Girls' night out
Gailor and I are just back from a girls' night out. My husband is away, and I offered to take her out to dinner wherever she wanted. She chose Pazo. (She'd never been there.)
We went early; 6:30 p.m. was the last opening they had. I was glad we had dressed up a bit because there was a sign that said, "Proper attire required."
I'm not sure what that meant. Everyone else was in a) jeans, and not designer, b) T-shirt, c) flip-flops, or d) shorts. Maybe if you wore your pajamas you'd be turned away.
We had some good tapas, and the waitress suggested we get a bottle of wine rather than two glasses because it was only $17. I bring this up because of last weekend's discussion about the Oregon Grille. When I got the check, the price had gone up to $19. For some reason, I didn't think to ask the waitress about it until after I paid.
"It was $17 yesterday," she said. What I liked was that she went back and checked, and then said, "We're adjusting your bill accordingly." No discussion. ...
Afterwards, Gailor and I walked along the water and around Harbor East, which she hadn't seen. There were demonstrators outside of the Oceanaire Seafood Room with signs about clean water, but also a couple of foie gras protesters.
They were very polite. When one of them murmured something to Gailor, she said, "I'm all about not eating foie gras, but my mother, on the other hand..."
Thrown to the wolves.
(First photo by Gailor, second by me. No flash, I promise.)
Comments
That comment from Gailor to the fois gras folks is the last straw. She must now take all her meals from McDonalds and sleep in the tree with the squirrel's nest.
BTW, that squirrel's nest has almost disappeared. I don't know whether they dismantled it or some storm. EL
Posted by: Regina | July 5, 2008 10:53 PM
Again, another instance of a restaurant trying to weasel a couple extra dollars out of diners!
Can't say they do it down here, because I rarely order wine when dining out. Next time I'm up in Baltimore I'll be checking my bill quite closely.
I got the impression that they had simply raised the price. EL
Posted by: Rob in PCB FL | July 5, 2008 11:13 PM
So Oceanaire doesn't have clean water? What's the deal?
I think it was a more generalized protest. Perhaps someone can fill us in. EL
Posted by: LJ | July 5, 2008 11:40 PM
A cruel child indeed. Did she tell them you kick puppies too?
Posted by: Francesca | July 6, 2008 1:19 AM
Maybe Gailor's comment was payback for all the secrets that have been revealed on this blog, such as the contents of her refrigerator.
Posted by: Dahlink | July 6, 2008 7:22 AM
hmmm, the protestors were protesting for clean water. If only the police or some vigilante foodies would have met the protestors demands by turning the hoses on them.
I was just thinking about the foie gras issue yesterday. The NY Times had a story about drum circles in Harlem and how it was turning the neighborhood against one another. Anyway for those who don't remember one of our foie gras discussions became a debate on drum circles. And as I think about it, the story this weekend further serves as support for my side of the argument....but i digress.
Posted by: Robert of Cross Keys | July 6, 2008 8:05 AM
I saw both of those protest groups about a month ago and asked the clean water people why they were there. To the best of my recollection, they were arguing that the same farms that allegedly mistreat the geese for foie-gras were allowing all kinds of crap (literally and otherwise) into their local streams.
And for what its worth..my stand on foie gras is: for that price, I'd MUCH rather eat lobster.
Posted by: Frequent Little Italy Restaurant Visitor | July 6, 2008 4:32 PM
I've never had foie gras. Is it really all that? I have an idea of the consistency, but what does it taste like? And please don't tell me it tastes like chicken.
Posted by: LJ | July 6, 2008 10:05 PM
My father in law spent many years working out of Philly for the Soil Conversation Service and according to him the biggest polluters in the farming business are the Amish. Maybe the clean water people should move up to the Dutch Market in Cockeysville.
Posted by: Mark | July 7, 2008 9:20 AM
LJ - No foie gras doesn't taste like chicken. It tastes like pureed chicken livers. But really goooooood ones. Texture is divine and the brandy (smack lips together while kissing fingers).
Only without the liver taste. :-) EL
Posted by: Kitkat | July 7, 2008 10:08 AM