Ouch...oh...not so bad...

I had a rather entertaining weekend. Friday night, I enjoyed dinner at Gaetano's Italian Restaurant which, according to my best dining buddy and native Coloradan, had mob connections at one point in the past. Gaetano's was participating the Denver Restaurant Week (dinner for two for $52.80 all over the Denver/Boulder metro area...because Denver is the Mile High City and there are 5280 feet in a mile...get it?). We chose this restaurant for both the location (close to home), the interesting menu and for the glass of wine included. Some of the restaurants that are mid-range in price, offered the wine included in the $52.80 price. The high-range restaurants did not include a glass of wine with the price, and since they are high priced places, adding wine to the bill would have popped the budget (and I'm a cheapskate...remember!?!).

We shared a tasty 1st course of mussels in a spicy tomato broth that had good flavor but not enough spice for me. The 2nd course was a choice between minestrone or insalata, so we had the salads. Best part of the salad was the gorgonzola dressing...worse part were the slightly limp not so green greens. The 3rd course was a choice between prawns (large shrimp) scampi style over angel hair pasta and a grilled sliced petite filet with a brandy mushroom sauce, asparagus and mash potatoes. My friend had the shrimp and I had the very tasty filet. And then we shared some of each entree with each other (my mother calls that being "half-assed friends"). The shrimp themselves were cooked just right, but the pasta was a tad overcooked. I think I got the better of the two entrees. We were also given the choice for wine between Cribari Chianti or Citra Montepulciano. My friend had the Chianti which was good, but not as full bodied as the Montepulciano that I chose. I must say, I very much enjoyed my glass of wine. Besides being full bodied, it was slightly spicy yet also fruity (but not cloying) and went very well with the beef filet. The 4th course was tiramisu to be shared. The menu stated that it was house made. To me it looked and tasted like mass produced. It was light on the liquor and heavy on the whipped cream. Now I love me some whipped cream, so I ate all of my half, but it was wanting for a bit more flavor and kick.

Overall, I give Gaetano's restaurant week menu a "B" for great 1st and 3rd courses, average 2nd and 4th courses, and a great glass of wine. Although, if I was sitting in my dining buddies chair, I would have handed out a B- for the overcooked pasta and the adequate chianti.

As for Saturday, I went skiing at Loveland Ski Resort on a free lift ticket from Subaru! Since the weather report said it was going to snow today and be particularly warm yesterday, I totally picked the right day to use my lift ticket. In addition to the free lift ticket, I got a new Subaru stocking cap with visor, a Subaru lanyard to hold my lift ticket and a mini lip balm. Oh yeah, and a semi-private mini ski lesson. I got a refresher on making turns without falling down. Unfortunately, the guy taking the lesson with me bowled over the ski instructor (an old geezer) and the poor guy couldn't get back on his ski's that fast. And promptly upon finally getting going, some novice gal took him out...oh my. Well, I'm sure there was a lesson in there somewhere!

I got home feeling the strain of skiing on my lower legs and in my hips (this hip thing is a new sensation...gosh I hope I'm not getting old that fast). So I had a glass of cheap Cabernet Sauvignon from Glen Ellen, (that's surprisingly good for $3.99), and later some ibuprofen for the headache I had since driving home. I then went to bed at 9pm, which is early for me, and slept until my alarm went off at 7am...needed to catch up on sleep I guess. I was expecting to feel really stiff from skiing, but so far, no so much. I took another ibuprofen, because my head still hurt (and more than my legs and hips!). Of course, right now I feel stiffness more in my shoulders and back...so now would be a good time to stop with the blog post...and find someone for a massage...hehehe

Update: It's still snowing, so I'm not going...anywhere today! Alas...that means no massage either.