Shhh, It's a secret!

The Trip Part 4

For the evening out, I selected dark tan khaki pants, a purplish gray polo pullover and brown suede lace up shoes. I intended to wear a tweed blazer over that. Casual dress is my middle name!

I had asked at the front desk of the hotel and they told me that the restaurant was a local institution with excellent food (chop house type) and drinks. They also mentioned that it had a patio on the beach in the back of the restaurant and had recently been remodeled. They also commented that it was a great place for a meal and to spend an evening.

A few minutes after the appointed time (fashionably late), I arrived at the restaurant by cab. Once inside, I could see that it had a large oval bar with stools and booths to one side separated by a wall from a more private dining area to the other side.

I approached the Maitre D’/Reservation podium and mentioned, “Good Evening, I’m here to meet Carole S.” The attractive girl (in her early 20’s) behind the podium gave me a big smile and replied, “Ah, you must be Mr. Kelly, right this way sir!”, and she picked up two menus from a stack under the podium.

“How did she know my name?”, I thought, a little shocked. Then I figured that since she worked in the hotel pool/bar, with a little inquiry she probably had just about everything on me that the hotel did. I’m going to have to keep my wits about me.

The greeter girl escorted me to a corner banquette booth in the darkened dining area. As I sat down I noticed the music playing was a nice, soulful jazz – different than the pop/dance rock coming from the bar/patio area. “Can I get you a drink while your waiting for Carole, Sir?” cooed the greeter. “Certainly, Dewar’s neat – ice water in a separate glass”, I replied. “Very good, sir”, she answered as she backed away.

Alone at the table, I noted the surroundings. Each circular table had fitted white table cloths that just about reached the floor. The tables were set elegantly with folded cloth napkins, silver and crystal. Each table had a foot high wrought iron stand in the middle that held three crystal globe candles at different heights. The tables were also lit by discreet spot lights from the ceiling that just barely covered the tables. There were also electric wall sconces similar to the candle holders on the table but they were decorative and did not add illumination to the scene. The walls were dark cherry wood panels. The center of the room was occupied by a 6 foot diameter hearth, stone base, a metal stove pipe hanging from the ceiling with no support from the floor and a chain mail grate hanging from it around the barely glowing embers in the combustion area.

It appeared that out of the 20 or so tables in the oval shaped room, all but 2 or 3 were occupied with couples and foursomes. As I was surveying the room, a waitress brought my drink to the table as well as a champagne bucket with a chilling bottle of Dom Perignon. “Compliments of the owner” she said. At this point, I am seriously wondering what the deal was about this “waitress” I met at the hotel this afternoon.

To be continued…

posted by section306g @ 10:44 PM