Tamara’s birthday at Victoria's

Victoria hosted a wonderful birthday party for Tamara. I went there with Katie, who drove. Very exotic to drive around Northern Manhattan. Especially up to 181st St and Broadway. I walked up Broadway once, but it’s still a foreign land. Washington Heights: Big apartment buildings. Hills (gosh, do we turn our wheels?). And lots of Dominicans. And when you go that far up North, you realize just how not-to-scale that subway map is.

The food was great. The highlight being a beautiful honey-roasted ham. I love a good ham. But with so much bad ham out there, like every sliced deli ham in the world, it’s a treat to eat a good one. The beef was likewise exceptional. Potatoes garlicky. And a very nice spread of cheese and crackers.

It was also nice to be at a party with good food and have no part in it. I could wear a nice shirt, keep it clean, and sit and chat like you're supposed to do but I never do at parties. I didn't setup, cook, serve, help, or wash a single dish. Ha! (but thanks to those who did.)

Paul brought his wonderful home-brewed double bock. But in a small keg with a CO2 delivery system. A keg party, but claaaas-see! Usually I think that beer… like bread, and ice cream, and pizza, and cheese, and smoked meats… well, all these things are best left to professionals with proper supplies, equipment, and knowledge. You can try it at home. But it’s never as good. Home-brew beer is usually good if it’s simply not bad. But Paul’s beer is actually great. And I’m glad he brought it. I love it. Between that and vodka gimlets and all the food, I was a happy eater and drinker.

We even managed a quick four-way of cribbage. Some consider it a-social to play cards at a party. But is sitting in a corner talking to the friend you're most comfortable with really any better? And once the cribbage board comes out, somebody you never suspect goes, "Cribbage?!" So it actaully was social because I got to meet George. Paul plays too, but didn't. George and Katie beat me and Aaron. Bastards.

Cribbage has no geographic heart or social or ethnic nitch, best I can tell. But it seems to be more popular with people from the Midwest and Northeast. I expected Baltimore to be a big cribbage town, but it isn't. About 1 out out of every 30 people seems to know the game. And they're all different types. Perhaps nobody will be as interesting as the guy at the Abbey Lounge in Sommerville, Mass, who saw the board and said, "Cribbage?! I played a lot of cribbage! ...in the joint." Turnes out the prongs from a spork make nice pegs while the back of a flip flop can provide the board. Seems the only prison rule was that everytime a queen was turned on the cut, you had to say, "bitches."

Nicole











This is Tamara putting on her best it's-my-birthday-and-I'm-cute-and-innocent face. Yeah, right.





kitchen scene


Nicole and Aaron


birthday girl











The spread





ham


beef


Victoria was nice enough to make me a little extra icing. Because last time I liked is so much that I brought I bag of pink icing home and proceeded to eat it slowly for the next six months. I think it's just Betty Crocker with food coloring and maraschino cherries. But I like Betty Crocker icing and maraschino cherries!

The Barbie Cake.



And then they started doing nasty things to Barbie and Ken. Should anybody really be surprised?


ride him, cowgirl!





a little adjusting


did they really have to start with the brownie-inspired scat?





Explain it to him, Nicole.











oh, that Katie





throughout, Barbie never let go of her handbag!