Day of Mixed Emotions

On the one hand, today's the second anniversary of my marriage to shadesong.

On the other, it's my last full day at work (I do have a presentation tomorrow morning).

And on the third, today's the day that 'song heads up to Watertown with the cats, and Elayna and I won't see them for two days (when we fly up).

Today's going to be a hell of a draining day.

Life with 'song and Yendi

'song calls me to tell me the movers managed to pack the box of stuff she'd specifically hidden (including her iPod) that she didn't want packed.

Me: I guess the lesson we've learned is that if you don't want something packed, hide it in the car.

shadesong: Hell. I'll hide it in my vagina.

Me: I dunno. Have you checked to see if they packed the IUD?

Mmm, food.

Last night, to celebrate our anniversary (a day early, since tonight's not an option), shadesong and I headed to Bacchanalia.

Wow.

One of the things that amazes me about Bacchanalia is that no portion is big. Hell. They're tiny. If you were to simply see one plate from your meal, you'd assume you'd be starving afterwards. But between the four courses and the various amuses bouche, you get stuffed.

(Note: 'song's post on the meal is here, and I've swiped her basic descriptions. Her full post is here).
The meal started with an amuse bouche from the pastry chef of a cheesy poof that was hot, tangy, and yummy. I think this had a different cheese than last time, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Booze:

To Drink
'song: Whistler Shiraz
Adam: Troubadour Stout

That was followed by bread, of course.

That, in turn, was followed by an amuse bouche from the chef: Garlic & potato soup, with a garlic chip, in demitasse cups. Wow. Really rich, and really yummy. The garlic chip on top was a perfect garnish, too.

For appetizers, I had a diver scallop and oyster chowder. It was a wonderful potato-based chowder with tender scallops and one huge oytster. Also, there was bacon. And some onions. 'song had the vegetable jambalaya with carolina gold rice. Lots of jalapeno slices in this one. I tried a bite, and it was damned yummy.

For the entree, I went for the squab with seared foie gras, grits, and fig preserve. Yes, I ate foie gras. And if you don't like it, you can move your Peta-sucking ass to Chicago or wherever it is that it's banned. And the foie gras was a perfect counterpoint to the squab, which was so rich, it tasted more like game than poultry. the fig preserve was yummy as well, and the Anson Mills grits were a perfect accompaniment.

'song tried the pan roasted venison with heirloom sweet potato, fennel, and sultana. I had a bite, and it was one of the best bites of venison I've ever had. Seared crisp on the outside, wonderfully tender on the inside, and over a perfect bed of veggies. It was 'song's first time trying venison, and she's pretty much guaranteed to be disappointed in the dish in the future, because it's not likely to get better that this one.

The third course was the "cheese and contrast," and 'song once again went for the Star Provisions selection of cheese (they brought the cheese cart to the table, and 'song got to pick the four she wanted). She chose:

Appleby's Cheshire (cow)
Schloss (cow)
Tarantaise de Savoie (goat)
Abbey de Belloc (sheep)

I liked all of them, but the Tarantaise and the Abbey were the best. The Tarantaise is one of the denseness cheese I've tried.

I went for the Sweet Grass dairy fresh chevre with Pink Beauty radish and local eggplant crostini. I love a good chevre, and this was as good as it gets. The radishes, which consisted of at least four varieties, were all sliced thin and super sweet and tangy. The eggplant was wonderful, as well.

That was followed by yet another amuse bouche from the chef: Cardamom-saffron fritter with lemon pickle. I told the waiter that the amuses bouche here were better than entire meals at other restaurants, and I wasn't kidding. The two bites of this were just unbelievably delicious, with a mix of flavors that was perfectly balanced. Easily the best item served at an already-near-perfect meal.

That was followed by dessert. I had the ruby-red grapefruit tart with rosemary ice cream. As I've mentioned before, I love the tarts at Star Provisions restaurants. The brown butter ones at Floataway are to die for. The crust on this one was equally yummy, and the sweetness of the tart base contrasted perfectly with the bitterness of the grapefruit. The rosemary ice cream was an ideal topper, as the grapefruit really did need sweetness coming at it from both sides for balance. And hey -- rosemary ice cream is wonderful in and of itself.

'song had the equally delicious crispy pumpkin ice cream with spice tuille. Fried pumpkin ice cream (with toasted pumpkin seeds on the side). Can't go wrong there. Dear god, it was yummy.

That was followed by a mini dulce de leche cake in honor of our anniversary. I enjoyed it, but it was probably the weakest item on the menu, just a little too icing-heavy. But it was still yummy (and was a nice touch by the restaurant).

That was followed by yet more amuses bouche from the pastry chef. This time, there were almond sugar cookies and pumpkin bonbons. I actually tried the cookies, and they were surprisingly good (and I'm not a fan of almonds). But the bonbons were just cracktastic. Dark chocolate filled with pumpkin, and topped with ground pumpkin seeds. The saltiness of the seeds merged right into the sweetness of the pumpkin filling, which then contrasted with the bittersweet flavor of the dark chocolate. If Star Provisions actually sold those in their store (which is having a "yard sale" this Saturday, for any Atlanta-based foodies), they'd make another fortune.

And with the check, citrus madeleines fresh from the oven. As in, no more than sixty seconds removed from the oven by the time they hit our plate. They went perfectly with the always-wonderful French Press coffee.

So, yeah. Our last meal together in Atlanta was not only a celebration of our marriage, but also at the best damned restaurant in the city. I'm still full.

Sandy West, R.I.P.

Sandy West, drummer for The Runaways, has died. :-(



Here's a live version of Sandy and friends performing "Wild Thing."

Empty House

Random thoughts:

Today was a little overwhelming, both for all the reasons I expected before, as well as some unexpected new ones surrounding both work (the old job) and the move. Suffice to say, I'm emotionally drained, and was damned near on the verge of tears a couple of times.

Not everything fit into the U-Haul. Which means we now have a bunch of stuff in storage. Suck.

'song and Kires hit the road a little before 5, not nearly as early as we'd all hoped, but they are safely on the way. The poor cats are not happy, and saying goodbye to them was nearly impossible (not that saying goodbye to my wife was much easier, but at least she knows what's going on; the cats just know that their life is being disrupted).

I spent a good portion of the last couple of hours cleaning the house, and will spend lots more time tomorrow. We had so much crap.

No mail arrived today; I'm taking that as a sign that everything was okay on our mail forwarding.

One major thing that didn't make it into the truck: Either of the litter boxes or the litter itself.. So 'song and Kires have one thing to buy, unless one of the folks meeting them in the afternoon/evening has one (or could grab one, and we'll reimburse).

Things left behind deliberately: The microwave (which was cheap to begin with, too big, and redundant in the new place); The above-toilet shelf unit; the ultra-heavy dresser from my office; 'song's old desk.

Another thing that didn't make it was the box with the Tivo remote. I've tossed that into the suitcase. Gotta prioritize.

I'm drained as hell. Miss Kid and I are currently staying at photognome's. I suspect I'll be asleep ten minutes after she is.

Miss Kid also wanted to go on the eighteen-hour U-Haul ride with 'song and Kires. She's clearly insane. Alas, there just wasn't room.

I owe a bunch of you comment replies. I promise I'll be better about that later, when the brain works. Right now, I'm too tired to even try to keep up with LJ.