Sweet and Sour Dating at Six Burner

Just when I think that I can't possibly stay this nerdy forever, a 99-year old woman shows up at the same lecture I do and I realize that I probably have decades of nerdiness ahead of me.

The lecture was in the Marble Hall of the Virginia Museum, which surprised me because I didn't think they were letting the outside world inside the building what with the impending grand reopening so close. It was the Richmond Archaeological Society's presentation of "Reconstructing Lost Wonders of the World: Phidias' Zeus Olympics and Athena Parthenos." Right up my alley; essentially, a one- hour talk about two big statues.

The speaker was Kenneth Lapatin and I knew I was going to like his talk when he referred to "this wonderful painting" of the Parthenon. I've always objected to the use of subjective words like "great" or "beautiful" to describe art, but he qualified his statement with, "Translate wonderful however you like," essentially making that very same point.

What I learned was that these enormous 40' statues of gold and ivory created for the Parthenon were intended to look too big for the space, the better to be awe-inspiring. And that the reflecting pool was to hydrate the ivory (like I knew ivory needed to be hydrated). And that amethyst was thought to prevent drunkenness.

After the talk, Lapatin was asked if he'd entertain questions. "Only if they're entertaining," he shot back and even the 99-year old in the front row cracked up at that (and btw, she had a date).

Leaving the museum, the sky clearly said rain was imminent, so I hurried over to Six Burner for dinner. In the past month, I have run into no less than three members of the 6B staff and all three had given me a hard time because I hadn't been in for a while; it was time to correct that and deflect any future crap-giving.

T recommended an offbeat Southern Rhone grape, counoise , specifically the Domaine Montpertuis Cuvee Counoise, because he thought I'd like it and he was right; it was rustic and earthy and just right for me. I sipped it while inhaling the fragrance of the stargazer lilies sitting at the end of the bar towering over me. Everyone there knows that my favorite stool is behind the flowers, so don't even try to move them out of my way. I like the camouflage.

It had just started to pour and the smell of the warm wet pavement competed with the lilies every time someone opened the door. It seemed early to be experiencing that smell, but it's definitely not too early for asparagus, in this case a bisque with rabbit and bacon, so I started with that. Bisques can be so heavy, but this one tasted of pure fresh asparagus with no creamy coating behind it. It put me in asparagus heaven with the chunks of rabbit and bits of bacon enhancing the spoonfuls they were in. I had to know, so I asked and, sure enough, there was no cream in it. It was butter that gave it the richness so that the asparagus could shine through.

Dinner was sweet and sour sweetbreads with sesame seeds and Dave & Dee's oyster mushrooms. It's not that I'm a big fan of sweet and sour dishes, but I'm a huge fan of sweetbreads and I've had Chef Philip Denny's before and knew that he's an expert with them.

There were four large sweetbreads, perfectly crispy and over a sweet and sour sauce that was not the least bit cloying or cliched; D & D's oyster mushrooms were every bit as good. The dish would be a great way to introduce a sweetbread virgin to this taste delight without being too exotic.

I chatted with a guy who lived a block away and didn't know Balliceaux had live music; he'd heard it was only for the "beautiful people," so I corrected that notion (I go.Case closed.)

A couple on a first date came in and I listened to the guy's nervous getting-to-know-you conversation ("Is this booth okay? We can move if you don't like it. It might be a little small. Are you sure it's okay?").

And in the center booth was a white-haired couple holding hands across the table and making eyes at each other. I like to think that they met at a lecture and fell for each other's obvious nerdiness.

Hey, it could happen (I hope).