Day 359

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Woke up at 7 a.m. this morning.  I was planning to go to the gym at 5, but I still wasn't ready, so I slept another two hours.  Cleaned up, got groceries and flowers for mom, and left for work at 10.  I'll work from 10-12, then pick up mom at the airport, then go back to work for a few hours.  We'll eat at Penrose tonight and maybe catch a film if there's time.  There are so many films to see right now.

Picked up mom at 1:15 p.m. and drove her back to my place.  We went to Arizmendi and played a game of crib while nibbling on our brioche knot and currant scone.  We then headed back to the apt. and I set up mom for a few hours of alone time while I went to work for an hour to finish up a report that needed to go out.

For dinner, our plan was to go to the new restaurant on Grand Ave. called Penrose, but surprisingly, it was closed.  We then tried Camino, but it was closed too, so we drove to College Ave. and walked down the street in search of a nice place to eat.  We stumbled upon a new restaurant called The Barrel Room, a new place about one month old, which turned out to be a perfect spot for a leisurely dinner.  Mom had a flight of champagne, three glasses of different champagnes that she said were fantastic.  We ordered two starter plates, (1) dates stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts wrapped in pancetta and roasted, and (2) almond trio of vanilla spice, applewood smoked, maple roasted.  We shared a salad of escarole with apples, walnuts, and blue cheese, and for our large plates, mom ordered boeuf bourguignon croustade with micro greens and I ordered cassoulet with duck confit, toulouse sausage, pork and white beans.  Everything was delicious.  The restaurant wasn't crowded and the atmosphere was beautiful, so it ended up being one of those perfect meals where everything is good and enjoyable.  I was very happy with The Barrel Room.

We would have ordered dessert, but wanted to catch the 7:30 showing of American Hustle at Bay Street.  We just made the theater by the end of the last trailer.  American Hustle is a great film with outstanding performances from everyone, but the real star in my opinion is Christian Bale, who is brilliant in his role as a morally conflicted con artist. 


David O. Russell is on a major roll.  This film is terrific from beginning to end, with a great story, fascinating characters, and a wonderful narrative flow that just purrs along like a well-oiled Lincoln Continental.  Best Film of the year so far...oh wait, I forgot about Gravity, which may still be the best film I've seen so far.  Gravity was that astounding to me. 

After the film, mom and I arrived home and went right to bed.

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