There were some "issues" that delayed my sister in picking me up, so we ended up getting to Bloomy's much later than we were supposed to.(No worries, we still LEFT at the time we were supposed to! :D ) At one point, I texted my uncle's girlfriend, who is a police sergeant in the city, to tell her we were there, because the store is in her district. She ended up coming to the store just as we were finishing up. Long story short, we went to dinner with her, at one of my favorite restaurants downtown, Quartino.
We had a FABULOUS meal! I usually tell people who have never been to Quartino that it's kinda like an Italian tapas bar. If you click around their website, you'll see what I mean.
My sister's friend drove in to work with us, so naturally she came to dinner with us, but I'm afraid Quartino was NOT for her. She will be the first to tell you, she has the most unrefined palate. Ok, that sounded bitchy. Let me quote HER..."I'm freakin' IRISH! All I eat is potatoes!" She usually eats a candy bar, or a bag of potato chips for dinner. (She's single, and doesn't have children, so I suppose she can do that, right? Is it wrong that I'm a little jealous?) She seriously wanted to run into McDonald's to get an order of fries for her dinner, instead of going to a nice dinner at a beautiful restaurant. But, to her credit, she sucked it up, and came on the adventure.
My sister and I ordered a bunch of plates to share with each other, and my uncle's girlfriend, of course. Here's what we had to share:
- Dates, stuffed with Gorgonzola, and wrapped in Panchetta(TO DIE FOR!! I could have eaten 100!)
- Polenta Fries (one of the main reasons I love this place!!)
- Fried Calamari
- Escarole and Fagioli (escarole and beans)
- Baby Spinach, Walnut, Pear and Ricotta Salata salad
My sister also order eggplant parmigiana, and my uncle's girlfriend order pasta. I had ordered meatballs, and it didn't occur to me until I started writing this, that they never came! Shoot! It was fine, though, since we were stuffed. But, man, I really wanted those meatballs. :(
My sister's friend ended up ordering a pizza, cheese with a little sausage. Thankfully, she liked it!
Now, here's the crazy part. The restaurant comped us the entire meal!! It was a bit embarrassing, actually. They did it for my uncle's girlfriend, since most places in the city are very generous to cops. But, I didn't think they'd comp the entire bill!! Man, that waiter made out, because we ended up leaving him a 50% tip!
It was really a nice way to end the day. Then, we even got a ride to the train from Sergeant Girlfriend, which was great, because it was raining. Actually, by the time we got home (our train stop) there was a raging storm going on. The rain was coming down sideways, and it was windy as hell. I wish I had video of the three of us trying to walk across the parking lot to our car! It was too funny.
We're supposed to keep having stormy weather today, too. They're talking about possible tornado activity. Poop. I'm supposed to go to lunch with a friend after church, but I may have to reschedule. I guess we'll have to wait and see what it's like in a few hours when we come out after the service.
On that note, I'd better go get ready. I hope everyone enjoys a relaxing Sunday!!
