Dear Liza,
This is a re-post from last winter. I don’t feel up to writing this morning. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.
Yep, it’s still winter here… dark, grey, and drippy. Last night we needed to get out of the house, but it was too nasty to walk very far. Our first choice, the Suzette Creperie, was closed, so we stopped by a tiny place we have walked past a thousand times, called Rendezvous Vous. Since it was early, we were the first customers in.
There was interesting lighting and an appealing informality about the place… tables of different heights and styles, a few velvet sofas and chairs. A tall bookcase made of old doors held books and games, Star Wars Monopoly among them.
We were waved at by Nour, who seemed to be running the place by herself. She got us water, and got us some wine. I had a Bordeaux and Grandpa Nelson got a Chilean Pinot Noir. Both were tasty… really different from each other, but tasty. The Bordeaux had the dark balance of most Bordeaux wines, and the Pinot was sharp, like cider.
We enjoyed the music… Frank Sinatra, Pink Martini, and cool jazzy covers of old rock and roll songs. After a while an older fellow came in and sat at the bar, reading his newspaper and chatting with Nour. We got the feeling he was a regular.
We ordered our dinner. Manti, something totally new for me, and tuna poke for Auntie Bridgett. Turns out, Manti is a dish of small beef dumplings in a garlicky, tomatoey, yogurt sauce, and absolutely delicious!
I ate and enjoyed the combination of wine, spice, music, and soft lighting, and being in a new place.
When we got home, I had to brush my teeth three times before I could get a kiss goodnight! The garlic sauce, tasty as it was, had real staying power. I will remember to tread more lightly next time (burp.)
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 