The Best Unexpected Birthday Present. Ever.

I turned 32 on April 21, and I had a lovely weekend of celebrating. On Saturday, we went to Madison to have dinner with our Kiwi friends Pavla and James at Jolly Bob's. Coconut shrimp, spicy crab cakes, fruity tropical beverages, gigantic fish tank, stereo pumping out Caribbean grooves...need I say more?

On Sunday, back at home in Milwaukee, we extended the celebration by having dinner at Eddie Martini's, one of Gourmet magazine's Top 40 restaurants in America. It is an old-school steak joint in the best sense: tender filets, crisp iceberg wedge, swingin' Dean Martin tunes, attentive waitstaff... It's the kind of place where the largest cut of meat on the menu does not come free if you finish it in less than an hour. Prior to our delicious dinner, we started our evening at Eddie's with drinks at the bar, where I was treated to perhaps the best unexpected 32nd birthday present ever: I got carded.

Happy Birthday, indeed! :-)