Pandemic Date Night
My husband and I have been extremely cautious with our activities over the past year. Pre-COVID we had plans (and babysitters) almost every weekend night. Our new idea of an exciting Friday night consists of pizza take-out (Observation, Waldo, Dewey’s and 1889 are a few of our favorites), and snuggling on the couch with our two kiddos while we watch a terrible sequel to whatever movie we started the week before. Think Dr. Doolittle 2, Cheaper By The Dozen 2, Beethoven 2. You get the idea. While I’m pretty in love with our new Friday night family tradition (and have zero desire to get back into the rhythm of our old, non-stop ways), sometimes you just need a night out. So when my parents called and offered to keep our kids overnight, Will and I were ecstatic.
My husband suggested we cook a fancy meal together. So sweet. I loved the thought. But no way. I couldn’t handle one more night like every other…the cooking, the dishes, the mess. We also aren’t dining indoors yet. That complicates things. But we got in the car and headed downtown, determined to make it a fun night. We finally settled on a progressive dinner, take-out style.
One silver lining that has come from this crazy year is that all of our favorite restaurants are now offering take out AND bottled cocktails to go. Our first stop was the Antler Room. We are huge fans of Leslie and Nick Goellner’s restaurant and constantly crave their homemade pastas. We sat in the car and devoured our first course while we planned our second. I’d been dying to try the new Town & Company, but they were shut down for the evening. Then, one of us remembered the Parmesan Clam Toast from Farina and we had to have it. We drove there immediately. While Will ordered that, I ordered the Peanut and Cucumber salad from Extra Virgin next door so that we’d have something “healthy.” We rolled down the car window to hear the music coming from Extra Virgin and we enjoyed our feast. It was almost like we were there.
By that point I was full. Will was not. We drove around downtown. We talked. We listened. No one interrupted from the backseat. No one cried. No one fought. It was dreamy. We hadn’t had dessert yet, so we weighed all the options and eventually settled on the Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding from Pot Pie. OMG. Heaven. And then we went home and watched a movie with no sequel.
*KC Collected Tip: If you settle on a progressive dinner date night pandemic-style (in your car), you might consider bringing your own silverware and napkins.
