steve were visiting us. We were talking about what we were having for dinner, and I asked, “Do you like couscous?” Steve said, “Yeah, it’s okay.” I said, “Well, we’re not having that tonight,” and he just burst into laughter. I still have no idea why I said it that way...I think I had recently made some and didn’t care for it much, and I was just wondering if they liked it. Anyway, it still makes me laugh.

The wines were perfectly paired, as always, with light, citrusy whites starting us off, a hearty red with the short rib and beans, and a sweet, orange-y wine with the dessert.

LaSalle Grill may be expensive, but they earn it. I love trying different things, and the way they combine the tastes and textures is just amazing. A wonderful treat, one to enjoy on an occasional basis. Thanks, Honey!

Spill the wine

Some of you know that yesterday was our anniversary. Thanks for all the good wishes!

We went to a place downtown called LaSalle Grill, one of the nicest places in town. It was nice to get a little duded up--nothing real fancy, just slacks and a sweater--and sit there like a proper lady, or as much a one as I can be. Haha. It was a Spanish wine dinner, sort of a tapas dinner with various wines to go with the courses.

We started with an appetizer of prosciutto wrapped around green and black olives. It was delicious, and served with a brut champagne. Considering how I react to champagne, I should have known that this foreshadowed trouble.

Next was a course of seared sea scallops with a roasted red pepper sauce. These were tender and tasty, and the sauce was wonderful. The wine was a dry white, also tasty.

The next course was quail stuffed with chorizo, peppers, and tomatoes. I believe at some point a joke was made about naming it Dan. I also don't recall ever having quail before, and thought the tiny little squab was even tastier than a Cornish game hen, with a delicious smoky flavor. The wine with this course was a fairly dry red, and I think this was my favorite course.

Next up was a goat cheese salad with a somewhat fruity white. This was a nice break between the quail and the main course....

Lamb chops with a tempranillo. I'm not a fan of lamb, although these were tender, juicy, and quite tasty. I only had a few bites and passed the rest over to Ken. We tried a tempranillo a while back, and it might be one of my favorite new wines. It's a sort of robust red, almost a...?smoky? flavor...dry reds are my favorite, and this was very good.

Dessert was a crème brûlée sort of thing, and no wine was served.

Probably a good thing. You may have noticed that there was a glass of wine with almost every course. I'm not a real large person, so this was taking its toll on me, and Ken started switching our glasses so I didn't have as much to drink. When it came time to leave, he borrowed the restaurant's wheelbarrow and carted me off to the car. No, not really, but I can tell you that when I got home, I changed into my fuzzy robe, set the egg timer for an hour, and passed out fell asleep on the couch. Good grief! Everything was delicious, but it was also very rich food, and I felt kind of oogy for quite a while. There is a reason people shouldn't eat like that often! I drank water the rest of the evening (had a few bites of chocolate, too) and went to bed early. (And then couldn't sleep, of course! Tossed and turned, finally dozed off at some point.)

It's fun to go to a place like that a couple of times of year, though. The food is...I think I can safely use the word sublime. The different sauces and combinations they use are just so interesting, with such subtle and nicely-paired flavors. Really unusual, and a nice change of pace. I also had to wonder if Hell's Kitchen-type antics were going on in the kitchen. "These lamb chops are RAW!" [Chef throws the plate in the trash] "YES, Chef!"

A very nice dinner, and I believe I have fully recovered. [grin] I live to eat another day.