Jersey was in the mood for gelato at Ciao Bella, he got his usual- Bourbon Butter Pecan.
After our session, I stayed in Berkeley because I had an hour before dinner so I met up with Jes. I haven't seen her in a while. Her cutie pie, Maevyn is getting bigger. I love it when she cocks her head to the side to smile at me. This guy sitting in the table next to us asked Jes if he could hold her baby and she promptly said no. Who the hell asks a stranger permission to hold their kid? Weird.
Jes brought me a cala lilly from her yard. Her cala lillies are extra special, because her father planted them. I love receiving flowers, but this one was super thoughtful and I really appreciated her giving it to me.
Ether joined me later at Chez Panisse. I was happy she was there for this special Parsi New Year dinner. Niloufer Ichaporia King headed up the kitchen tonight. I went to one of her dinners at Boulette's Larder and it was amazing. Tonight was no exception.
We started off with a Pomegranate Kir royal and an Allium confit with poached egg.
The dal and spiced ghee was served soup style.
We couldn't have the seafood dish, so they made us a grilled squash.
The green biryani with Cattail Creek lamb was so tender. It was dressed with fresh Spring pea raita and pea greens with ginger.
We ended the dinner with Passionfruit/tangerine ice and Faluda with accompanied sweets, washed down with mint and lemongrass tisane.
Ether noticed a familiar face, but wasn't sure so I nonchalantly looked over at his table when I saw him put down his credit card. Sure enough it was Hal. We chatted and he told us he was writing a sci-fi novel.
After dinner I was dropped off at the BART station in downtown Berkeley. I had such a great time and very lucky today to hang out with two of my bridesmaids who are moms now!
Walking to the BART entrance, I suddenly had a flashback of the first time I went to Berkeley. I was 18 and my friend from Charleston, SC was in town. He was touring with The Queers and had to go to Lookout! Records to pick something up for them. He asked me to meet him at the top of the BART station in Berkeley. I had never been there or taken BART but was excited about the challenge. When I got to the top of the station entrance I waited for him. Suddenly I heard a loud "KOO KOO KOO KOO" and thought to myself, "Wow, the birds in Berkeley are really loud, I wonder what kind of bird makes that chirp." Every time I heard the noise I would look up searching the trees or sky for a bird. When my friend finally met up with me, I asked him what kind of bird made that noise. He laughed at me and pointed towards the intersection. "That noise is for blind people so they know when to cross the street."
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