White Wine and Sleeping Pills

Getting a late start on this entry today. Computer went kaput on Friday afternoon and been waiting till now to get it up and hopefully running again. My weekend actually didn't seem to fly by as intolerably fast as usual, although, of course, I would have loved it to have been longer, it didn't vanish leaving me feeling like it was barely even there. Friday night was supposed to be a Guy's Night for Nick and Rob, with me going to see Brideshead, however, it got pushed back to Saturday because Rob had forgotten he had promised to take Angel to see Dark Knight Friday (for people who are not a couple and are supposed to only be fuck buddies, that, my friend, sounds like a date.). Anyways, I had been looking forward to seeing Brideshead and hitting Club Charles and getting some dinner, but the prospect of seeing Nick Friday was certainly not a bad thing, so I went to Golden West for dinner on my own, then once he got out of work, he came down and we went to The Wind-up. At Golden West I had a salad, which was supposed to have their lemon tahini dressing, but I didn't care for it at all. Either they gave me the wrong dressing, or their interpretation is rubbish. The cucumbers and tomatoes were good, still. I also had an order of their rosemary and garlic fries--- delicious, as always.

The Wind-up was pretty happening. I think word is getting out that it is a pretty hip place. Started seeing some of the cast of characters, the usual suspects, as it were, but I liked the fact that we were there first, as in, we discovered it or were turned on to it first, and also that as these people walked in, we were literally already at the bar. The owner, Russell, remembered us and him and the other bartender kept our drinks filled all night. I ended up getting rather drunk, which was lovely, since I wasn't driving and didn't have to wake up early. Had a rather lovely time. Stopped off in Hampden on the way home for some snacks, and two types of Hagen-Daaz to attack at a later date. Nick's parents were going away for a couple of days so he went home to get instructions for taking care of the dogs Saturday morning, and asked if I would stay over Monday and Tuesday to feed and walk them while he is at work. He came back Saturday afternoon and we went to Little Havana for lunch. Have to say, I really don't care for that place. Mediocre is the word. Obviously, it pales in comparision to Cuba Libre, but more than that, it's just lackluster in my opinion. Nick likes their Cuban Sandwich, but anything I've had has been eh. Stopped back at the house, had a bit of fun, then I got ready for dinner at Cinghiale. Went to his parents' for him to get ready and get doggie-details, then to "the hottest Italian restaurant in the city." Cinghiale was very fancy, absolutely gorgeous on the inside, high ceilings, much larger and busling than I was expecting. Very bright, but all done like hundreds of chandeliers. There was the bar and a regular restaurant side, which was nice, and the main diningroom, which was a vision of crystal and white linens and just beautiful. I loved sitting there, Nick looked gorgeous, as always, his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal his tattoos. The food was, for the most part, good, as well. I enjoyed the salad, it was a little bland if anything. The dressing was a VERY light vinegarette, but with a generous offering of parmesan. The bread was outstanding, and I would have loved some more of that, but in these upscale places, one must resist the urge to ask for such things. I was expecting my meal to be a normal pasta, but the sauce was with ground pork and carrots, not a tomato base. The pasta was undercooked, even by my standards, and the looks of it were probably the worst part. I didn't care for the taste very much, but it looked like either dog food or vomit. If we ever go back, I will certainly get something else. Nick enjoyed his veal, which I would never eat. The meal and experience, however, totally redemed itself, with the arrival of dessert. We both got the panna cotta, which was completely different than Abacrombie's. Chingiale's was almost like a cheescake, with ground vanilla beans and salted caramel. Oh, my God, was that good. Got a wonderful cappuccino, too, and Nick got an espresso, and we each got biscotti's, which is never a bad thing. All in all, I enjoyed it, the atmosphere and everything except my entree, which I would just not choose next time. Nick got his car and went to meet Rob when we got back, I hung out with Carmin for a little bit, before going to sleep till Nick texted me tha he was on his way back and I got up to let him in. He may be going to work for Savory James as a P.R. person, calling venues and stuff, and Rob may even be able to pay him a little bit.

Woke up Sunday, starting the day off on the right foot, as it were, went to his parents to get the dogs and took them with us to The International Festival on Poly-Western's field. It was totally stressful in my opinion having the dogs. Not very much fun and a lot to handle, plus, Maggie seemed scared by the crowds and noise. I did purchase a genuine Burberry bag for $50 (Must have fallen off the back of a truck, there were hundreds--- Chanel, Coach, Louis Vuton). Kind of regretted spending it. Drove down to Hampden to see if Rob was home. He wasn't but Chrissy and Joe were, so we chatted to them for a minute before heading back to the house, where the dogs and us could take a little rest.

Yesterday we had dinner at b, and I enjoyed it tremendously. Bolton Hill is quite possibly the most beautiful area in this city. The sun was out and all of the buildings are gorgeous, driving through was lovely, desite having forgotten to bring West End Girls to listen to. Instead, there was Everyday Is Like Sunday, as we pulled up in front of the restaurant. We got a table inside this time. What a charming little place. I chose the pananella salad to start. Really didn't see any similarity between it and Bicycle's panzanella salad, other than both having capers. It was pretty good, the tomatoes were especially fresh. Nick learned that in Baltimore, restaurants get their ingredients fresh on Sundays, from the farmer's markets, so we know now, that's the prime time to go. Anyways, his calamari was really good, it wasn't fried, very tender, drenched in those tomatoes and sauce. They were liberal enough to give us two pieces of bread each, which thrilled me to no end haha. I had their cappuccino which so entranced me last time. They have outstanding cappuccino, for whatever reason. Nick had an orange blossom beer before dinner and an oatmeal stout with dinner, which had an almost espresso kind of aftertaste. The main course was b's house ravioli for me. Finally a traditional pasta dish with a red sauce, although there was a little too much oil, it was still refreshing and delicious. Nick's steak came sitting all on its own on the plate, save for some shoe-string bits of fries, like shreds, really. I would have been pissed were it me that there were no veggies or proper potatoes, but he was happy because the steak was a decent size, and bloody inside. The dessert, again, was probably the highlight. I don't know how I became so enthralled by dessert--- I'm not even a dessert person. I prefer salty to sweet hands down, but since we been going to all these nice places, I have developed a fondness for dessert. Nick got the chocolate mouse, which I can't even begin to describe. Rich, chilled, heavenly chocolate. Just wonderful, with a pistacio sauce and edible parchment as pastry dividing the layers of mouse. Foodgasms abound. I said I was having to keep a running tally yesterday of the orgasms I had from Nick himself and those from his dessert haha. My dessert was the ice cream platter, again. This time I got the nuttella ice cream, muy delicioso, with salted caramel. Oh, yeah, we enjoyed our meal. Oh, had a second cappuccino and our biscottis with dessert, as well.

Driving back, Nick put on some Radiohead, High and Dry, then Motion Picture Soundtrack, and Idioteque. This city is beautiful, and I love that Nick is as enchanted with it as I am.

When I get out today, I go straight to Nick's. Should get there a little before he has to leave for work, feed the dogs and take them out. Jamie is away this week, so no sense in going to Club Charles, which financially speaking, is probably for the best. He had an interview for the Forbush school today, so hopefully he gets the job. I think he has another interview this week, too.