Bottom Sitting

Holmes and I went to Julep tonight to experience the new chef, Branden Levine, and new menu.

I'd met Branden weeks ago when he was still training under Eric and now I wanted to see what he'd done with the menu and food.

The new menu is less rustic than Eric's, but full of appealing options, like green tomato beignets with lemon/jalapeno aioli, duck confit spring rolls and grits with andouille sausage and tempura shrimp.

The dessert menu is still being overhauled and will debut in a week or so, so I put in my bid to Branden for some superior chocolate choices.

He agreed, as any smart chef would, that chocolate would/should hold a prominent place.

Holmes is back in Internet dating mode, fresh off a date last night and with another one scheduled for lunch tomorrow (although the woman informed him that lunch is not a "real date").

I envy him his dating bravado and enjoy hearing his stories, although I'm beginning to wonder how many normal women his age are out there looking for nice guys.

As he pointed out more than once, "Sometimes what you're looking for is right under your nose," which sounds to me like he's not likely to find success online, but what do I know about dating?

Absolutely nothing.

Waiter extraordinaire Ron came in, sat himself down next to me and was full of curiosity about a mutual friend with whom I'd had a couple of dates.

I shared and he shared and we both promised to keep it all to ourselves.

He did tell me about a couple of overly friendly women, one a customer and one somebody's ex, and their over-eager attempts to snog him at the restaurant.

Smart man, though, he threw them off balance by pretending to return their ardor and that ended that sort of friendliness.

This is what makes Ron the consummate professional: knowing how to handle every situation.

Walking the dog shortly before midnight, I ran into two of Richmond's finest patrolling my side street on foot.

Always glad to to have them in the neighborhood, I chatted them up and they played with my dog.

I can now go to be feeling safe and protected...and very, very full.