Restaurant Distraction

Friday night we bailed on the St Paddy's day whoopla and stayed "in" instead. Staying in included grilled cheese and spaghetti with meatless sauce (yeah, I know, the bishop gave us dispensation to eat cornbeef since it WAS St Paddy's day and all but I wasn't having cornbeef so I didn't feel like taking liberties with the rule bending). Anyway, after dinner we pulled out the hide-a-bed, got caught up in the NCAA tournament and were asleep by 9:30. Exciting, uh?

The boy had a good week so I had promised I would take him out to dinner to celebrate. The restaurant we wanted to go to had an hour and a half wait on Friday night (hence, the staying in) so we tried again on Saturday. I even managed to get all dressed up; literally, I got out the heels, wore a skirt, etc. This place we like to go has a great atmosphere. If you ever get to this neck of the woods, try City Cafe (locals know it was the "old Henry Wellington's"). Think small, warm, jazzy feel with great food. A nice wine selection, live music (jazzy soul, one man gigs usually). All in all, a place we like to unwind at. I felt it fit the bill for a bit of R&R before we both jump into two very busy weeks.

After a mere 15 minute wait we were seated near the back of the room, about two tables from the night's entertainment. I happened to be familiar with him and was excited to have one more bonus for the night....that is, until we sat down. The easy, warm atmosphere was cut by the grinding shriek of the woman sitting one table over and directly in front of the guitarist. We initially contributed the shear volume of her voice to be a compensation for her being not far from directly in front of said artist's speaker. OKay, fine, she's trying to make herself heard. Wrong!

The entertainment took his first break and the music stopped. The voice. Well, let's just say it didn't go away. It was one of those grinding, harsh, voices of opinion. I tried to ignore it. Really, I did. I was sitting next to a breathtakingly handsome man, we had a glass of Pinot Grigio to warm ourselves, and I had an amazing palette of food in front of me. But how do you ignore The Voice that is berating the betrayal of a Harry Potter Quidditch match in the book versus the movie, then agonizing over the criticism she received for not having financially contributed to her church, and finally in great detail explaining the joy her husband would receive if he could alternate orgasmic moments with her with the smoothness of a nice chocolate shake, only to finish his shake to another round with her. I am NOT KIDDING people...at that point the last few bites of my Thai Curry Salmon nearly went spewing across the room! Even the boy couldn't ignore that little tidbit of the conversation.

I felt bad for the live entertainment. I like the performer, I work with his wife, and know he's a quiet type that enjoys his music; it had to be difficult for him to ignore her. I was happy to be enjoying a fine dinner with my other half after a long hard week and a lot of worry. At least we had a laugh or two, it's good for the soul right? Too bad it was at The Voice's expensive. In spite of their check coming as our meals arrived she was still standing near the exit when we had finished our meals and yes, her voice was echoing down the street as we got in our cars.