my birthday

my birthday is on december 27th. i'm not huge on celebrating my birthday considering i have to compete with the lord. but sometimes i let people take me out anyway. because i love them and because i know they just want me to experience my birthday rather than it just getting lost in the holiday mix. this year my cousin Eva took me to Crown and Crumpet. think tea and little sandwiches while surrounded by a bunch of kitschy stuff and a whole lot of pink. 

after tea we went to see The Muppet Movie which was nothing short of amazing. writer Jason Segal (of How I Met Your Mother fame) is a genius!! it was funny in a corny awesome way. 

after the movie Eva went to cook her boyfriend dinner. my Special Friend wanted to take me to dinner but i knew she wouldn't be ready until past 7pm.  having only ate little sandwiches and scones for the day, i was hungry around 5pm. already in the city, i decided on a whim to head to Prospect for dinner. i've had the brunch there but have been dying to go for dinner. i figured i would treat myself. i truly am not bothered by eating solo, so it was a no brainer to go. 

throughout the meal, i could tell some of the wait staff was curious as to why a young woman might be eating dinner by herself at a restaurant such as Prospect. i mean it's not as if i were at a Denny's or something, so i can understand their curiosity. after i'd eaten my entree and had just ordered dessert:

server: soo what brings you into Prospect this evening?

me: uhhh....this is going to sound like a sob story, but i promise it isn't. it's my birthday, and i was hungry and wanted to have a nice meal. but i didn't want anybody to feel obligated to pay for me because i wanted it all (as in three courses). so i came by myself. 

server: hmmm ....that kiiiiiinda sounds like a sob story.

me: no, i promise. it isn't. 

server: you should really be with your friends today

me: well i was before, and i'm going to be after. but right now, i'm having a good dinner.

server: not convinced oookay

so he brings my dessert over and it has a candle lit on the plate. now he's advertised to the whole restaurant that it was my birthday. awkward and unawesome. i say "thanks" and blow out the candle asap. i know he was trying to do a nice thing, but c'mon now! i wasn't trying to call attention to the fact that it was the anniversary of the day of my being. though he comped the dessert, which was a pleasant surprise. but seriously, i have no qualms about eating by myself. i don't feel like it's something only lonely people do. i feel like it's something confident people do. and on that particular day, i truly just didn't want anybody to feel obligated to pay for me.

the food:

foie gras torchon. this was really perfect. i could have done with a lot more toast though.

petrale sole with brussel sprouts and a sunchoke puree, topped with some sort of nut mixture, atop a bed of wild black rice. this dish was everything i wanted it to be. it had the perfect discrepancy in textures and no one item was overpowering in flavor. 

this chocolate cake was overly rich for me. a decent dessert, but nothing special. as you can see i cropped out the lone, already blown out, candle. 

after dinner i went to a bar to hang out with some friends/coworkers. Tan, Natasha, Kris, Nick and Muri were in attendance but i failed to get pictures with Nick and Muri. 

Special Friend (Kris), Tan and i

myself and Natasha