countessmouse

Gunthar's LAN party? A cover for the most complete and elaborate ruse ever perpetrated on me. My oft discussed (by Gunthar) freaky psychic powers failed to detect this deception at all, resulting in the biggest surprise ever. Here is what Gunthar, with his loyal and stealthy accomplices, did to me:

On the way home from Victoria's birthday party, while I thought we were on our way to the LAN shop, Gunthar announces to me that the LAN party was merely a ruse to distract me from what was really planned for the evening. Instead of heading to the shop in Plano, we were actually driving home to change into evening wear and going somewhere else, although he refused to tell me exactly what that "somewhere else" was. So, home we went, where he put on his suit, I put on a skirt, blouse and makeup, and then we were off. Where, you ask? We ended up downtown, at the Adolphus Hotel -- more specifically, The French Room. One of Dallas' five star restaurants (if not the only one) and a place I've been dying to eat at for years.

The occasion? Gunthar announced that we were celebrating my half birthday. For those of you who don't know, my birthday is Christmas Day. It hasn't been a bad gig, but it has always made birthday celebrations a little muted because of the holiday. When I was a child, my parents instituted the practice of celebrating my birthday in June or July when my friends were more available for parties. That practice stopped when I was about 11-12, and subseqent celebrations have been completely family-oriented.

Anyway, back to the French Room. The restaurant is elegant, decorated in what I think is a subdued Louis XIV style (although Gunthar would argue that), and not very large considering its devoted following. The staff is very, very professional, knowledgeable, and courteous. And the food was -- absolutely wonderful. After we made our wine and course selections (the dinner is a prix fixe three course meal), we started off with an amuse bouche of seared tuna on a potato "cracker". It is a starter about the size of a postage stamp, designed to stimulate your palate and give you a taste of the chef's abilities. It was very good. Our appetizers followed, lobster for Gunthar and a crab cake for me. The crab cake was incredible -- not a hint of the usual filler anywhere and full of delectible fresh crabmeat topped with a tomato jam that really made the dish. After the empty plates were whisked away, we were served a lovely lemongrass sorbet as a palate cleanser before the main course. For the main course, I had beef tenderloin and Gunthar had lamb chops. The beef was butter tender, served with a wine-rosemary reduction, accompanied by a vegetable tartin and goat cheese wrapped in eggplant. Although I would have liked to have tasted more rosemary in the sauce, it was yummy! A pre-dessert of a chocolate profiterole followed. Our actual desserts were hazelnut souffle for Gunthar and a cherry and vanilla creme brule for me, served with french press coffee. We left stuffed and content with a considerably lighter wallet on Gunthar's part.

But the evening didn't end there. We came home, with me fully intending to put my pajamas on and lay on the couch in a rich food induced stupor, to find our friends crowding the apartment. My first surprise party ever! And in the middle of it sat

lady_katheryn, Gunthar's most loyal accomplice in all of this. She has a spare key to our apartment, which she utilized in sneaking up while we were out to get the place decorated and let everyone in. Since everyone had been waiting for an hour or so for us to get home, cake was immediately served and presents were opened. For obvious reasons, Gunthar and I did not have cake and ice cream. I think I would have exploded. We had a great time talking and laughing with friends, and finally stumbled to bed about 1am.

For those of you who read my LJ and were there, thank you so much for the surprise! And for those of you who read my LJ and couldn't be there, I totally understand and we missed you. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful, caring friends who make my life more the better for their presence. I couldn't ask for more.

Gunthar and Katheryn -- you are both crazy and I love you dearly. And don't get too smug, my freaky psychic powers are now on full alert! ;)