A Birthday Eve Celebration

The birthday eve celebration, while absolutely essential, requires a delicate balancing act. Like its more well-known relative Christmas Eve, it has the benefit of being an anticipatory event; no matter how well it turns out, the main event is still to come.

But it cannot be mishandled. The birthday eve festivities require staying out late enough to acknowledge the actual birthday arriving, but can't be so raucous or late-ending as to negatively impact the big day (and night).

So naturally I went to my neighborhood joint, Bistro 27, where everyone knows my name. I was greeted by kisses and hugs and shameless flattery, all of which added to the experience. Pedro immediately announced that I should not order dessert because he was buying me chocolate mousse. In a nod to the chef, who has a penchant for over-indulging me, I decided to keep my imbibing to the wines of Portugal, beginning with the Vinho Verde, a bubbly birthday beginning.

A nearby bar sitter, a vacationer from California, took note of the various conversations we were having and moved over to sit next to me. He was looking for recommendations from a local about where to eat and wanted some opinions on the restaurants he had tentatively planned to try. I'm not sure how he knew that I have opinions to spare, but share I did.

We were just finishing up a discussion of where to eat in Carytown when Chef Carlos sat down a plate with a flourish and said to me, "Let's see if you have balls," to which I replied, "Would you like me to pull up my dress and show you?" He was serving me Rabada, a tail stew from his native Brazil and a dish his mother made often. The aroma was heavenly.

And while I already knew that I liked oxtail, the man sitting behind me wanted a look at my plate because, as he said, "I've never had oxtail, so I was afraid to order it." The peppery watercress that lay atop the stew and the creamy polenta underneath were amazing complements to the heartiness of the vegetable based stew. I ate what I could with utensils and then just picked up the bones and sucked the meat out; Carlos came over to praise me for eating the dish properly. With the Quinto do Crasto Douro, a blend of four grapes including Tinto Roriz and Tinto Borroca, I was in birthday eve heaven.

I followed that master stroke with the Bistro 27 salad and next thing I knew Pedro was bringing me mousse with a big grin on his face. Apparently the kitchen was down to its last five mousses when a table of five prom kids ordered the remaining ones. Seeing what was about to happen, Pedro had scooped up one for me and told the other server that his prom kid would have to choose another kind of chocolate (27's dessert menu has three chocolate options, so it wouldn't have been too much of a hardship).

Placing my mousse in front of me with as much flourish as his father had done with the oxtail, he said, "Taken from a child to give to a great woman." Like I always say, I love this place.

Balliceaux was my last stop for multiple reasons, including Ornette Coleman and Beach House. Bass player Trevor Dunn was presenting the Proofreaders (there's a band name I can relate to) and while free jazz is not everyone's cup of tea, these guys were too cool to miss, as evidenced by the number of jazz musicians I saw there tonight. Music was wailing.

A mutual friend had informed me of bartender Austin's affinity for Baltimore duo Beach House and while Austin and I have talked music plenty every time we see each other, this was news to me. I've been seeking out someone with whom I could share my BH passion and Austin was my man. Best of all, diners be damned, he blasted the new album from his computer while we discussed every nuance of it.

Austin also had the perfect birthday libation knowing what a fan I am of high-end tequila. Corazon tequila was a smokey and smooth delight that got drier as it went down and with some slow-melting ice cubes, it was as expressive as the music I was listening to. He introduced me to some friends of his at the bar, visiting from San Diego and I enjoyed hearing their take on rva. Once again, someone wanted opinions from me and I had some to share.

Once the rain ceased I asked Austin if the window near the bar could be opened to let in the night air and he had obliged me. Sitting there, sipping Corazon and admiring the night sky to a jazz quartet, my birthday arrived almost unnoticed, but that may have had something to do with the second Corazon appearing in front of me.

Even so, I never lost sight of the first rule of birthday eve celebrations, and reluctantly left a few minutes ago. Now, a little sleep and I'll be ready for the main event.