There’s a certain terror that comes with a job well done.
After a particularly grueling week, Wyndi and I took Friday off for a Valentine’s date day. As we described the activities of the day, Paul Bradberry looked at me and said, “So now you have to do better than that next year?”
The smile on my face slowly dropped and my eyes went wide and I joked, “Nobody told me that! I should have phoned it in!”
Seriously though, it was a great day and I’ll start with a tip for boyfriends and husbands alike. If you’re doing a full day trip, book your big meal for lunch rather than dinner.
We went to Fort Worth where I had booked us a table at Le Margot, a French restaurant with some prominent ownership including Graham Elliot of “MasterChef” and “Top Chef” fame.
I surprised Wyndi with the booking and then told her who owned the place as we began to enjoy the awesome food and ambience. Then, Graham Elliot sat down near the bar and did some work on his laptop.
Our waiter realized we were fans and offered to ask about getting a picture. As the owner/head chef, we knew he might be busy so we said only if he had time. Wyndi enjoyed a lavender-glazed chicken while I had short rib bourguignon before getting some great desserts and Chef Graham said he was okay with meeting.
I expected a quick photo but he showed us video of all the beef wellington that was being prepared and talked a bit about the shows and business and even let me try a side from the entrée I had been considering (caper-pear chutney).
Wyndi and I have watched a lot of MasterChef together and particularly liked how Graham shared his love of cooking and flavor with the contestants during his seasons. We had bonded over the program while dating so it was great to share a moment with him together in person.
Now well fed, we took trips around the Modern and Kimbell art museums, discussing which pieces and artists we particularly liked and our interpretations of certain works. I’m always in awe of genuine artifacts from civilizations in the BC era and found a couple of new painters I liked. (The painting “Christ and the Woman of Samaria” by Guercino impressed me a lot.) Wyndi is a huge fan of Claude Monet and basked in front of his original works at the Kimbell for quite a while.
We ended the day with a trip to Half Price Books where we each bought a book for ourselves and one for each other.
In the meal, art and books, Wyndi and I differed on our favorite things but we each found something we loved and got to discuss those things with each other. We spend most of our days together but sometimes life gets in the way of good communication, and little trips like these offer a way to get to know someone even better away from the distractions.
Now, I get to one-up myself every year for the rest of our lives … Who decided this system?
— Paul Gaudette is the managing editor of The Dublin Citizen and can be reached via email at publisher@ dublincitizen. com.