or has service gotten really bad? Many, Many years ago when my husband and I were young, in love, poor, newly married, working folk, we used to go out to dinner at a restaurant in Dallas called The Grape. This was a rare treat for us because the menu was expensive and the food was French Cuisine. French fries weren't just french fries, they were “frites” , we thought Rosè wine was fancy AND we had to make reservations to eat there! Obviously high-class! The restaurant was all the way in Dallas in a hip location known as Lower Greenville. This is where all the “cool” people hung out. The place to see and be seen, right? Right! Fast forward 25 years or so…
We found ourselves uncharacteristically free of both children this past Saturday night so we decided to spark some of that “French Amour” and eat at The Grape with best friends. We made reservations thankfully, because we could only get a table at 6:00 or 8:30. They were booked, BOOKED between 6:01 and 8:29. We opted for the 6:00 slot so we still had time to dine and head back to Plano to pick up children from their event. (And so that I could go to bed early. I’m 20 years older now, remember?)
My reflections…I think our dining tastes have greatly matured in the last 25 years. (Insert “sad face” for them and “happy face” for us.) We arrived 15 minutes early for our much sought after reservation time of 6:00 only to find the restaurant TOTALLY empty of patrons. Well, I exaggerate, the five of us were there and we had pulses so we count as patrons. We waited and waited and waited in the empty bar for a bartender. We got our dining table, sat down, looked at the menu, it looked scrumptious and sat expectantly for a waiter to take our drink and dinner orders. We waited and waited and waited. We had to find a waiter because the restaurant was so busy with what? 5 people? Yes, us. The 5 people. Sadly, the food was, well, not good. Mustard Crusted Salmon turned out to be grilled salmon with Grey Poupon poured over it. My husband’s Bistro Steak was over cooked and flavorless and our friends didn’t finish their dinners. The restaurant finally filled up with people at 7:00 which delayed our dinner even more and didn’t add to our already lack luster experience.
So were our expectations 20 years ago not as high? Were our dining experiences not as refined? Or have we grown up and The Grape no longer impresses us? Either way, it was disappointing to let go of our idea of a lovely little French dinner. I guess I’ll have to order my “frites” from McDonald’s and tell the window person “merci” for my order. Then I’ll get my fix for a French experience.
Not to be overshadowed by a less than sparkly dinner, How about this totally gorgeous, brilliantly sparkly design?
These are the leftover bits and pieces of the Lattice Die. Simply spectactular for a Birthday card or Christmas Card. I love it so much, I might have to mail it to myself!
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Ink: Wisteria Wonder
Stamp Sets: Sincere Salutations, Creative Elements
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Lattice Die, Fancy Label Punch
