Saturday I had to get up early and be ready for Roni to pick me up to run errands. We were early for my Angel Food Ministries pick up and there were cars parked all along the streets around St. Clare's. We were very lucky to find a spot in the parking lot. Then we noticed booths set up and people cooking both in the booths and in the church kitchen. We asked what was going on since the church BBQ had been the weekend before. It was confirmation and, with the Bishop here, they were preparing for the luncheon afterward. I had been scheduled to work the distribution but other than a few one-handed tasks for set up, I had to leave as soon as my food was ready - lots of fresh fruit & vegetables.
We picked up lunch for Bill & then Roni dropped me off so that we both had time to prepare for the big event of the day - our shared birthday dinner.
Months ago, I had gotten a voucher for a special four course gourmet dinner at l 'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills. When I broke my shoulder, I looked at postponing it until my shoulder healed more, but found that the voucher expired on May 31st and wasn't valid on holiday weekends. So, it was now or never.
We arrived at the restaurant a little late because traffic along Santa Monica Blvd. was at a crawl. It took 20 minutes to go 3 miles. But there was street parking nearby and the Maitre 'D called me by name when I mentioned that we had a reservation. The dining room was very intimate with only 8 tables for 3 and 3 tables for 4. There was another dining room adjacent but the section we were in was like a garden room and opened into the patio area as shown in the photo above.
Roni complained about the tiny portions, but when I asked if she was still hungry, she said no. But she was used to taking part of her dinner home for lunch the next day. I told her that I didn't think that gourmet restaurants were into "Doggie Bags".
The first course was fresh pea soup with sour cream swirled on top. It included slivered radish and some kind of sprout served with lump crab salad - about a tablespoon of salad served on a tiny slice of avocado. The next course was a wedge of romaine covered in a Champagne vinaigrette with sun-dried tomatoes and topped with crumbled goat cheese and sliced toasted almonds. The waiter was happy to cut everything up for me when I realized I had forgotten that little detail.
We had a choice of three items for our entree - sand dab in sauce, truffle fettuccine, or steak with balsamic onions & potato souffle. Roni and I had both chosen the steak which was served on a bed of sauteed baby spinach with the balsamic reduction drizzled over the top. For the onion part, there was 1/4 of a tiny bulb the size of a garlic bulb. The potato souffle turned out to be a fried bubble of potato. I had always thought of a souffle in terms of eggs. The taste combination was absolutely delicious.
And the dessert was 3 fried beignets the size of donut holes served with tiny dipping dishes which held raspberry sauce and chocolate sauce. All this was accompanied by a choice of a glass of sparkling, red or white wine. It was a lovely dinner in a lovely setting and we certainly not bothered by the discomfort caused by overeating.
Sunday was another special day because Julie drove down from San Diego to help me out for the day. She stopped in Canyon Country and picked up a roasted turkey breast, makings for a vegetable salad and fruit. She combined her fruit with what I had gotten the day before to make a huge fruit salad. After the great lunch that more than made up for the scanty portions the night before, she washed up the big pans that I had not been able to manage.
She also put together a bath chair that I had ordered for the handicap bathroom and helped me water all my outside containers. We then had a chance to just sit and visit until it was time for her to start the long drive home around 4:00.
All in all, a very nice birthday weekend.
