Feeling a Little Wicked

I woke up this afternoon at 2:30 pm. That should be an indication of how my night was last night. It started with drinks at McCormick and Schmick's at 5:30 pm. We had dinner reservations at 6:30 pm. TH wanted the perfect table, so he had requested a beautiful table by the window.

We sat for our reservation right on time, unfortunately it took our waitress about 15 minutes to greet us. We were going to see WICKED at 8:00 pm so we politely told her that if we could just get our bottle of wine and food as quickly as possible that would be fantastic. She agreed and said it would not be a problem. 10 then 15 then 20 minutes passed and we were not even served water. It was then 7:05 and TH went to the host stand and asked what was going on, when he returned, he said, she would be back soon. Another 10 minutes passed. She swung by and said, "I'll be right back with your wine." 7:20, no wine, no bread, no water, no waitress. TH once again went to the host stand. This time when he returned he said the manager would be over. 7:30, no manager. We were aggravated, hungry and going to be late for the show.

We just threw our coats on and left.

Walking down Broad Street, we noticed a small little restaurant across the street from the theater and ducked in for a quick drink and an appetizer. By the look of the line outside the theater, we knew there would be enough time to eat and drink quickly. We found the most amazing hidden gem. Soho Varalli!!!!

TH, said, "I just want two of your best glasses of red wine and your quickest appetizer." Carl, our fantastic bartender poured us Sangiovese, '08 Di Majo Norante'.

It is an Italian wine made from a blend of Chianti, Canaiolo and Trebbinano which is known as a white grape. It is extremely robust in flavor, with strong bursts of strawberry, blueberry, and plum. Our appetizer was wild mushrooms sauteed with roasted sweet peppers and Asiago cheese on crisp polenta. A perfect pairing for a quick nosh before the theater.

Showtime! Our seats could not have been better, I felt like it was right out of a movie (and for all you girls, you know what I am talking about), I was leaning over the velvet red cushion of the front row of our balcony seats watching the magic of this show unfolding upon my eyes! The glitz, the glamor, the music, I felt like I had been transported, well...to OZ. Time stood still, nothing existed outside of the theater for me. This was how happy felt.

The three hour show felt like it lasted only 20 minuets, I wanted more, I was not ready for it to be over, I could have sat there in comfort and awe all night.

Starving, we crossed the street back over to see Carl at Soho. We ordered two more glasses of wine, a dozen oysters, Buffalo Caprese fresh mozzarella, tomato, red onion, basil, baby arugula, extra virgin olive oil, aged balsamic honey and for our main course we shared Seafood Risotto lobster, shrimp, scallops, crab, baby clams and mussels with tomatoes, saffron and herbs. It was a menu of magic! Delicious beyond my expectations! We were entertained by the staff at Soho and truly had a wonderful night!

In the middle of dinner I switched my wine to Hope Shiraz. The full body of the Sangiovese was starting to take its toll on me and it was time to try something new. This is when I noticed the bottle of HOPE. Much different than my last glass this one was not big at all. However, the notes on the nose were filled with oak and spice. If you can get past that, you will be very pleasantly surprised with the flavor.

I didn't arrive home until nearly 3am this morning. It was a beautifully rainy morning to sleep late, enjoy some coffee in bed and contemplate if I will drink a glass of wine tonight. Like all good things, I may need a day off.

I think today, I just want to bask in the pleasures of what was yesterday and the comfort of this dark and otherwise quiet Sunday.

Cheers!