Monday, August 25, 2008

A-OK

The dining with good people continues. Tonight I had the pleasure of catching up with BPLJ, Pescado, and B-Dawg -- three of my favorite people from my old firm -- at the very yummy AOC. As much as I love the food at AOC, I love these guys even more. They were my big brothers at work who made me laugh constantly and took really good care of me when I was down.
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The olive tapenade for the warm fresh bread was great. Pescado stuck his stub of a finger into the shot. Thanks.
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We started with market lettuces, local walnuts, and golden raisins ($9). Good salad.
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The boys let me have two of the roasted dates, parmesan, and bacon ($6) because they are my favorite. (Does "they" mean "the boys" or "the dates"? Works either way!) Too bad this picture looks like I took it during an earthquake. I was probably laughing and shaking like a silly person when I took it.
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Five cheeses ($25). Goddamn, cheese is expensive.
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Prosciutto di parma ($11) with...butter. Wow. Butter with ham. Rich.
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Next up was the soft shell crab with spicy pork and peanut sauce ($16), which was light and crunchy. I could've eaten three by myself.
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True to his name, Pescado ordered seafood, albeit not fish. The guys enjoyed the clams with garlic and amontillado sherry ($15), as I'm not a huge bivalve fan.
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I'm a shellfish fan, though. Loved the gnocchi with lobster, pancetta, and truffle butter ($17).
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Then the real meat started coming out.

Grilled skirt steak with Roquefort butter ($15). Yes, it was good.
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Pork belly, purslane, tomatillos, and corn salsa ($15). Yes, this was good, too.
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Lamb kebab thingies? Pork on sticks? I don't even remember. All I know is that we chowed before I took a picture. This is what happens when you are cackling hysterically at BPLJ's rather inappropriate stories.
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I made sure to snap all the desserts before we destroyed them.

Rose macaron ice cream sandwich with raspberries and pistachios ($10). Quite lovely and fancy, but the ice cream sandwiches I had at Milk on Saturday were superior. And more affordable.
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Crème fraîche panna cotta with blackberries and French butter cookies ($9). Tasty, but I didn't think it was anything special. Pescado loved it, so he ate most of it. I snagged a butter cookie.
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Chocolate-hazelnut dacquoise with gianduja mousse and salted caramel ice cream ($10). Can I pronounce the italicized words correctly? No. But I can tell you that they are essentially a fancy way of saying "layers of yumminess that make the Monkey very happy."
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It was so fun seeing these guys. Since leaving the firm and coming to the CIA, I've discovered that I do a lot more entertaining than being entertained at work. I still laugh a lot, but it's different. I'm not complaining. As you know, I like being the source of amusement.

But, when I am with people who are much funnier than I am, I just get to sit back, relax, and laugh my ass off.

I miss that.

17 comments:

  1. Hmmmmm. How I miss AOC and its bacon wrapped dates. Now that is a blurry picture of heaven.

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  2. i loooove aoc! you reminded me that i never blogged my (march!) birthday dinner at AOC. we ordered a lot of the same things. ;-) the dacquoise was divine; i remember it being like a ferrero rocher cake.

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  3. It all looks amazing-- cheese, pancetta,lots of butter, lobster gnocchi, yumm. I'd like all of it.

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  4. Are you saying we aren't entertaining???

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  5. Oooo that all looks so yummy for a decent price! Will have to add this to my list of places to visit.

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  6. I need to go to AOC stat.

    I think the way you feel around your old co-workers is the way I feel around you.

    I will practice being funnier and more vivacious so the next time I see you, you can have a break here and there. (Although, I promise nothing.)

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  7. That prosciutto looks amazing. {drool}

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  8. bacon wrapped dates? sign me up!

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  9. i've still never been to aoc. and when i see pictures like that, it makes me very sad :(

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  10. dang it, i keep forgetting about AOC! yet another place on my list of restaurants i want to hit up.

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  11. Ahhh, I love AOC. H and I went there, and had one of our best dates ever. Had tons of wine. Ahhh, those were the days!

    Glad you had fun with people that make you smile :)

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  12. I am craving prosciutto after this post ...

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  13. Steak with roquefort butter?

    ::fainting::

    I <3 your shamelessness :)

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  14. I have to remember this place. That food looks awesome.

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  15. How dare you hang out with my man without me knowing! He is a "dawg"!

    Just kidding...It's Brandon, from Lisa's email account. That was a lot of fun. We definitely will do it again. We just need to wait a couple more weeks so Brian can get another story of "excessive touching of himself," and Fisher can shower.

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  16. Good meal with good people = good way to spend an evening. Awesome! :)

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