Monday, February 17, 2025
President's holiday. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted shaved coconut, sliced and toasted almonds, blueberries; hot water. Cleaned the bathtub, showered. Spent most of the day in bed—digestion issues. I skipped lunch in anticipation of a large dinner but had a very light snack in the midafternoon: hummus with everything flatbread crackers. Rode Uber with Patrick to dinner at Wayfare Tavern. We were seated upstairs at table 44. Cocktails: Bentley Reserve ($16, James E. Pepper Rye, Montenegro Benedictine, Foro Rosso, Amaretto Disaronno) for Patrick, Nourishing Nectar ($16, Barr Hill Gin, Barr Hill Honey Syrup, Lemon) for me. Complimentary popovers with piped whipped butter. The popovers are hollow and a bit crisp on the outside. They are served very hot and are not very buttery on their own. They are delightful to pull apart. The butter is perfectly easy to spread. We shared: dungeness crab cocktail ($28), caesar salad ($17, split onto two plates), Mary's organic fried chicken ($35), braised beef cheek stroganoff ($36, parisian gnocci, foraged mushrooms, dijon mustard creme fraiche, crispy potatoes, fresh herb horseradish). We ordered two glasses of wine with the meal: one tempranillo (El Coto 2019) and one sangiovese (Tenuta di Arceno 2021). For dessert we ordered the house-made donuts ($13) and the chocolate budino ($13), but we were told we didn't need the budino 😉, so just the donuts then. Surprise comped dessert alongside the donuts: two mini chocolate cupcakes with a message written in chocolate. Surprise treat, comped: two generous pours of 24-year-old tawny port. They also comped the two glasses of wine. All food and drink were excellent. Service by Ericka W was very good, but we noticed that no one crumbed the table. $220.37 after a $35 tip. So satisfying. We took three pieces of chicken home via Uber. To bed.