Only a food blogger… I swear, only a food blogger would do what I did at her bachelorette party.
There was much drinking (as was expected) and a great time was had by all… There were quite a few embarrassing pictures taken of me, mostly involving odd facial expressions and looks of shock while opening gifts. There was one photo, actually, that one Meghan said she’d give me $100 if I put it on the blog. I deleted it. I guess I can share one goofy one with you…
I should rewind a bit. My sister Leigh(my Maid of Honor) did a fantastic job planning a very “Mara” night out. Thanks to some cool chef people my sister knows, she was able to get reservations at The Bristol, a restaurant that does not take reservations. It’s a very cool restaurant with interesting food and a focus on sustainable ingredients.
Lizz and I got there early (a RARE occurrence for us) and went up to the upstairs bar while we waited for the rest of the party to arrive.
While we waited, we ordered drinks. Little did I know that the drinks we ordered would be some of the best I’ve ever had, EVER.
This was called a Dardanian Cocktail. It contained gin, muddled pear, elderflower and sour. It was un-freaking-believable. I drank oh… 4 of these.
This was called a Cu-Cui, which had pear vodka, cucumber puree, and something else I don’t remember. Lizz kept saying it was like someone took a salad and put it in a drink. It was also amazing.
Before we sat down at the table, I made it a point to get a picture with Leigh and Lizz
The rest of the party finally arrived, and we headed downstairs to the table
We perused the menus and decided to share a bunch of appetizers and each get our own entrees. Now, you all knew that I’d take pictures of my food. I actually debated blogging about the night, but then Lizz reminded me that if I didn’t, I’d probably regret it… so, here goes (some of the pics are blurry…I did my best!):
I ordered another pear cocktail, and my friend Erin proceeded to order me drinks.
Another pear cocktail as well as a cocktail with Patrón silver tequila and citrus
Then the appetizers came… duck fat fries (the BEST I’ve ever had, hands down)
These came with homemade ketchup and horseradish cream sauce… SO AMAZING!
And, there was savory monkey bread with dill butter… which luckily, Leigh remembered to take a picture of with one piece remaining while I scolded myself… bad food blogger!
There was an apple and manchengo cheese salad
And Leigh and I split fresh radishes with butter and salt. An amazing combo if you’ve never tried it!
Then the entrees came out. Not only did I take pictures of MY food, but I passed my camera around and made everyone else take pictures of THEIR food. I’m really not positive of what all this stuff was… I’ll label the ones I’m sure of.
Half chicken with mustard spaetzle and apple salad (there were about 5 of these at the table)
Raviolo. A HUGE ravioli filled with fresh ricotta cheese and egg yolk. Still smacking myself for not ordering this myself!
Fresh noodles with something called mojama. It’s a Spanish delicacy of cured tuna, grated over the top
Organic grass-fed beef with sweet potatoes (they’re in the background!)
No idea… greens of some sort?
Leigh and I split this whole roasted Pompano fish. I’ve never had more buttery fish, ever!
There were also desserts that were devoured before a picture could be taken, but I assure you, they were FANTASTIC!
After dinner, the group split up and a bunch of us headed north to a quasi-improv show called Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. I say quasi-improv because while true improv isn’t rehearsed, this is… it’s 30 plays in 60 minutes, the cost of admission is $9 plus whatever is rolled on a 6-sided die, and if they sell out, they order pizza. We’ve been going to this show for the better part of the last 15 years, and it was the PERFECT thing for us to do. The doors didn’t open for another 45 minutes when we got there, so we went around the corner to a favorite bar, Hopleaf, for another drink. I got a raspberry Lambic.
We then went back, got in line, and took a final group picture.
From Left: Me, Lizz, Leigh, Leah, Mom, Anna, and Kristin
It was an amazingly fun and perfect night out! Thank you SO MUCH to Leigh,, all who came, and everyone who helped make it a night I’ll never forget! I love you all!
I spent the night at Lizz’s house, and we had the luxury of going to IHOP for brunch… there’s something about breakfast food cooked by someone else that’s just so great! Dinner has yet to be decided…
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