back to bijou

since we had been here roughly three weeks and we hadn't yet made it to Bijou Cafe, tonight we scheduled a meal there.  the day was rainy- we both jumped out of bed at 6:15 when thunder cracked overhead so loudly we thought there had been an accident... and the rain never really let up all day. so a perfect excuse to get out of the house and head to a nice dinner.

the place will let you BYO with a corkage fee- so we brought an old Burg-

Phil had piri piri shrimp for starters and I had the melange salad (a favorite)

then I had a pepper steak which was tasty but the strip steak was not high quality, and Phil had the roast duck with cherry sauce- and for desserts we chose gelati for me (sea salt caramel with truffles) and the amarula creme brulee for Phil.  Since the place wasn't crowded we were in and out in less than two hours... and home early on a rainy night... supposed to be fine by Thanksgiving but showers on and off tomorrow (the day before the holiday.)

we have reserved for Michael's on East for the Friday after - while Larry is still here... also a place you can BYO- and that we haven't yet made it to for a meal since we returned.... stay tuned turducken for the holiday along with boudin balls - LOL and four pies- LOL!

bijou birthday

quick post of my birthday dinner wines - we had a lovely meal at Bijou Cafe in Sarasota.

this bottle of Puligny was one of the best we have had from that vintage-

the Pommard showed well but not as well as the wine we had at Waterfront the other night with Matt & Ann (shown later)

the wines we had Saturday night at The Waterfront were outstanding- this Hamacher was a rival to any white burg and the 96 Morey St Denis was a burg to make you cry - just exquisite...and the good news is we have plenty more of the 96 so we will definitely pull that from the cellar when we get back to Chicago... on the other hand - this is likely one of the last bottles of the 2000 Hamacher Chard so it was nice to enjoy it with friends...

started getting my packing list ready for Morocco- leaving in two days- so time to start thinking about that...