Beautiful Redemption

I love witnessing old friends with troubled pasts redeem themselves and become whole human beings with great purpose. My dear friend Matt from college, was once a bit of a recluse. He seemed to never be able to find his niche in the social world, so he tended to let alcohol do most of his talking for him. He was definitely brilliant at his craft, with sound engineering and film-making. But I was always worried about him and wanted him to be happy on all fronts. A few years back Jason and I visited my college home town (Columbia, SC) for my friend Nichole's wedding. I was happy to see Matt there and meet his new wife Ashley. He had found his soul mate and I was so happy for him. She has definitely turned his life around and they are so perfect for each other.

Yesterday Matt emailed his film-making team (Brooke, Nichole and me) to let us know that Ashley was 5 months pregnant and that he was going to be the father of a baby girl named Alice come early December. I told him how incredibly happy I was for him. Matt is proof that life may get you down for a while, but if you open your heart, true happiness can be just around the corner. I wish Matt and Ashley the best. Congrats you two!!

Special Lunch Dates

Being able to have lunch with friends during the weekdays is a great benefit to being unemployed. I've had lunch with Jason a couple of times. I had lunch with another past Renegade a couple of weeks ago, Nick. Jason has mentioned Nick in a few of his entries now, we went to a local dive and eat the best cheeseburgers with a couple of beers, great conservation and great times were had. Nick's been out of a "real" job for a while, he gets steady freelance writing gigs that keep him busy most days.

Today I'm going to meet Jason's mom, Jan, in Columbia for lunch. She's a great lady and I really can't wait. Not getting to see and talk to people during the day really makes these lunch dates that much more significant and that much more needed.

A Meal to Die For

Jason's entry only focused on one aspect of Victoria's Gastro Pub of Columbia, while I can't help but add how every bit of the meal last night was extraordinary. They really out do themselves there, every aspect of the meal was eloquently plated with mouth watering uniqueness. We met Jason's childhood friend Eric there, and let's just say the meal was on him and no expenses were spared. Everyone needs this kind of meal at least once a year. We had four appetizers and yes the duck fat fries covered in gravy and cheese were the best! The mussels and asparagus fries were up there too.

We each had our own beer sampler, they have hundreds of beers on tap so the sampler was the way to go. Each of us got a different sampler which consisted of five small glasses. I got "The Lighter Side" selection and they were all amazing. Now next time I go there I'll know which beers I love.

We then ordered three entries. We eat and drank slowly as we had great conversations, so the ability to keep eating rolled along smoothly, which is strange for me since I usually get full pretty quickly. I got the grilled lamb with cilantro yogurt cous cous and the boys each got the flat iron steak with sausage glaze served with asparagus and mashed potatoes. Their meal was outstanding and my lamb was not too shabby.

We even got desert, I guess when the food is this good you can't help be devourer it. We shared a praline chocolate layered cake and a fancy bread pudding. Both were very good. The whole meal really ranks up there with one of my top meals ever, I highly recommend Victoria's Gastro Pub.

http://www.victoriagastropub.com/

Duck Fat Fries

Today's positive is short and sweet. Fresh cut french fries, fried in duck fat, dipped in duck gravy, and covered with melted Gruyere cheese. Oh good god yes.

Drop what you're doing, even if it's surgery, firefighting or search and rescue, head to Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia and order yourself a plate. Everyone will understand.

They are the culmination of millions of years of evolution; the final, transcendent stage for both the duck and the potato. The fittest has survived, and it's covered in cheese.

Yes. They're that good.

Free Alternative Publications

I appreciate, support, and thoroughly enjoy free local alternative publications. In Baltimore we have the "City Paper". It's publisehd every Wednesday and you can find a copy of it about anywhere. It provides info on all the upcoming local events, all concert and movie listings, reviews for restaurants, a large classified section, interesting local stories, and much, much more. They have special issues every year, such as The Best of Baltimore containing locally voted "best of" restaurants, pubs, bike shops, farmer's markets, and everything else you can possibly think of.

When the Maryland Film Festival is going on it provides you a full listing of the showings with brief descriptions of each one. It's just an amazing resource and it's free. There's no way not to love and support it and the people behind its creation. In NYC I loved reading "The Village Voice" and in Columbia, SC we had "The Free Times". I remember both as being great sources of local info and great reads. If I was a better writer I would love to contribute to the City Paper. Hey, maybe they're hiring!