where in the world is V?

i have not forsaken my beloved blog but rather had issues with accessing my account for which i blame gmail. for some bizarre reason, i simply could not log in with my usual password and although it was resolved, it all still remains a mystery.

after that was miraculously resolved, i almost immediately became preoccupied with finding a venue for my birthday dinner party at the end of the month. it has been a tradition among my friends to have an intimate dinner then drinks with a larger group after. this year's festivities have been thrown off by the impending descension of the V-clan to nyc on october 25th.

consequently, i decided to have dinner/drinks with my friends on friday and a family dinner on saturday. for some months, i had settled on the notion of felice as a perfect dinner venue. intimate and nice atmosphere, excellent food and wine, reasonable prices, and exceptional service. i called monday night to make a reservation only to be told that the restaurant was booked out for the evening, but if i was willing to do thursday or saturday night, they could accomodate me.

i hung up the phone in frustration. i had my mind set on felice and had to start from scratch. over the course of the next two days and nights, i wracked my memory, nymag, and the brains of my best girlfriends to come up with another perfect venue.

one by one they were all nixed.

too expensive.

can't accomodate a large party on friday night.

too expensive.

already booked.

too expensive.

all the iterations and effort was wearing me out. while i normally don't mind planning things and in fact enjoy it- nothing was falling into place and i couldn't even remember what i wanted anymore. then finally, q2 suggested georgia's eastside bbq. simple. good food. reasonable prices. byob. perfect. more importantly, it just felt right.