Food

Jess and I went to share our Valentine's Day with her friend. It was also Missy's 30th birthday, so we selflessly sacrificed our own V-day celebrations and it turned out to be a wise decision. The food at Redline, in Cambridge, surpassed expectations. I started out with the calamari, served with cherry peppers and chipotle aioli and Jess went for the grilled portabello with spinach, mozerrella, and tomato. Both were excellent: both simple and tastefully prepared.

For the entree, I went for the surf and turf: beef tenderloin with grilled scallops. Once again, the dish was perfectly cooked. The accompanying sauce -- I forgot to find out what it was but it seemed a parsley vinagrette -- was striking and, I ultimately decided too strong, if you can imagine me thinking that. Jess had the more perfect dish: grilled salmon.

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For lunch today, Jess took me to Bangkok Hill, the same restaurant that gave me lime leaves back when I was trying to prepare a tom yum soup. Once again, Jess lucked out: she went for a tom khan and a chicken massaman curry, both excellent. I went for the tom yum noodle soup, which wasn't particularly good or bad and I can suggest with all humility was not as good as my own. The service erred on the side of attentive and we will no doubt go back.

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We tried watching Safe Men, a film Charlie recommended to cap off a discussion of "small films" that somehow captivate us. Mine was the unfortunately named Shattered Glass, which I can't watch five minutes of without going all the way through to the end. Safe Men didn't have the effect on us that it did on Charlie, and we turned it off at the forty-five minute mark, not having laughed once. I appreciated the dialogue, but it was a nodding appreciation only.

Since Charlie has been spot on with recent recommendations, both culinary, musical, and cinematic, I'll chock this up to a slight but significant difference in comic tastes, and note that this in no way diminishes my respect for his opinions.

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And finally, I was left with slim pickins in the cupboard for dinner. I cooked up my last remaining strip of bacon and then sliced some cayennes and cooked them in the fat. I then added canned baked beans, mustard, and my homemade barbeque sauce. The results was worth the few minutes of extra effort. I only wish I'd made the beans myself, to avoid the overly salty suggestion of industrial food.