Steak dinner with Vicki

 

Vicki and I scheduled a second Restaurant Week dinner at Benjamin Steakhouse in White Plains.  Neither of us had been here before, and we wanted to have a good meal to make up for last week's disappointment at Saint George. So, I took out one of my unworn Universal Standard dresses, and dressed up a little for the evening.  (Too bad I didn't take a selfie - the dress looked quite nice on me.)

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It was my turn to pick Vicki up at her place.  So, I drove to her place around 5:30 and waited a few minutes for her to come out of her house.  On the way down to the restaurant, we talked about my brother, his upcoming trip, and the family homestead.  It was a pleasant chat, but Vicki got in the way of my driving by suggesting where I should turn (or not turn) when near the steakhouse.  This was not a big deal.  But it shows in a subtle way a hidden side of her personality - her intelligence can be a weapon if she wants to use it that way.  Luckily, I knew enough about the area to get us to the place on time and to hand my keys to the valet for parking.

We entered the place and were quickly shown to our table around 6:30. Within a few minutes both our drink orders and dinner orders were taken. Shortly afterward, our starters were delivered - a wedge salad for her and lobster bisque for me. Both were very good. Vicki commented on the atmosphere of the place, loving almost everything except for the reflected sounds which made it hard to speak.  Once done with our main courses came - Filet Mignon for her and NY Strip for me. Again, both were very good.  So far, this place succeeded in both the quality of the food and in service. When we finished our mains, the waiter came over to take our dessert orders - chocolate cake for Vicki and cheesecake for me. Both were very good, and on a par with the rest of our meals.  This will be a place we go back to again when restaurant week comes again, or for special occasions.  

On the way home, Vicki talked about the medical problems her dog is having.  For a 3 year old, he has gotten quite expensive.  But like most fur parents, Vicki loves her dogs and will do almost anything for them.  As for me, I am done with raising fur babies, as I love being able to travel at will - money permitting.

 

Zooming with my niece & Dinner with Vicki

 

My niece and I try to chat with each other via Zoom, as we live in separate time zones, separate nations, and separate continents.  She, like me, is wary of what is happening in the USA, and is worried about what will happen when she and her husband visit the US this month to see her brother compete in a sporting event.  So today's chat had American politics as a dominant theme, instead of what we prefer talking about.  

To deal with her visit to the US, she has deleted virtually all of her emails which reference US politics, as well as removing any social media from her phone.  She isn't too worried about her husband's phone, as he doesn't use social media.  However, she is concerned about him, simply because of the current xenophobic attitude of the regime currently in power.  

I discussed the conversation I had with her dad regarding how he treats her mom, as well as the conversation her mom had with me.  But I did not go into details, as I didn't want to make her a middle person.  However, I suggested that she keep tabs on her dad, as he is going through a lot of stress these days.  She is also being careful not to be caught in the middle of her dad and mom, as no one wins in these situations.

Hopefully, she and her hubby will have a pleasant visit to the US. 

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A few hours later, Vicki picked me up to go to eat at one of the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (HVRW) restaurants.  Coordinating our schedules isn't always easy.  But now that she's semi-retired (she'll work if a good job comes her way), she has much more freedom to schedule things like HVRW dinners than in the past.

Today, we went to a new restaurant, Saint George, in Hastings.  I wanted to love this place, as it had the ambience and service that I would normally rave about.  However, the Beef Bourguignon left a lot to be desired, as it was presented as if it were a Shepard's Pie - and tasted the same.  This was not the French dish I was expecting.  And it caused both Vicki and I to give the place a "Thumbs  Down".  Maybe, if one of us had ordered something different, we'd have had a different opinion of the place.  But for now, we'll skip this place and go to other places in the area.

 

 

PS: We may be seeing Martin Sexton in June.  I wonder whether she will like his cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road album. (Unlike me, she is not a Beatles' fan.  I wish I could have been in Vegas to see Cheap Trick cover the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album about 20 years ago.  It was a better performance than I expect Martin Sexton's performance will be.)