Happy Birthday Christopher!
This year I wanted to do something extra special for Christopher on his birthday. Usually birthdays for us are pretty low key with just a couple of friends over to the apartment for some finger food - or maybe just the two of us going out to dinner. So earlier in January, I started planning.
The guest list was about 20 people long, with 15 of those RSVP'ing yes. I'd say that's a pretty good turnout. I had thought about non-food related activities we could do (bowling, pool, darts, movies), but decided dinner was really the best way to have everyone sit down for a conversation rather than being split up into teams or using different tables, etc. Christopher's party started at Mattito's Tex-Mex restaurant. We had a long rectangular table at the back of the restaurant to ourselves. I had reserved a table about a month in advance (although, I think they take reservations the same week if needed). It would have been nice to have a private room, but semi-private suited us just fine. Dinner was lots of fun with excellent company and really good food. I ordered the tortilla soup, which is my MO at this restaurant. Christopher departed from his usual tamales and ordered the fajitas.
Trying to leave the restaurant was interesting. We were a large group paying separate tickets, and one waitress to help the 15 of us. She had struggled throughout the dinner it seemed to keep up with drinks and orders, but over all she wasn't bad. When it came time for the check, she failed. We had our check done incorrectly 4 times. After the third time, our waitress sent over someone else to hand us the latest version - also wrong. I grabbed the manager from behind the bar to help out, but when the two of us finally got back to our table, the waitress had just dropped off the final and correct version of the ticket. Since everyone was in good spirits, this definitely didn't ruin anyone's night, but it would have been nice to just get a correct ticket the first time.
After dinner, most of the party-goers went back to our apartment for dessert and drinks. More good times were had by all, and we were even joined by more friends/family who couldn't make it to the restaurant. For dessert I had set out a birthday cake, tiramisu, candy, and homemade butterscotch oatmeal cookies. Sweet teeth were able to indulge.
Christopher had a great time, and I was super excited the party was fun for everyone. Since then, his birthday really hasn't stopped. He's received cards and gifts in the mail from people who couldn't make it to the party, or didn't send a card until later. And finally, today I was able to take him out to get my birthday gift to him - a grill. I sweated over website after website to try to find the best grill out there for what we need. Most all grill-fanatics say the Weber series for charcoal grilling is the way to go. However, I didn't know that Christopher was planning a switch to gas. So, we went out today to Home Depot to see what was available. After careful and long (emphasis on long) deliberation, Christopher decided to go with a gas grill. We had seen and really liked the Weber Performance charcoal grill - the look and size of it were perfect for our needs. But, it didn't come in a propane-ready version. So, we left Home Depot (as we couldn't make up our minds as to which one to buy), and we headed over to Barbeques Galore. This place has quite the variety of grills. Upon entering, we immediately started talking with Ray - the mild mannered BBQ salesman. He really was extremely mild mannered; it was actually sometimes difficult to hear him, he spoke so softly. At any rate, he really knew his stuff and helped us through all the options, price points, models, and pros and cons of all of the above. Christopher finally decided on a house brand propane grill called the Globe Cafe. They didn't have one in stock, so we ordered it today and should be getting it on Friday. I'm looking forward to the deliciousness to come!
