Dinner with Mike & Charisse

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Dale and I had Mike and Charisse over for dinner. We all sat in the back yard and Mike and I smoked cigars. He loves these La Gloria Cubanas. As do I. So nice to catch up. Dale hasn't seen Charisse in over a year. We all mentioned how nice it is to see each other now that we're vaccinated and this Covid-19 pandemic seems to be winding down. 

We ordered Chinese from Xin Wong over on Nicollet and watched Red Garters. Mikey loved it. 

Brunch at Red Stag

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Dale and I hit the Red Stag for brunch again. I started with a Bloody Mary. 

I got the corned beef hash and Dale got the vegetable hash. So delicious. 

We talked about school winding down for me and him gearing up to go to the Island. It's such a hard time for both of us and it feels like it's on steroids this year due to the exhaustion where experiencing from the pandemic. 

Dining Out at Jax

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Dale and I haven't dined inside since we took Mom to Jax back in June of 2020 when restaurants reopened for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic lockdown in March of that year. I made that reservation online and realized afterward that I hadn't made it specifically for the patio since we weren't comfortable eating inside. I called the next day to see if I could request a change. The person who answered the phone sounded like a twelve year old and assured me that, yes, our reservation was indeed for the patio. Turned out it wasn't. When we arrived they had no record that the reservation was for the patio and couldn't seat us there because it was full. We decided we were okay with the dining room since not many people were in it. 

   

We decided we were ready to try indoor dining since I've had the first dose of the vaccine and Dale is feeling more comfortable about it. We're both back at our workplaces now after months of working from home so we've become a little more comfortable with the idea of indoor spaces. I made a reservation for Jax. We both identified that we were a tad nervous but, more than that, a little jazzed. 

       

To put us in the mood we listened to Jackpot! The Las Vegas Story on the drive over to the restaurant. It's a 1990s era compilation CD of space-age bachelor-pad pop with a Las Vegas twist. 

I started with a Sidecar and Dale had red wine. 

   

Our appetizer was the onion rings and they couldn't be more perfect. They came with ketchup and a creamy sriracha sauce dip which was spot on.

   

For dinner I had Uncle Joe's prime rib sandwich on rye while Dale had the chicken pot pie. Both were amazing. 

   

Dale skipped dessert but I couldn't pass up a Pink Squirrel. I had been way too long. It was heaven and well worth the wait.

  

The main dining room was quite full however we were seated in the back dining room which was mostly empty on our arrival. However, it quickly filled up and it was encouraging to see Jax doing such good business. On the drive home we each remarked more than once how wonderful it was to eat inside at a restaurant. It's been way too long and I hope to never take it for granted again!

Thanksgiving 2020

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving was scaled back this year due to the pandemic. We often head out to visit Pete & family for the holiday but that was not to be this year. When we've been in town for the holiday over the last few years we've gone out to eat. Also, due to the fact Covid-19 cases are surging again we decided not to have Mom over. We did, however, run a care package to her after we finished our dinner today. 

The day melted away seemingly quite quickly due food prep here and there throughout. There was time in between for the scaled back Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. . .

...and a Bloody Mary. . .

...and the coloring of the turkey in the Star Tribune. 

We ate at 3:15. Dinner was awesome and we watched a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. 

After we ate we got Athena taken care of and then ran a care package over to Mom. She met us at the entry to her building with her mask on and seemed pretty excited to be getting delivery on Thanksgiving. She texted me that she was impressed with the amount of food. She also texted how delicious she though it was. Pictured above are Mom and I during a pre-pandemic Thanksgiving. I believe the photo was taken at Jax in 2015.