August 25, 2021 Lunch - Ham Salad Salad. Dinner - Suzette’s Birthday Dinner Party at Artichoke Cafe
I awakened with two major projects today. I spent four hours in the morning and until 1:30 drafting and filing two pleadings for one case.
At 9:00 I toasted two slices of French baguette and spread them with cream cheese and laid slices of red onion and the Gravad lax and garnished them with capers on one. I spread butter and pineapple marmalade on the other slice and added slices of Jarlsberg cheese. I drank a cup of hot tea.
Then I made a quick lunch of spinach leaves dressed with Suzette’s Balsamic, basil, and olive oil dressing and a couple of spoonfuls of ham salad and toasted and buttered a slice of French baguette.
I then watched the market close and the Pentagon and White House briefings. Another day of a small loss. My portfolio is still up more than 20% for this year. Impressive by any standard.
I worked on Suzette’s probate case in the afternoon and then at 4:00 I drove to Total Wine to buy a bottle of the most highly rated VSOP cognac for Suzette’s birthday. When I returned home Suzette had arrived so I sneaked into the bedroom and wrapped the bottle in paper and placed it in a Happy Birthday bag. I then watched the last 15 minutes of Ari Melber.
When Suzette walked in she saw the bag and found the bottle of cognac. Later she said she wanted to put the bottle in the basement wine cellar for six years. I was pleased she thought it was a bottle worthy of aging.
At 6:30 Willy arrived and at 6:45 he drove us to a artichoke Cafe.
We were shown to a table on the patio on Edith St. It soon became clear that the service was impeccable. Suzette ordered a glass of French champagne. I ordered a glass of Spanish Cava Rose’. Willy ordered a Malbec.
We ordered a burrata on toast garnished with cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil. It was deliciously creamy. Willy ordered citrus olives, a heated olive medley served in a ceramic shallow ramekin. I ordered a duck rillette, a mixture of duck meat and liver topped with a mixed berry jam with toast points. Everything was wonderfully flavorful.
Suzette and I then ordered the daily fish special, baked halibut on a bed of mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and roasted carrots. We tasted a bottle of Bandol rose and it was so wonderful, we took the entire bottle. Willy ordered the 1/2 chicken Diablo. It was a roasted chicken 1/2 covered with a spicy herb sauce. The halibut was cooked to firm, but it was still juicy and the carrots were tender and slightly charred.
We loved dinner. And the service was attentive hut not intrusive. There were flies, so soon the service staff placed citronella lamps around our table that eliminated the flies. I was amazed.
I was thrilled when Suzette chose a 2018 Bandol Rose to drink with the meal. It was lovely, elegant, and silky smooth across the entire palate.
When we finished our dinner, suzette told the waitress that this was her birthday. Soon, we were shown a dessert menu. Suzette suggested splitting a creme brûlée. In a couple of minutes the waitresses brought a creme brûlée with a small birthday candle stuck on the plate. They lit the candle and we all sang Happy Birthday to Suzette. After we ate the dessert was eaten we signed the check and drove home after a 2 1/2 hour meal.
It was a terrific meal and the service was great. This was one of the best meals I have eaten in Albuquerque in a long time. It is great to have a good restaurant in Albuquerque. It is wonderful to know that Artichoke has maintained its quality of food and service for so many years.
Perhaps we will go out to eat more often in the future.
When we returned home I ate some Swedish chocolate with crushed hazelnuts, some Calvados, and a cup of chai.
Bon Appetit
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