Random Esquire

Last night was filled with excellent food and drink at One SixtyBlue. I had been invited as a guest to celebrate the restaurant’s tenth anniversary and the very good food of Martial Noeguier. The restaurant (former best restaurant of Chicago 2006) was filled with women in cocktail dresses and men with suits. I had the signature ‘bluetini’ made with blueberry syrup, vodka, champagne…and something else I can not recall. The food was incredible. My date and I enjoyed an excellent amuse bouche or two and dined on a rare lamb with rosemary sauce and an excellent beef tenderloin, along with a variety of seasonal baby vegetables, all expertly prepared.

We sat next to two women (Nancy and Josephine) who were around the age of 70-75 or so, both wearing hats. We’d met them earlier when I noticed Josephine holding two drinks, her own and Nancy’s. I teased her gently about having two drinks at a time. They both belong to a hat club in Chicago. Josephine told me tales of her five weeks in Italy and how, now that she’s back, she’s been having to work out much more – including weights and cardio. Get down with your bad self, Josephine.

At one point, I glanced at my phone and saw that my sister had left me a voice mail and a text message. Her text said, “Hope u aren’t angry with me.”

I honestly can not remember the last time I was angry with my sister and we speak a few times a week, and more or less daily since her baby was born. I don’t think we’ve exchanged a harsh word in….years. I sent her a text back and said, “Did you mean this for someone else?”

She responded, “No, I am a paranoid hormone wreck. Just was afraid that you hated me. Realized that you are at your dinner party.”

Did I mention that my sister just had a baby? It some ways, it made me laugh because she must really be upside down to ever think I could hate her but it also almost made me mist up just a little to think she spent more than half a second feeling that way. I gave her a call as soon as I left the party and spoke with her briefly before she tried get some valuable sleep time.

Here’s the party favor from last night. Mmmm,…Illy espresso.