Recapping

I have to say, last night was a pretty damn good time. We met up at the pub across from the restaurant. She got there a little early and had a glass of wine, I arrived just in time for the reservation. The conversation, as usual, was captivating. She told me at the end of the night that she "thoroughly enjoyed every moment" which pretty much sums up how I felt as well. I do have to confess that the conversation turned quite philosophical for a time and I was dangerously close to saying things that I should not say (at least at this point). Fortunately, I reserved my most inner of thoughts. Not to delve too deeply into the subject, the brief overview is that we're both extremely dissatisfied with the transient nature of our respective lives. I have been thinking this for quite some time, but ultimately, I have a strong desire to settle down somewhere and grow some roots. At this point, neither of us has done that and it can be a constant struggle when there is literally nothing in your life that you would consider "solid". The contest, as in most of life's pursuits, is to enjoy the moment you are in and not stress about the residually unsatisfactory reality. More on this at a later date.

Anyway, on to the important stuff: the food. Pierre Victoire is a very good restaurant. The food achieved the highest possible rating: tasty, delicious, AND succulent. It was a price fixe, three course meal and the options were great. For appetizers, we had bacon wrapped scallops lightly fried in butter with an indescribably delicious sauce that I believe had a very light tomato base. We also had pan fried foie gras, something I've always wanted to try after seeing Iron Chef and it was something she ordered (which prompted me to describe the Iron Chef since she'd never seen the finest piece of television available). It was not quite what I expected - light, creamy, and buttery. I would try it again, although I don't know if I would order it myself (unless, of course, Iron Chef Morimoto was on the scene). Really, the texture was a bit unnerving, but there was nothing wrong with the flavor.

For our mains, she had duck in a sweet sauce that I must say was outstanding. I had the lamb with a red wine demi-glaze. My only quibble would be that the lamb was cooked too quickly, but I'm certain that's because it was cooked as a steak and not as a roast. Still, very very good.

For our desserts, she ordered the passion fruit creme brulee, while I had the amaretto tiramisu. Both were exquisite and neither were finished. We'd simply eaten too much and the desserts were ultimately just too intense for one person to finish (even though we shared). One dessert would have been more than sufficient.

I have to say, I don't have much of a problem with Valentine's Day in general. Yes, it does cause people to go out and spend money in fairly useless diversions, but if you're in a relationship, they aren't meaningless diversions. Plus, February has the unique quality of being the worst overall month of the year (after Christmas, before Spring, no holidays), so it can be a nice thing (or at least a good excuse to have a nice meal). No, the people that hate Valentine's Day are those of the disaffected masses who are without a date (as I have been in the past) and are angry simply because it reminds them of that which is missing in their lives. I don't begrudge their hostility or bitterness, but at the same time, this is going too far.

In reflection, I'm somewhat on the fence with the Prototype. I know that I really like her and that when I get to see her, it's the highlight of my week. But at the same time, I'm not convinced I'll ever get what I want from her; I'm not convinced that she'll ever truly open up to me. I've let this run its course because I identified relatively early on that she captivated my attention and that's a rarity. But, in the end, I'm not going to wait around forever. If things don't start happening soon, I'll have to move on and look elsewhere. Ultimately, as André 3000 said, "I hope that you're the one, but if not, you are...the Prototype." And sometimes in life, you just need a small sign that it is possible to find someone like that, even if it doesn't work out.