He Wants, She Wants

Should I know what do I want to do with the next year, or even five years, of my life?

I got to thinking about that because it's been a day to listen to my friends' plans for the future.

Out of the blue, I heard how they have decided to make sharp turns and try something completely different with their lives.

Although the first had been a surprise, I knew there was news with the friend I met for happy hour. He'd said so when he asked me to meet him at Garnett's.

Although fairly low key on arrival, the joint was soon jumping with a butt in nearly every seat.

And I've been told that that's the goal of a restaurant owner.

I started with the Gabriele Rausse rose, which didn't displace King Family's Crose' as my favorite Virginia pink, but satisfied nonetheless.

While my friend told me about his upcoming career change, we took advantage of the $3 happy hour specials.

Devils on horseback (bacon wrapped dates), tea sandwiches of ham and garlic ailoi on crostini, and white bean spread with avocado on crostini made for a tasty little sampling of flavors.

As I listened to how my friend's commuting miles will go from hundreds of miles a week to barely 50 a week, I could tell he's been overdue for a change.

I don't have commuting issues, but maybe there's some other facet to my life that needs addressing.

For our discussion of winery work, classic French bubbles and over-hyped restaurants, I switched to Gabriele Rausse Vin de Gris.

It's such a familiar and easy-drinking wine.

Which is sort of a description of Garnett's for me: familiar and easy.

In the few feet between our table and getting something from my car, I first ran into my organizer friend having dinner with her mom (Mom said, "I've heard  about you!").

Stepping outside, I then ran into the beekeeper holding a vase of wilted flowers ("Love your hair!").

God knows if I'd walked to the end of the block who else I might have met.

We finished our rendezvous by walking across the street to Meadow Park to discuss Antero, hip-hop versus country (he plays in both kinds of bands) and the suitability of Civil War monuments in the capital of the Confederacy.

Only when the fireflies appeared did we break camp so he could start his long commute home.

With no cultural destination tonight, I decided to revisit Six Burner since the recent relaunching had been too mobbed to get a handle on the new vibe.

Luckily, a holdover from the old vibe is half off on wines by the glass on Tuesdays, so I tried the elegant Stefano Massone Gavi for four bucks.

Glass in hand, the next thing I noticed was how much louder the music was than it used to be.

Amen to that.

Tonight it was set on a Pandora station with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings as the starting point.


Okay, maybe not my first choice, but way better than the soft jazz that used to be standard play.

It must be a new direction because they're also going to do live music on Wednesday nights. And beer specials.

What? Toto, I don't think we're in Six Burner anymore. Except we were.

There was a lively trio at the bar and he was chiding her about lifestyle choices.

"You said you wanted to participate in my debauchery and reckless behavior. Did we not do that this weekend?" she inquired rhetorically. "Yes, we did!"

Brilliant. Always remind a man what he said he wanted.

I lost interest in them when my arugula salad with goat cheese and roasted beets arrived, notable for the warm, lightly salted beets (red and striped) contrasting with the peppery arugula.

The salad was a conscience salve for my other choice, crispy pork belly confit with a fried duck egg and jalapeno johnny cakes covered in Highland County maple syrup.

The pork belly may have been a tad too salty but the sweetness of the syrup made it less of an issue.

Meanwhile the giant duck egg coated everything in an obscene richness.

Dessert was a moot point because the syrup had more than satisfied my sweet tooth.

But even without dessert, I now had a much better read on the "new" Six Burner.

Louder, cheaper, more varied menu, better music.

Always give a woman what she wants and she'll keep coming back.

Even if she has no idea where she's going forward.

The question is, does she really need to?