Monday, April 10, 2006
My favorite breakfast at home, plus an orange, banana, pineapple smoothie. Stopped at J and J Bakery to reserve a cake. First day back at work after vacation and my inbox is overwhelming. After pruning, I still have over 70 messages in it when normally I have about a dozen. Most of the day was spent just replying to e-mail messages. I also spent a couple of hours reviewing resumes for Jeff M. Lunch by myself at desk: Panda Bowl. My fortunes: You have an active mind and a keen imagination. Prepare yourself for a change of events in your personal life. After work I picked up the cake I ordered. When I got home, Patrick and Mom Ryan were already waiting. We had canceled our plans to go to dinner at Old Mandarin and instead went to P.J.'s Oyster Bed (415-566-7775, 737 Irving Street at 9th), a New Orleans-themed restaurant to which Mom Ryan had never been. We sat at table 7 and admired the beautiful mural montage of New Orleans celebrities, wildlife, and scenes. Mom Ryan had decaf, I had an iced tea, and Patrick had a mojito. An order of oysters Rockfeller started us off. Mom Ryan had a cup of gumbo and an order of crab cakes. I had red snapper with garlic mashed potatoes and bok choy. Patrick had the Drocco Combo with chicken, pork ribs, and (sausage?). Our server was Hilary who was perfect for the start of our meal but inattentive for the second half. She was really sweet and apologized several times for having neglected our table. For example, Mom Ryan didn't get a coffee refill the whole meal, even after she asked Hilary directly and who replied, "I'll be right back with your refill," but forgot about it. Even the bus person was slow to remove plates and never once filled our water glasses. All the food was delicious. No food photos from tonight—I had forgotten my camera. After our meal, we each had slices of the coffee mousse cake I got from J and J Bakery (1398-9th Avenue at Judah). Mom Ryan thought the chocolate cylinder around the cake was brown cardboard and was very surprised to learn that you could eat it. Hilary comped us two scoops of ice cream and two coffees. Mom Ryan told us funny stories from her life and she also told us all about statistics. All stuffed, we dropped Mom Ryan off at home, then called it a night. Added titles to Disneyland Trip Day 2 photos on Flickr.