Thursday was the day for last-minute wedding preparations. I needed to pick up my tux, find a box and wrapping paper for my wedding gifts, wrap said gifts, and run some errands for various other family members who were otherwise occupied. Fortunately for me, Jaron volunteered to come along as my special helper. Which means errand running turned into a “boys’ day out.”
We had a blast trying on suits while we waited for the final alterations on my tux – little boy suits are completely adorable; Jaron and I were both disappointed when none of them were quite little enough. Then we checked out all of the Angry Birds merchandise at Shopko and had lunch at Five Guys.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to wrapping gifts, playing with the kids and getting everyone ready for the trip to Twin Falls. The Boise temple is currently under renovation, so the nearest temple is two hours away in Twin Falls. Given the distance, Heather and Ashley decided to make the trek with all the little kids a day early, so as to have time to get settled and under control before all the official wedding activities started on Friday. Lady and I, on the other hand, would be staying in Boise so we could pick up my dad from the airport and drive down the next morning.
So. What to do with a free evening in a (relatively) unknown city? Why, eat, of course. I started asking around for recommendations for steakhouses, but then I realized – Wait a minute, it’s just Lady and me; we can eat whatever we want! So I made reservations at Le Coq Rouge, the highest-rated Boise restaurant on TripAdviser.
The restaurant was delightful -- an over-the-top bistro complete with red-checked tablecloths, French movie posters everywhere, and a waiter with a nearly unintelligible French accent. It was the heartiest French cuisine I’ve ever had (no skinny Parisiennes here!) but still very tasty. Good enough, in fact, to inspire my mother to try snails (or, rather, a nearly microscopic speck of one snail) for the first time ever. It was an act of bravery on par with anything you see in the movies. She may receive a medal.
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| Escargots with butter and garlic |
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| The face of pure terror |
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| Raviolis with truffles and sage, with butter and balsamic reduction |
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| carré d’agneau with grilled vegetables |
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| Veau de Dijon |
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| Lemon meringue pie |
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| White cake with raspberry filling and chocolate |
By the end, it was just us and two other couples on the other side of the room. The others were friends of the chef – he came out to greet them, sing a few songs in French, and join the ladies in some dancing. After a while the singer shifted to a more romantic mood and before I knew it the chef swooped in towards our table, clapping me on the back:
Chef: And now mon ami, eet eez time for you to dance wiz your wife.
Me: She’s not my wife, she’s my mother!!!
Chef: Ah, oui? But she eez so young and bee-yootiful! Come, Madame, and dance wiz me.
First snails, now dancing with the chef. I think Lady and I need to go out more often!!
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