There
are a few days that everything seems to come together. A couple weeks back on an inconsequential Saturday
morning I called a friend of mine at 9:30 in the morning. Normally neither she nor I would be awake
this early, but for different reasons we both were. We agreed to do brunch and I headed over to
her place sans a morning shower. She
also said that she wasn’t planning to shower since she was meeting up with
friends around 1:00 and would shower after brunch.
The
day was perfect; it was high 70’s and I had the windows down and the sunroof
open. Run the Jewels, “Close Your Eyes (and
count to fuck) “was playing, US-75 was strangely absent of traffic and the restaurants
on Henderson were pretty empty. Amy and
I sat on the patio of Vickery Tavern about 30 minutes before Manchester United Vs
West Bromwich kicked off and ordered a Bloody Mary with some chips and queso to
start. The food was about what you would expect from bar food. I chose the ever safe option of a burger with
garlic and parmesan fries, she did a spinach omelet. The Bloody Mary was alright, but it didn’t
really excel in spice or flavor- it was just a standard Bloody Mary. A gin and cucumber smash was next on the list
once the food came. It didn’t do
anything for either of us. The cucumber
was diced, not smashed and strained so it would add a crunch to the drink when
sipped or get caught in the straw if that was used. I’ve learned from watching Jake at Black Swan
make drinks that you muddle the cucumber and other items in the shaker, then
add the liquor and ice, shake and pour through a mesh strainer to capture the
flavor but not the mess. This wasn’t
thought though like his drinks are. I
moved to Kona Brewing Coconut Porter and she had a Blood & Honey from Revolver
as our cucumber drinks were discarded. After
3 days of rain the sun and perfect temperatures made the beers something akin
to the water of life. The conversation
was great and she decided to blow off her friend who was extremely happy to
hear that she wouldn’t have to fight through a hangover and come out for tacos.
United
lost 0-1 at Old Trafford on a free kick that snuck through off a deflection
from the wall. On an average day this would
cause me to grumble all day about missed opportunities while cursing LVG for
his boring possession based system.
Today, today was different. It
rained non-stop for the last 3 days and the conversation I had from the female the
night before was lacking in intelligence and humor. A 10 year old friend with a great smile and
green eyes that shimmer in the recently introduced sun light was turning into a
perfect morning for me.
We
ditched Vickery and went to one of our favorite spots- Cedar Social. Cedar Social probably has the best Old Fashioned
in Dallas. They use a torch on a chunk
of Oak and then place the glasses upside down on the wood to get the smoky flavor
in it as they shake the whiskey and peel the rind. The combination of smoked Oak and aged whiskey
is phenomenal. I’m sure it will cause me
a new form of cancer, but what doesn’t these days? Cedar Social also has the distinction of bartenders
with amazing skill at mixing drinks while not retaining the uber doucheyness of
their sister place, Smyth. Jordan, our
bartender, also made us a blackberry Julep since it was Derby day. A drink that isn’t too sweet but has the
right amount of bite was perfect to move out to their patio and view the city
skyline. Amy and I talked about her
upcoming trip to Thailand, the person I need to freindzone faster than not (who
I was out with the night before), who has the best patio in Dallas, what
restaurant is the most fun to eat at, and how her cat is a bitch.
We
took off after a few hours to go our separate ways, but not before ordering the
truffle fries and garlic aioli. It was a
warm 84 degrees by then so the windows came down and the sunroof was again opened. We took the long way back to her place
through the side streets and down town, listening to ‘Power Trip’ by J. Cole and
revealing in the sky scrapers towering above us. I dropped her off and went back to my place
for a shower that was way overdue thinking about how great the day had been.
