And You Wear It Well

P's 58th Birthday - who's man is this?!😜

On his special day, P's desire was to sit like a human in the sun and have a Guinness and a shot of Jameson's.  For me it was a reason to comb my hair and a chance to try out the appetizers at the new bar that took over Mullane's around the corner, FancyFree.  I planned to attempt Chile Lime Shrimp Cups so I just got the Fried Pickles, which were in a light Buttermilk batter, perfect bar food.  With my side eye, I caught a good glimpse of Vegan Nachos and Fish Tacos that looked delicious.  It's nice to get your desires met and support local business at the same time especially when we've lost so many of our long-standing neighborhood joints.   

Sitting in the sun, talking and laughing, felt like such a privilege, nostalgic almost.   Such a backwards world we live in right now,  walking up to the corner bar masked and then removing them in order to sit in the same airspace.  But remove them in public we did, for the first time and had a blast.  You were supposed to pay by scanning the QR code but several Mr Magoo attempts along with confessing to the waiter that I was 'retarded', proved I was not yet ready for human consumption.  Thank goodness he was gracious and said he was a comedian so I could not offend him.  Of course that quickly turned into a ball joke marathon on the walk home.  

Anticipating failure, I baked these shrimp with all the seasonings and made a lime sour cream chive dip.  

Girl, you have no cupcake tins so how you gonna make cups dude??  Did I say cups....I meant Chile Lime rolled wontons!  Yes, that's the ticket!

Never underestimate the glory of a great Wedge Salad with a cool bleu-cheesy Ranch dressing and lots of real bacon bits

He also requested a steak.  I get nervous with important meats but about 5 minutes on each side, screaming hot pan and lots of butter, garlic cloves and rosemary made it easy.  I should say, the biggest key to success is a good piece of meat, patted dry and room temperature.  The rest is by feel.  Simply seasoned with tons of freshly cracked pepper and salt.   I love the quick spooning of the butter onto the steak in the last minutes making you feel like a professional. 

Boneless Rib Eye and smashed buttered cauliflower

Guinness mustache