sovay: (Lord Peter Wimsey: passion)
sovay ([personal profile] sovay) wrote2024-09-10 11:37 pm

And then you made me lean that bit harder on my heart

For our fourteenth anniversary, [personal profile] rushthatspeaks and I ate at a restaurant.

The last time we had eaten at a restaurant was four and a half years ago, not so many days before the airborne equations of viral transmission turned my acceptance of his proposal into a cholera wedding. But we had heard that SRV, the only Venetian-style bacaro in Boston, for four years running our traditional anniversary restaurant, had established a patio for open-air dining and they sounded receptive to our high-risk questions and we made a reservation for dinner as they opened tonight. The outdoor element was dependent on the weather. It was brilliantly late summer all day. I left the house in shirtsleeves which I immediately rolled up.

It's a lovely patio. Since it is located at the back of the restaurant, the brick of the surrounding buildings goes up on three sides with the iron ornamentation of fire escapes and sky-catching windows and the tops of trees visible with the sunlight slanting in, like the most industrially elegant airshaft. Sitting with plenty of space between ourselves and the other diners—who seemed to want the same kind of space—we had a wonderful time. The best thing about the food designed and served by the genius kitchen at SRV is that not only is it decadently delicious, it can be thought about for additional enjoyment, so we marveled over the fluffiness of the slips of fried eggplant and the sheer melting decadence of a duck mousse truffle and the unaltered bar snack perfection of the polpette in red sauce, the carrots of all colors charred savorily on their bed of ricotta and the tuna crudo served under an unsmothering kind of yogurt with tomato gelée, the calamari which were as spicily tender as their pepper-flecked lumache and the fun of serving rustically torn sheets of pasta dressed with the ostentatious velvet of duck. I do not traditionally like martinis, but I ordered theirs because of its additional ingredients and between the kombu-infused vermouth and the sprig of house-brined asparagus skewered like an olive it tasted like the slap of a wave turned into vodka. Rush-That-Speaks chose the Il Mio Bel, an unstickily floral rose-and-violet flip. For dessert they brought us an anniversary semifreddo alongside the peach tart crowned with translucent sunset-colored fins of peach-juice and black sesame and the green drizzle of basil oil which did not jar and we shared their house-made limoncello, which fulfilled its purpose by tasting like twenty tons of citrus-flavored TNT.

Their manager parked the car for us, almost directly in front of the restaurant. Rush had said that in order to find street parking in South Boston, we would need an angel to descend from the heavens with a flaming sword. She had sleeve tattoos and was the owner of the truck we were trying to parallel-park behind. We expressed profound gratitude.

We would have spent more time at Castle Island if I had not managed to leave my credit card at the restaurant, but at least we caught the salt of the air and the crinkle of the half-moon in gold on the black curve of water before we had to retrieve the card, effect a car-swap, and collapse for a couple of hours on my couch before we both ran out of steam. I have a jar of Apicius spice blend which I will need to find a suitably Roman recipe to try out on and Rush has Mei Mei's Double Awesome Chinese Food (2019), which preserves all the recipes from the days before the restaurant became a dumpling factory.

My sea-wedded husband, so many years more.
nineweaving: (Default)

[personal profile] nineweaving 2024-09-11 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
Glorious. Perfect restaurant, perfect weather, perfect song.

Wishing you long years of love.

Nine
thisbluespirit: (Default)

[personal profile] thisbluespirit 2024-09-11 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
Aw, happy anniversary!
asakiyume: created by the ninja girl (Default)

[personal profile] asakiyume 2024-09-11 11:05 am (UTC)(link)
My vocabulary is enriched by the addition of the word "bacaro." Your location and meal sound wonderful (it was the house-brined asparagus that pushed me over to true marveling, but your description of the house-made limoncello too--whoa!), and your dining partner perfect.

Also glad that the restaurant manager was able to double as an angel with a flaming sword ... or perhaps Rush himself managed that role, having been the one to find the parking space, but the restaurant manager clearly was Best Supporting Player.

crinkle of the half-moon in gold on the black curve of water --Beautiful.

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[personal profile] asakiyume - 2024-09-11 15:49 (UTC) - Expand
misbegotten: A skull wearing a crown with text "Uneasy lies the head" (Default)

[personal profile] misbegotten 2024-09-11 01:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary!
thistleingrey: (Default)

[personal profile] thistleingrey 2024-09-11 02:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Felicitations!
mrissa: (Default)

[personal profile] mrissa 2024-09-11 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Delightful, congrats
sartorias: (Default)

[personal profile] sartorias 2024-09-11 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary!!!
ckd: small blue foam shark (Default)

[personal profile] ckd 2024-09-11 03:16 pm (UTC)(link)

How lovely! I'm glad you were able to have such a celebration.

aurumcalendula: gold, blue, orange, and purple shapes on a black background (Default)

[personal profile] aurumcalendula 2024-09-11 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary!
jesse_the_k: colorful squiggles evoke confetti and music (celebration)

Congratulations on 14 years

[personal profile] jesse_the_k 2024-09-11 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)

combined with an outstanding meal, deliciously described. Who needs photos when you can evoke the evening so poetically?

regshoe: Captain Hoseason and Two-Legged Barry from NTS Kidnapped, pointing and grinning at someone out of frame (Hoseason and Barry)

[personal profile] regshoe 2024-09-11 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Congratulations :)
sholio: sun on winter trees (Default)

[personal profile] sholio 2024-09-11 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary and congrats! <3
gwynnega: (Leslie Howard mswyrr)

[personal profile] gwynnega 2024-09-11 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary! I'm glad you were able to have such a wonderful celebration.
landingtree: Small person examining bottlecap (Default)

[personal profile] landingtree 2024-09-11 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
How lovely. Happy anniversary!
selidor: (Default)

[personal profile] selidor 2024-09-12 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Hurrah for outdoor dining at much-loved places. May we all reclaim these small cherished delights with time.
marginaliana: Buddy the dog carries Bobo the toy (Default)

[personal profile] marginaliana 2024-09-12 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary! And also wow, house-brined asparagus sure sounds fascinating. I'll have to try this place.
minoanmiss: sleeping lady sculpture (Sleeping Lady)

[personal profile] minoanmiss 2024-09-12 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
*beams at you both*

You could glance at Tasting History's Roman and Greek recipes section. It's a Youtube channel run by a guy who looks like a slightly plump Captain America.

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[personal profile] minoanmiss - 2024-09-12 16:25 (UTC) - Expand
vr_trakowski: (Default)

[personal profile] vr_trakowski 2024-09-12 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
Felicitations!! Sounds like a near-perfect day.

Your gorgeous description of the restaurant moves me to say that if you ever visit Baltimore, you should have a meal at Gunther & Co. in Brewers Hill. They too have a patio, and a really amazing menu - that's what I kept picturing while I was reading.
pameladean: (Default)

[personal profile] pameladean 2024-09-12 07:33 am (UTC)(link)
I didn't realize that the fourteenth was the angel anniversary!

Many felicitations and many many happy returns.

P.
umadoshi: (riceball love (snowgarden))

[personal profile] umadoshi 2024-09-12 11:26 am (UTC)(link)
Belated happy anniversary! I'm glad you had such a lovely celebration! *hugs*
a_reasonable_man: (Default)

[personal profile] a_reasonable_man 2024-09-12 01:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary!
yarrowkat: original art by Brian Froud (Default)

[personal profile] yarrowkat 2024-09-12 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
wow, that sounds like an amazing meal, and a perfect patio! happy anniversary!
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[personal profile] vass 2024-09-13 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
Happy anniversary! I'm so glad you got to have a good night out.