friendly elk, you are so yummy

friendly elk
Originally uploaded by in touch

Last night was DTS night. Dinner, theatre and sex night for those that don't exist in my bubble. My husband and I received tickets to the musical WICKED for Christmas from my brother. It was a very thoughtful present. I do love the theatre. And for an extra treat I made reservations at The Gage on Michigan Avenue for dinner. We've eaten there for lunch but dinner there is a whole other ball of wax. A very tasty, exquisite ball of wax. We got a corner booth in the side room. It feels completely removed form the rest of the bar which I must say is a good thing. When we walked up front after dinner I was floored by the difference between the two spaces. There seemed to be an acoustical wall. Ben and I dined. It wasn't just a meal before heading out. It was full on dining. The sommelier came over and gave us wine advice which we ignored as we weren't in the mood for white wine but went instead with a very earthy old world Pinot Noir which balanced both the seafood we ate and the elk. Yes, I had a roast saddle of elk with a blueberry reduction sauce and whipped mashed potatoes. We started with oysters on a bed of salt; which I've never eaten before. I am a fan and very good at slurping them. I had a lovely crisp potato salad and Ben had a lobster. It was a little chewy but it was supposed to be caramelized so there you have it. I did like the clam meat though. Everything we had was mouth tantalizingly delicious; I can't complain. For his fourth Ben had the Hawaiian big eyed tuna, seared lightly and it melted like fresh Irish butter on the tongue. Then the desserts. We were stuffed but no one can turn down Chocolate torte with stout creme fraiche and souffle tart with pistachio gelato. Then the theatre. I can say I was entertained by the musical. But I can't say I enjoyed it. Trite, distilled and ending happily it made my stomach churn with syrupy sweetness. I loved the book (one of my favorites) and I have followed this musical since it opened on Broadway. It does not do justice to the story of the Wicked Witch. Plus Ben sat behind the guy who brought his girlfriend only to get laid. That guy fidgeted the whole time. Ben saw a lot of the back of his head. By the time we got home and got into bed it was way too late for the fun part of the evening as we both work on Sundays. (Hooray for the six day work week!) I still wouldn't have changed anything about the night, especially the company. It was worth every last red cent.