Older and (not-so-much) Wiser
Thanks everybody for your birthday wishes yesterday (of course, they were selfishly solicited on my part as I blogged about it in the morning). Anyway, I had a great day despite the weather. I got together with a bunch of co-workers for lunch and then Ben, Brad, Rich and I went back to my place after work for games and dinner.
We played three games of Clue (the Simpons version) and Rich won every time (bastard). But before that, we went to dinner at a great North End restaurant: Monica’s. I’ve been there quite a few times because it’s good and only a few blocks away (a distinct advantage with yesterday’s torrential wind-driven rain). The restaurant is typical North End. It’s smaller than my apartment (which itself is only 500 square feet). There are only 7 tables and they don’t serve dessert (people are encouraged to go to nearby dessert places and/or pastry shops). And my favorite part: the accent. We had a cute little Italian young woman as our waitress and she kept addressing us as “yous”…as in “Hi! Are yous ready to ordah?” (“yous” obviously being the plural of you). It felt very homey to me (my Mom has the same Boston accent).
Their regular menu is great. There are lots of options and everything I’ve ordered in the past has been delicious. But their specials are even better. I went there with my friend, Vito, back in January and ordered a delicious special. What I didn’t realize was that although the regular menu items are in the $12 – $19 range, the specials always seem to hover in the $27 range. OOOPS.
So here we all are, ordering wine, bruschetta (as an appetizer – mmmmmmm) and then all four of us getting specials (without asking for the price). My shrimp with risotto, asparagus, peas, corn and carrots was just so unbelievably good. In fact, we were all raving about the food as we went along talking and noshing.
But the second I saw the waitress deliver the bill to the table – even without seeing it – I remembered the shell-shock when looking at the bill last time. I felt especially horrible since it was my birthday and I wasn’t allowed to pay. Going forward, I think I just need to stick to their menu items – especially when others are paying.
You’d think I’d learn my lesson (a year older, a year wiser)…but I apparently not. To paraphrase Jerri Blank in Strangers With Candy: Oh, I’m still doing the wrong things, but at least I’m doing them the right way.
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well,i don’t think you should feel bad about the expensive food — it was your b-day after all … AND all of us ate the same — so i guess that makes us all guilty … and i want to know Rich’s technique for winning Clue! … he was amazing!
am glad you had a great time! ..and, am sure your friends didn’t mind the tab! It was your bday!