Kate Mantellini

For the record, I want to let it be known that I actually exaggerated a little bit last night. It felt like I was totally out of control and eating everything in sight. This morning I was able to rethink everything that I ate yesterday, and came to the conclusion that I was actually pretty good. First of all, let me just put this out there. I went to dinner with Mom again. My mother has always been the type of person who is a lot of fun, but who really takes her food and dining seriously. I obviously do too, but unlike me, my mother has always found fault in her restaurant experiences. Some of her favorite sayings are "I like my hot things hot!" "I work like a man, I should eat like a man." "Your serving is a) bigger, b) rarer, c) juicier, d) hotter, etc. etc. than mine." You get the picture? For starters, she was convinced that her Chivas Regal that we ordered her last night was definitely NOT Chivas. Also, as luck would have it, her glass was dirty. Once, we exchanged the drink that the waiter witnessed being poured out of the Chivas bottle, she was left with a glass with "mainly ice" and two small pieces of a lemon twist. She was quite surprised that they would be so "economical" with their lemons. My husband offered to get her a lemon wedge, but by the time the waiter came to the table, the drink was gone "it was all ice" and she decided to have a glass of Chardonnay. She went with the recommendation of the waiter, even though she had "never heard of that wine before."
So, now that the mood of the table has been presented, let's get to Patti's Plate. I actually refused the delicious hot bread that they normally serve, and ordered a steak and arugula salad with a reduced vinaigrette sauce. It was actually so good that I felt like I was overindulging, but in retrospect I was not. We also had an order of sweet potato fries that I should have passed on but I didn't. Another indulgence was my Beefeater gin martini. But, heck. I've always worked like a man. Why shouldn't I drink like one?