Thai, Cake and Solos

Here's the thing: some of the most interesting people I know have limited availability because of their jobs (ah, yes, I vaguely remember the concept). So when we are able to get together for an evening, we try to cram in as much as possible while we enjoy each other's company; that was how it went down tonight. Luckily, we're both Geminis so it's more like having four people trying to do it all, making it far more achievable.

We began in Carytown at Ginger Thai, which was crowded when we arrived and standing room only when we left. First off we had the Spicy Papaya salad and the Spicy Squid Salad, both of which packed a lot of heat. Next up she got Tiger Cry Steak (the name alone was compelling), flank steak marinated in lemongrass and garlic with Num Prik sauce and jasmine rice. I had the Spicy Drunken Noodles with pork because I'm a fan of those soft nat rice noodles. No surprise that we couldn't finish it all.

Our next stop was Ipanema for wine and dessert. I chose the Vanilla Chocolate Cake with Mocha icing; it's the ideal dessert when you want both flavors because it has one layer of each. We leisurely sipped our wine, chatting up some of the contented bar sitters. The question posed earlier today in a comment by Johnny H (the mayor of Ipanema) on my Divine Comedy post was answered: we saw each other there.

After each downing a couple of glasses of Malbec, we moved our cars to my neck of the woods and walked over to Gallery 5 for a solo music performance benefit show for G5. The four musicians, Patrick Ball (of Autocue), Brett Adams (of the Riot Before), Evan Setzer (previously in the Silent Type) and Chris Dowhan (previously in Adara) each did a couple of songs followed by a group performance.

The crowd was annoyingly talkative and my friend and I wished we had had a means of eliminating those who wouldn't shut up. We may be Geminis, but we can get ugly when surrounded by self-involved blabbers. Granted, Gallery 5 was benefiting from them having paid to get in the door, but we couldn't imagine the musicians appreciated trying to sing over the din.

By this time, my overworked friend was yawning and ready to call it a night, so we strolled back to my place, with my "Whiskey Wednesday" neighbors shouting out to me, beckoning me over, as we passed by their front porch gathering.

Of course, for all I know it was "Frangelico Friday" or some such thing, but two of the four of us were ready for bed.