TL;DR: Worth all the dollars
When it’s time to figure out what to do for dinner, Alex and I have very different approaches. I understand that we will have another meal tomorrow, so let’s just eat what we feel like and get moving to the next meal. Eat what’s available. ALEX, OTOH, acts like this might be the last dinner we ever have, and it’s gotta be good. Alex likes a curated plate. I’ll take the $0.99 boxed dinner of Alfredo.
So, when he said that we were going to a THREE-HOUR DINNER. I was unprepared. That’s like the time of 16 meals. I was going to have to sit through six courses, wine pairings, and a dessert. I watched a bunch of YouTubes to prepare myself for what Alex was about to subject me to. And – as I watched the videos – my disdain for a meal that lasted longer than 16 minutes started to melt away….like the chocolate shell on the dessert I was expecting.
AITA? Yes. Because I was wrong.
The phone call reminding us to be on time was the first sign that we were going to something special. Dinner starts at 6:30, and you need to be there at 6. There’s a warm-up drink. Our drink included elderberry. Like the drink at Ikea. Did I say that a bunch of times? Yes. Did I down the drink in three sips? Yes. Yes, I did.
We were seated with 12 other people. One couple left right away. They didn’t watch any previews. As soon as they left the table, we all guessed the couple was hoping for a quiet romantic dinner for two. Which, is sweet and enduring. Our waiter was able to shuttle them off to the steak house for a delightful dinner, and I hope he proposed marriage – and I hope she said yes. Which is exactly what we talked about.
All the foods came. All the wines were poured. Meanwhile, we all chatted. Where are you from, what do you do, and how big is your RV – these were the questions. (I’ve found that once you tell people you RV, there’s a whole new world of conversations. We don’t talk about what’s your favorite vegetable. We talk water pumps.). We had chats about campgrounds to visit, casino parking lots, and driving your kid to school in an RV.
All of a sudden, dessert was served. And – it was all the drama one would expect The espresso martini was great, but I couldn’t finish it. In fact, I didn’t finish anything but the bread. And – even then – eating the bread took me the whole meal. I didn’t finish all the wines, and there was a quiet agreement that I wouldn’t finish all the wines. I don’t think any of us finished our wines.
Four hours passed without a single look at the phone for what time it was. We were more concerned with our kid who was just replying to our messages with “Yes”. It was like this:
Did you eat dinner? Yes.
What did you eat for dinner? Food.
Where are you now? Yes
GIRL – where are you? Yes.
We got back to the room and the kid had grown tired of the teen club and was back in the room by 10P. I was asleep by 10:07.
The meal was high value. The wines served were well-matched. The Chef and Water were a solid team. The food delivery timing was prompt, not slow or too fast – the staff did an excellent job timing.
Roam Any Day 