Angel’s East Café – March 2020 (dt)
or
DP(8)4x2 CVTO Monday
6.87 – 7.2, 7, 7, 7, 7, 6.25, 6
With credit to Gabriel García Márquez who wrote Love in the
Time of Cholera, we “celebrated” Dinner Party of Eight
in the Grip of Pandemic. Throw in six inches of snow a couple
hours ahead of normal order time and we should take a big dose of
pride for pulling this one off.
Coronavirus has certainly changed the landscape, with NYS
restaurants all closed! Whaaaa…!? So, the great minds who
organize this wonderful group, started with the following
suggestions for March:
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What a challenging month! No open restaurants! Never dun seen
such a thing in my life!
Well, the question is – are we still up
for CVTO Monday DP8 208 (CoronaVirusTakeOut)?
Let’s meet at the Teator house 5:30, or
shortly thereafter, look at the menu (attached, from Angel’s
East Café, East Durham, for easy ride, and one of the few open),
order for pick-up to eat around 6:30.
We have basic appetizers. And I have wine
and some beer. If anything else is desired or you want to add
something, feel free to bring.
Deb K will bring dessert.
Who would ever have imagined an invitation like this?!
If I forgot anything, let me know.
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Well, the following day, the hearts that liked the idea were
overruled by the brains that said we should stay safe.
Thus, two more changes. We would each take-out on our own, eat at
home, and rate the experience (thus the 4x2, not 8). Second, Chay
and Deb delivered a plate of macarons for dessert in the
mid-afternoon.
And to add to the excitement, it started snowing lightly at 9
a.m., followed by a heavy two inch squall at 3 p.m., with a
forecast of 3-5 inches. My ride to Angel’s was one of the five
worst weather conditions I have ridden in ten years. (That is not
a tough list since I have been retired for ten years and do not
have to drive in poor conditions unless I have to. I had to this
evening! For DP8!) (See the other stories later.)
Yes, we done it.
Angel’s in East Durham was our take-out spot, with a menu of
Mexican and Italian, with a few comfort classics thrown in. Angel’s
would not be a normal choice because of DP8 Rule #1 (there are
seven): The establishment must have a liquor license, or some
other satisfactory arrangement made. Orders this evening
included:
the Karneses (share)
the Teators
the Notarnicolas
the Quinns
All deemed the take-out good, consistent with several of us
ordering there normally.
Dessert had to be the highlight, with 8s thrown around. Thank
you, Deb K, for the plate of ten macarons, and, Chay, for riding
shotgun to make sure they arrived in good shape! See photo. Pink
macarons had a raspberry cream cheese buttercream filling while
the chocolate were filled with dark chocolate ganache. Delicious,
and puffy, and soft, and sweet, and amazing – a dessert we
rarely see. A one-of-a-kind that was in keeping with the unusual
evening.
A score, although semi-irrelevant with the unique circumstances,
came several clicks under a 7. And a ninth person’s score was
included.
Ambiance: I hope the ambiance of your kitchen, den, living room,
porch(?) was pleasantly satisfying. It was all yours.
Service: I hope the service for your dining was worthy of all you
hospitable hosts.
Price was appropriate for take-out and a lot less than a usual
DP8 night. Prices averaged about $25 per couple, with at least
one couple including a daughter and one couple leaving a generous
tip.
Thus wrapped up an unusual DP8 date, one that easily could have
been canceled but, to paraphrase Mitch McConnell, we persisted.
Let’s hope that April is kinder – a Notar pick. I hope we are
back to normal by then although everything we hear says to be
ready.
Our usual news, gossip, and topics of discussion, of course, fell
victim to the plague.
Good going, DP8, for going with the flow.
Other stories:
Kerry: My day started off with a root canal in one of the few
dentist offices still open in the state. After that lovely
procedure I learned that we would receive a slight snowfall
later in the day. That snowfall coincided with my drive to East
Durham to pick up our food. Nothing like driving on Route 145 in
a chain of nine cars with a top speed a robust 30 mph. After the
food pick up I attempted to drive to the Karnes but was blocked
by a tractor trailer that was stuck trying to cross the bridge
that crosses the Catskill Creek. After going back and forth
several times the truck finally was able to proceed and I drove
on only to be surprised by Debbie who I met at the foot of Pine
Meadow Road. She dropped off her dessert and I was then on my way
home…… Our dinner conversation focused on the
weather. Eileen got stuck leaving work on 787 and was rescued by
a state trooper. That story took up most of our meal time…. It
was nice supporting a local business at this time. The owner
was most appreciative.
Joyce: We also picked our food up early
because of the snow and just reheated half of each entree later,
saving the rest for another night. We treated ourselves to our
last bottle of wine that we had brought back from Italy - a
Brunello which was quite delicious…. It was definitely the
right move to support local... he thanked us for our support
both over the phone and in person…. We ate in the dining room
on the good china, asked Alexa to play dinner music (she chose
jazz) and enjoyed our dinner but certainly missed the
companionship and conversations of our friends!.... Here's
hoping we can dine together in April!
Deb K: We ate and drank to the movie On
the Basis of Sex which we missed when it was in the
theatre. Liked the movie o.k. but glad we got to see it for
free as opposed to paying to see it.