Saturday, July 8, 2023
Walked and ran in place while watching various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries; hot water. Began cleaning my bad bathtub caulk job from a week ago. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftover pizza, water. Patrick napped. I installed two wall-mounted lamps above his desk, which replaced a single IKEA lamp on his desk. For dinner, Patrick and I rode Uber Green to Zuni. We hadn't been in a really long time—perhaps 20 years or so. We arrived 10 minutes early and were invited to wait in the bar area. We each ordered a drink from bartender Eric: Patrick: El Caribe Ahumado ($15.00, Los Vecinos del Campo "Espadin" mezcal, Ancho Reyes, dry Curaçao, lime, vanilla liqueur). Me: Fresh Lime Margarita ($13.50, Cimarron Blanco tequila, Cointreau, lime). Our table became available. We paid at the bar—gratuity included. Our receipt said at the bottom, IMMIGRANTS MAKE AMERICA GREAT. The total on this bill was $38.70. I'm not sure where the other $4.50 came from. It must have been on the itemized receipt, but I didn't take a photo of it. We ate on the ground level near the pizza oven. Our reservation was for 6:00 p.m. and the place was mostly full. Bottled water ($9). We shared four dishes. First course: two jumbo white shrimp with cocktail sauce ($8). Second course: Black Mission figs and melon with Pernod, almond picada, wild arugula, and extra-virgin olive oil ($17.00). Third courses (together): shoestring potatoes ($9.00) with aioli ($1.50) and pan-seared Llano Seco pork chop with summer vegetable succotash and gremolata ($42.00). Dessert: Gateau Victoire with whipped cream ($14.00), decaf espresso for Patrick, decaf Americano for me. All food and drink were delicious. One shrimp had a small piece of shell. There was an unusually long delay between the second and third courses. When ordering my Americano I requested it with cream, but no cream appeared when it was delivered, and the deliverator left before we stopped chatting and realized. It was re-requested and then delivered a little bit later. When Patrick visited the restroom, a server promptly came by to fold his napkin and left it on the table (rather than the chair). Service by Joseph was sufficient. While there we saw Mark Leno get seated at a nearby table with some friends. Afterwards Patrick and I walked to Blackbird for cocktails: Club Med (Mezcal, Aperol, Pamplemousse, Lemon, Coconut, $15) for Patrick, Mile High Club (Reposado Tequila, Tamarind, Spiced Pear Liqueur, Fortified Wine, Bitters, $15) for me. We rode Uber Green home.