Ten Foot Henry

It's not very often I get to go out with two people I really like, and go to a fabulous restaurant at the same time, plus have them treat me! I managed the trifecta last night, great company, great food, and, well, they paid. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, this is a pretty big deal for me, especially when it all comes together. I don't get out much anymore, and I certainly can't afford the kinds of meals I could at one time in my life.

Todd and Jessica took me out last night. I've known Jessica since I came to Calgary. She was one of the original group of trivia players who ultimately evolved into "the gang". She is a terrific girl, smiling, sensuous, walks like a dancer. She has a terrific sense of humour, one that matches mine almost word for word. My favourite from her was about my Belle Fleur china set. I am quite proud of it. I like it. We were talking about it one day and I told her, again proud of myself, that I picked it out back before I got married. Her response was. "So you had bad taste back then too." Ouch. Funny, but ouch.

Todd is equally funny. I can remember her talking about him when they first met at a board games night, and about her first day skiing with him. She said, even then, that this one had potential. I soon learned why. Todd has a great sense of humour too, plus he can cook. Man can he cook. However he is judicious with this skill. As Jess said last night, "When we go out and Tod says he can make this at home, I know the food is okay. But when he says he won't even try to make this at home, it's because he loves the food and wants to come back here to have them make it for him."

Between the two of them, dinner is always delightful, whether in their home, or, as last night, in a local restaurant. I need to stop for a minute and say something about the restaurant. It's called "Ten Foot Henry", based on the Henry comic character created by Carl Anderson. One day, back in 1981, a local artist did a 10 foot cut out cartoon of Henry on plywood. It's been a fixture in the Calgary scene ever since then. The proprietor of this restaurant has the cut-out, and named the restaurant after it.

The restaurant itself is very different. You don't order a meal; everything is based on share plates. You order the stuff you want to share as a meal, and there are some terrific choices. Now, I don't want to upset the planetary rotation or anything, but last night I tried their Roasted Carrots, and just about stole the whole plate from Todd and Jess.

I couldn't stop raving about them all night long. The chef roasted these large carrot chunks to perfection, served them over some sort of avocado puree, and lightly topped it with a walnut cream sauce. Perfection! Then we had the beef, which was amazing, the pasta, the chicken and the asparagus. Oh, and butterscotch pudding for dessert. All plates had enough for four. I ate some of everything, and lots of the carrots.

As you can see, I had a great dinner and wonderful time out last night. I am lucky to have friends who will do this for me, and with me. Todd is a lucky man, and Jessica is lucky too. They found each other, and they took me to dinner. Not bad.