belated bday celebrations

to make up for missing dandy's bday party last weekend, i offered to cook a nice dinner for dandy and his beau, and the boy. for once, the menu and meal came together with relative ease- mussels in a saffron cream sauce, and grilled panchetta wraped asparagus. timing is always difficult with dinner parties and i always find myself struggling to make sure everything is prepared properly, that all the guests are having a good time, and have a tough time actually getting to relax, eat and drink myself.


after a leisurely dinner and gift exchange, the four of us headed out to williamsburg to drop off gifts and grab a couple of drinks. we ended up at trophy, a newish bar which unlike it's name suggests was not flashy or a scene. instead, it was instantly likeable and radiated that familiar feel that made you want to become a regular. i sided up to the bar to check out their drink selection and asked the bartender for some bourbon recommendations. she motioned to the woman sitting next to me, "you should ask her for a recommendation. she knows a lot more about bourbon."


so that began a 30 minute conversation with what turned out to be the bar owner- a personable, young woman with a passion for tequila and learned appreciation for bourbon. while nursing her recommended glass of michters (possibly the smoothess bourbon i've ever tasted), she told me about how she had worked for years in another bar before opening her own place,

the boy eventually found me and drew me back into the birthday celebration. we headed to another spot where dandy could get his groove on..midway through first rounds, we all started to fade quickly, reminding me once again of the fact that we're all getting older and can't stay out the way we once could. . . happy b-day?