Rocky Mountain Hi!

You look like summer personified.

If I'm going to walk into a restaurant and immediately be complimented, it bodes extremely well for the rest of the evening.

The fact that the person holding open the door and commenting on my orange top and floral skirt was a woman mattered not at all.

It's a good week for me and womankind; yesterday, a woman told me accusingly that I looked seductive.

It was one of those things that sounds like it should be a compliment, but really isn't.

She who uttered the kind words ushered me to my visiting friend, the mixologist, here for a few days from Boulder and awaiting me at the bar.

It was an auspicious start to the evening, the weekend, and my upcoming vacation.

After a hug and an order of Bieler Pere et Fils Coteaux Aix-en-Provence Rose, we proceeded to catch up on all that had transpired since he moved to Colorado.

New tequilas (he's sending me a bottle), a busy week in his love life (with France on the horizon) and the pains of being devoted to a high-end clientele all spoke to his new life in the middle of the country.

So far away that when the Anderson's Neck oysters arrived, he admitted sheepishly that they were the first oysters he'd had since he'd left.

Well, except for Rocky Mountain oysters, and, as he acknowledged ruefully, "They're not the same."

Yea, bivalves and balls, not even close.

It was great to see him after so long and, as was our habit before we left, we wasted no time in talking and eating.

We started with the squash blossoms stuffed with braised lamb, a dish as sublimely beautiful as it tasted.

And don't even get me started on the $5 price tag.

Next came andouille-stuffed dates in tomato sauce, arriving in a little cast-iron skillet, the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

All around us, the place never slowed down, with people coming and going non-stop.

It didn't matter to us because we were busy discussing rye with a nearby customer, the benefits of Japanese shaker glasses and the doughnut craze hitting RVA.

I was intrigued by the guy who sat down at the bar and proceeded to read his "Washington Post," an act that would have gotten me talking to him if not for my friend's lively conversation.

Since my friend is the beverage director at a swanky restaurant, we soon found ourselves perusing the wine list for hidden gems.

Eureka!

Friend was intrigued to see the little-seen 2010 Massimiliano Calabretta Etna Rosso on the list.

After explaining to me about its unique site - the terroir volcanic ash and sand - he insisted that this was the wine we needed to drink tonight to celebrate seeing each other after nearly a year.

Boy, was he right. It was a long-aged, easy drinking summer red, somewhat reminiscent of a Barolo and with the most exquisite lingering finish.

A wine I'd likely never have tasted if he hadn't come to town, spotted it and insisted we needed it.

Did I mention what a dear friend this guy is?

Around 9:00, we looked outside to admire the rich, blue sky that refused to give up the last light of sunset.

These endless days are almost magical.

We moved on to the cheese plate, a misnomer if ever there was one.

Cabot cloth-bound cheddar, herb spetzle,smoked duck lardons, apple slices, sunflower shoots, date puree, and a hard cider cheese sauce made for a dish so deep in flavor (that spetzle! those lardons!) that all we could do was eat and sip and smile at each other in satisfaction.

Since it was his first visit to Dutch & Co, the place having opened since he moved away, he was thrilled to discover it was everything he'd heard it was (through Facebook, of course, not the grapevine).

Like the last first-timer I went with, he was surprised at the restaurant's low-key charm, but not at its stellar food since we'd been to Aziza's back when Chef Caleb had been cooking there.

As the restaurant emptied out, we realized it was time to go.

When I came back from the bathroom, it was to discover that his next date was texting him to find out why he wasn't yet at Balliceaux.

By the time I got home, it was to find he had already tagged me on FB with a picture of Dutch & Co's wine list. How appropriate.

I finally made it! Had a wonderful meal with a dear friend, Karen.

Also known as the personification of summer.