I had the best day today! Yes, I used an exclamation point; my serious writer card is hereby revoked (although I also used a semicolon, so maybe I'm just on probation). But today was seriously great. I messed around the apartment this morning, taking care of things and grooming and packing, but I made it out of the building by eleven so that I could spend an hour working at Goody (with some success - the young adult book is exciting me at the moment). Then I drove to wine country, and that's when the real fun began...
First up was a very long, leisurely afternoon at Gloria Ferrer. You may remember that I became a member because I'm a fancy bitch, and so I met up with Shedletsky and Tina (aka Bride of Shedletsky), and we sat on the terrace for a long time and enjoyed the complimentary flights that come with my membership. We also had charcuterie and cheese, which was delish, as usual. And then, because we were enjoying the terrace so much, and because there was no one there, we bought a bottle of pinot noir to split; I think this was technically against the rules, but they seemed cool with it. The weather was perfect for it, and they brought us blankets when it became slightly less perfect, and we moved inside for the last half hour when it started to rain, so that was all delightful. Needless to say, Gloria Ferrer remains one of my favorite places; they may not have the best wine in the entire valley ever (although I think their sparklings are really good), but the terrace alone is worth the visit.
After we were done there, we drove up to Healdsburg and checked in at Madrona, which is where I had my weird/fabulous/eccentric night out in August. We had made reservations ages ago to go to the Dickens-themed dinner, and we were v. v. excited about this. I was particularly excited about the eggnog, which was what brought me here; as you may recall, I befriended the bartender in August, and she had told me that she had started the eggnog back in February. So when we had changed and made it downstairs, I made sure to order a pre-dinner eggnog and reintroduce myself to the bartender, who was v. happy to see me (#protip: befriend the bartender). And the eggnog was everything I had dreamed about...
But dinner was also incredible. It was a five-course menu; we started with this amuse bouche served in an eggshell that had had the top perfectly sliced off, which was so good. Then there was a dungeness crab salad, and a truffle risotto that was so fucking good (although Tina had the soup, which was also amazingly good), and beef wellington (the beef was perfect, as were the potatoes), and a fancy dessert that looked like a ho-ho and tasted like an andes mint, with meringues shaped like mushrooms around a 'log' of chocolate cake. And we had all the wine pairings, which were delish.
But the other weird/amazing/awesome thing about dinner was the Victorian-style carolers who came around and sang during courses. It was two men (a bass and a tenor) and three women, and they were in full period garb, which was super cool (if you're an extreme dork like me). They came through a few times and sang 2-3 carols each time, and they were really good (although if you hate being sung to at dinner, this was not for you - but they were carefully timed with the courses/waitstaff, so no one was ever actually eating while they sang). Tina wanted to set me up with one of the carolers, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
But then we went back to the bar area (a covered patio with heatlamps and the awesome sound of rain pounding outside). Shedletsky and I were going to just get an eggnog to finish off the night, but Pam wanted to share some of the things she's been making, and I couldn't decline. So she comped us a liqueur, and she also made two cocktails with a special liqueur she made for herself + a homemade shrub (vinegar-based syrup) + sparkling wine, and that cocktail was *delish*. She also brought me a little bottle of the new bitters she's been making/experimenting with, and asked me to try it out at home and let her know what I think. Again, #protip, befriend the bartenders.
So we enjoyed our drinks, and talked about a lot of ridiculous things (politics, bullets, spinster honeymoons), and then we got a last round of eggnog before Pam went home. We closed down the bar so hard that the last hotel employee just showed us how to turn off the heat lamps and lock the doors, so we hung out until we could hang out no more.
And now I want to sleep, and try to sleep off the alcohol, and dream of sweet things until it's time to meet the Shedletskys for breakfast - goodnight!
First up was a very long, leisurely afternoon at Gloria Ferrer. You may remember that I became a member because I'm a fancy bitch, and so I met up with Shedletsky and Tina (aka Bride of Shedletsky), and we sat on the terrace for a long time and enjoyed the complimentary flights that come with my membership. We also had charcuterie and cheese, which was delish, as usual. And then, because we were enjoying the terrace so much, and because there was no one there, we bought a bottle of pinot noir to split; I think this was technically against the rules, but they seemed cool with it. The weather was perfect for it, and they brought us blankets when it became slightly less perfect, and we moved inside for the last half hour when it started to rain, so that was all delightful. Needless to say, Gloria Ferrer remains one of my favorite places; they may not have the best wine in the entire valley ever (although I think their sparklings are really good), but the terrace alone is worth the visit.
After we were done there, we drove up to Healdsburg and checked in at Madrona, which is where I had my weird/fabulous/eccentric night out in August. We had made reservations ages ago to go to the Dickens-themed dinner, and we were v. v. excited about this. I was particularly excited about the eggnog, which was what brought me here; as you may recall, I befriended the bartender in August, and she had told me that she had started the eggnog back in February. So when we had changed and made it downstairs, I made sure to order a pre-dinner eggnog and reintroduce myself to the bartender, who was v. happy to see me (#protip: befriend the bartender). And the eggnog was everything I had dreamed about...
But dinner was also incredible. It was a five-course menu; we started with this amuse bouche served in an eggshell that had had the top perfectly sliced off, which was so good. Then there was a dungeness crab salad, and a truffle risotto that was so fucking good (although Tina had the soup, which was also amazingly good), and beef wellington (the beef was perfect, as were the potatoes), and a fancy dessert that looked like a ho-ho and tasted like an andes mint, with meringues shaped like mushrooms around a 'log' of chocolate cake. And we had all the wine pairings, which were delish.
But the other weird/amazing/awesome thing about dinner was the Victorian-style carolers who came around and sang during courses. It was two men (a bass and a tenor) and three women, and they were in full period garb, which was super cool (if you're an extreme dork like me). They came through a few times and sang 2-3 carols each time, and they were really good (although if you hate being sung to at dinner, this was not for you - but they were carefully timed with the courses/waitstaff, so no one was ever actually eating while they sang). Tina wanted to set me up with one of the carolers, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
But then we went back to the bar area (a covered patio with heatlamps and the awesome sound of rain pounding outside). Shedletsky and I were going to just get an eggnog to finish off the night, but Pam wanted to share some of the things she's been making, and I couldn't decline. So she comped us a liqueur, and she also made two cocktails with a special liqueur she made for herself + a homemade shrub (vinegar-based syrup) + sparkling wine, and that cocktail was *delish*. She also brought me a little bottle of the new bitters she's been making/experimenting with, and asked me to try it out at home and let her know what I think. Again, #protip, befriend the bartenders.
So we enjoyed our drinks, and talked about a lot of ridiculous things (politics, bullets, spinster honeymoons), and then we got a last round of eggnog before Pam went home. We closed down the bar so hard that the last hotel employee just showed us how to turn off the heat lamps and lock the doors, so we hung out until we could hang out no more.
And now I want to sleep, and try to sleep off the alcohol, and dream of sweet things until it's time to meet the Shedletskys for breakfast - goodnight!
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