Dinner and a Movie

I'm spoiled beyond words.  

With our trip to China on the near horizon, we've tried to plan special nights for each of the kids-- some one on one time before we add to the chaos.

On Friday, I had my night with Lucy.  She had previously decided that she wanted to stay home and watch a chick flick.  Lyle suggested that he could make dinner for us as well. 

 I should have known it would be quite a production.  

Lucy and I were instructed to stay out of the master bedroom until 5:30, when we were escorted up to "La Beck Restaurante Oo! La La!".

The ambiance was so cozy and inviting.  I'd even call it homey.

The menu was prominently displayed on a music stand as we entered.  I can understand why Lyle forbade Lucy from having an after school snack.  There would be plenty of food.

I could have made a complete meal just from the appetizers.  The artichoke dip was divine.

The service, from start to finish, was exceptional.  This lovely waitress, according to her nametag, was  "Chief of Recitations Dramatique".  Later in the evening she favored us with a poetry reading.

The salad was served by a handsome gentleman with a French accent......or maybe it was Russian, it was a bit muddled.

And the salad, oh my.

Fresh pepper from our ever-attentive server.

The Sous Chef, Mademoiselle Cholita, was so very excited about this event.  She "called" me on the phone earlier in the day to confirm our reservation.

In this photo, we're enjoying our soup.  You may notice Mademoiselle Cholita in the background sampling the bubbly, actually chug-a-lugging the bubbly.  We thought that was a tad unprofessional being that she was on-duty and all.  

The sparkling cider was an excellent vintage.

The main course did not disappoint.  The parmesan chicken and garlic green beans were fantastic.

And then we watched the movie....the only part of the evening that took some preparation on my part.  For some strange reason, I thought that "Gone with the Wind" would be the ideal chick flick.  It's probably been 20 years since I'd seen it and my memory did not serve me well.

Midway through this marathon movie, Lucy asked, "Does it get happier?"

Ummm, no not really.

If Rhett had only cooked a dinner like this for Scarlett, I think the ending would have been different.