a post about - what else? - food

i was on such a high after yesterday's blog party that i completely forgot about the fabulous anniversary dinner we had with the folks and the sibs at lawry's on saturday night. oops.

so, a mere four hours after i got home from dim sum with the girls, i was changing into a dress, pulling on tights, and zipping up boots to head out to the westside. the ILs arrived to spend the evening with the bean, and after a few kisses (or twelve), we were out the door and in the car, zooming down the freeway to get there for our 6:30 reservation.

we pulled in right behind my brother and his girlfriend, did something i normally hate watching other folks do (exchanging hugs and hellos right there in the middle of the valet parking lot), and walked in. the rest of the family was already there, so the hub checked in with the hostess and we were seated almost immediately.

i knew my buddy jane18 was going to be at lawry's too, celebrating her birthday with a group of friends. but the joint was so damn crowded. i looked around with every step, but had to stop for fear of falling down the steps to the dining room and making a damn fool outta myself. oh, well. hope you had a yummy birthday dinner, jane!

dinner was, as always, absolutely fabulous. my brother, his girlfriend, and my stepdad did the unthinkable - ordered SALMON. at lawry's. horrors! but it did look yummy and they all enjoyed it, so that's all that counts. as for the rest of us, that silver bullet couldn't come fast enough!

i fully enjoyed my "california cut", plus mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed corn (the BEST on earth, and what brings a lot of peeps to the place aside from the meat), fresh steamed asparagus, and yorkshire pudding. i've never really understood yorkshire pudding, as it's some kind of doughy bread cooked alongside the meat and not some creamy gushy concoction, but i didn't care. that shit was taaaaaaasty. the hub had a slightly larger cut of prime rib and opted for creamed spinach instead of corn, which i gleefully stuck my fork into several times.

and then we topped it off with their warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. mmmmm. i could go for a bite of that gooey, scrumptious stuff right now. dee-lish, as the kid would say.

as the valets brought our cars around, we exchanged some very late christmas gifts (it's damn near impossible to get us all together in one place), did another round of hugs and goodbyes, and that was the end of a very lovely evening. of course, i have no pictures to share, but i DO have more from the blog party that i promised in yesterday's post. whee!

we managed to get a group picture while amber was still around. but of course, it wasn't perfect as some of the girls on one side were cut out of it! boo. so i took one of just them. and i tried to be cute and get a shot of the other table by holding my camera up in the air (you can see monkey making the same attempt). and then ashley and aline decided to strike a pose in another shot. heh.

i was really looking forward to trying the lemon pancakes i'd read about on chowhound, so i was nearly brought to tears when the waitress came back to say they'd run out. big, fat, giant BOO! so i consoled myself with their pumpkin spice pancakes and a nice plate of bacon. and a fresh, warm biscuit.

and there were some who decided to eat healthy. yeesh - salmon at lawry's, and healthy eats at a GTG? what's the world coming to? that's a vegetarian hash and scrambled egg whites, and an "angel's delight" - fruit, yogurt, and fat-free granola.

trish went with the "latino heat" - spicy turkey sausage, eggs, cheese, jalapeno chiles, and a cute little plate of condiments (avocado, salsa, and sour cream). and next to that, the cute monkey-patterned goodie bag of cookies, homemade by nanette. so delicious! then, the tray of mocha cupcakes with buttercream frosting, courtesy of kate. these were as yummy as they were cute.

ah, such a good time. and then as we assembled outside for that group picture, i handed my camera to the nice girl who agreed to do the deed. sadly for me, the damn camera was set to "video."



thank goodness for r, who provided the fabulous STILL photo i posted yesterday. and i hear there's a happy hour in the works for the next blog party. i may not partake in the alcoholic beverages, but i can sure find some bar grub on the menu! yee-haw, i can't wait!