Friday, June 6, 2008

Well Fed

Our 25th anniversary dinner at Vincent was a smashing success. Vincent apparently knew we were coming, and rolled out the welcome for us. Jan, our waiter fresh from France, served us up a wonderful tasting menu of vichyssoise, bib salad with bleu cheese, foie gras (I confess I love the stuff, force-feeding notwithstanding), scallops, seared marlin, beef tenderloin, and finally, Louis XIV chocolate cake. I was in heaven, which is the same thing as Paris when we're talking food, and I only snapped out of my reverie when I looked out the window and saw the signpost pointing to Target Center and the Metrodome.

We got up and worked out at the hotel fitness center (very well equipped), and headed out shopping. Lunch was Au Bon Pain in the skyway, and Soulmate happily poked around Sak's off-5th bargain shop in Gaviidae for the afternoon. I did the usual guy thing: find a sofa near (but not too near) the changing rooms, and try to give the right signal for each item she models.


Here's a hint for you novice husbands: forget trying to actually evaluate the piece of clothing or pair of shoes. You're hopeless, so give it up. Instead, look at her eyes and face: if her eyes are bright and happy, then say something halfway intelligent like "that color is really good on you!" Hey, I picked up on one or two important things in 25 years of marriage.


If she looks dubious, then say something like "that cut is sort of odd" or "the color doesn't really bring out the highlights in your hair" or "it's not as sophisticated as other things you wear." Whatever you do, don't say "it makes your hips look wide" (even if it's true). You might as well have said "head for the phat pharm, Big Momma!" You'll never recover from that fatal mistake, and you'll be fighting with Fido for the warmer spot in the doghouse.


Anyway, I navigated between Charybdis and Scylla, avoiding disaster, and Soulmate bought several items happily. Then we headed to Masa on Nicollet Avenue for an early dinner of sophisticated Mexican food. It's kind of funny, because it's right next door to Chipotle, so you can choose burritos and corrugated metal, or white tablecloths and puerco veracruzana. We chose the latter, though I'm no stranger to the former. Here's the result:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good job on the w/e away from home for your anniversary.

Your 25th anniversary was better than ours will be.... My lovely and I will be working Black Dog TT the day of our 25th anniversary (aug 13).

I know it is a long drive, but come on down, you might see a party atmosphere. I'm still in planning stages....

But don't tip her off.....