Applause at Rowland

Some messages are just for laughs; they have to be.

I got one today around 4;30 from a guy friend, simply saying, "Do you have plans tonight? Of course you do," to which I responded, "I do," thinking that would be the end of it (I was meeting a girlfriend for dinner).

But, no, some friends then inquire about what your plans are and ask to tag along.

And when something like that happens, I have to think it means that the universe wants to do some re-grouping for a good reason or possibly just for laughs.

That or my friend just has a lot of nerve.

It worked out fine and three of us met up at Rowland just as a large group from the Martin Agency started gathering.

It was our first time as a trio and you probably couldn't find a more disparate threesome, but it led to an evening of varied conversation, always a good thing.

Dysfunctional families, office prisons, stuff gatherers, the Kinsey report and income tax barely begin to describe where we went topically tonight.

I'm always curious about Rowland's spring roll of the day and tonight's sounded worth investigating; it was pork, cabbage, bacon and zucchini and, as I've stated here before, who can resist pig two ways?

The crispy-fried spring roll was a huge hit with everyone; I shared because the portion was generous and I wanted to talk about how good it was with people who'd understand.

There was much raving and even a bit of order regret.

I followed that with the hanger steak bruschetta with piquillo peppers and cannelini bean hummus.

The contrast of the flavorful meat with the earthy hummus made this dish my second home run; it was at this point that my girlfriend said, "I need to just start ordering whatever you order."

I wouldn't advise it but I appreciated the sentiment.

We were graced first with the presence of co-owner Bruce who shared his thoughts on losing business to snow and thriving brunches, but when he tried to talk golf, he struck out with us.

Once the kitchen closed, he headed downstairs and we were joined by his delightful wife Virginia; that's when the best dishing began.

Italian restaurants in particular were on her mind, leading to a discussion of which diners support which restaurants and why.

She shared her theory on the correlation between a restaurant's bathroom and its kitchen, getting affirmation all around.

Rowland is beginning some improvements to the restaurant this week; one thing under consideration is taking the partial wall between the dining room and kitchen and extending it up to the ceiling.

With several feet of open space above the wall, every sound in the kitchen is audible when the dining room is anything but ungodly noisy.

She told a great story of an especially difficult night in the kitchen when, due to a server error, there was a great ruckus.

Apparently voices were raised and pots and pans tossed about before settling into the business of correcting the problem.

When she stepped out of the kitchen to collect herself, she was greeted with a roomful of people applauding her noise-making.

Despite her star turn, they're thinking that closing off the wall will keep the kitchen performances in the kitchen (although they may be missed by an appreciative dining audience).

We wound down with a discussion of (what else?) how to meet a mate, since our little trio are all single and looking.

Virginia, as the long-time happily married one, offered up her Peruvian-accented advice.

Finally we acknowledged that it was time to leave so she could finish up and go, but apparently she had business to attend to first.

 "Now Bruce wants me to come downstairs so we can do some work," she smiled at us.

Work?

I know I've been out of the game for a while, but is that what we're calling it now?