Deluxe Delivers Braised Irony

A good part of the town has already headed out over the river and through the woods to whomever's house they are going.

That much was clear as the streets became emptier and emptier of cars today.

Andrew and I made plans to meet up for drinks and dining and I wanted to choose someplace off our beaten track, so I suggested Deluxe.

Upon arriving, his first comment was, "We're here for ironic reasons, right?"

Of course we were; what other possible reason could there be given the crowd there?

We had no idea who these people were or where they came from (although we had our suspicions), but both bars were full, so there was much fodder for discussion and that was good enough.

And there was one item on their menu I wanted to try.

It was the Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese (pulled short ribs, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions on Texas Toast), which turned out to be exceedingly tasty.

The sandwich was thick with slow-cooked meat and the sturdy toast held it together well, except for the occasional onion oozing out.

I ordered a side of braised greens which were far better than I anticipated, perfectly cooked, garlicky and just the right tartness.

I wasn't expecting them to be so delicious.

We didn't stay too much longer after eating. Even with a couple glasses of wine, it was just too much like shooting fish in a barrel.

By the time we left, it was raining again, so Andrew set off for the gym to stay buff and I set off in search of dessert, a quest that often leads me to Garnett's these days.

They really do have a superb array of sweets and they're priced better than almost everyone else ($4 pie, $5 cake), so it's practically an engraved invitation for someone like me.

Forgetting all about chocolate, I got the Hummingbird Cake, that southern classic and loaded with my favorite coconut and with a creamy sweet frosting I'd have licked off a beater.

Tonight was the first night that Garnett's has had wine, as good an excuse as any to try Pasion Malbec and San Vito Chianti whilst chatting up F.R.O. about dating and the challenges of meshing lives.

Once we realized there were no solutions there, we moved on to food field trips and making plans for excursions to further our food knowledge.

It's all a learning experience, as someone once told me.

Dessert lovers would be wise to put Garnett's on their radar when they need a final stop for something sweet that won't break the bank and isn't available on most of the dessert menus in town.

And now that there's wine, those lovely desserts have the perfect accompaniment.

For those of the other persuasion, beer should be in house by Monday.