mood with the kew two

are you surprised to find a photo of another food item here? no?

i didn't think so.

so, let me tell you a tale about where i got this little nugget of chilean bliss.

you know as much as the next person how much i enjoy hanging out with couples...and, no, i have no idea why...

well, it had always been jolissa (melissa & joel), but now we have another couple on the roster.

joellen and mike...i've been thinking of ways to combine their names correctly, but it doesn't seem to be working out so well...so far i have millen and joke...both of which don't exactly work. agreed?

until i come up with a good combination, i'll just call them the kew two...as they live in kew gardens and were gracious enough to show me the scene last night.

after a long and arduous work day, we headed back to jo's place where, upon arrival, i found a beautiful apartment big enough to prance around and run in (which i did with much vigor). truly amazing. i flopped around on the big couch like a dying fish, admired all the photographs and little touches of coziness, tried to count mike's guitars (i failed...i think he said 13?) and felt a wave of well-being wash over me like a breeze made of a million blankets. i believe comfort is the word that comes to mind.

then it was off to mood. a lovely little eatery with an eclectic crowd of neighborhood regulars...seriously, it was like cheers. everyone knew each others' names and everyone was ridiculously friendly...but only if you could handle the exchange of witty dialogue. if you're not fast with your comebacks and have a thin-skin, you best hide in the back and try not to make friends. they're a fast-talkin' people that are as sharp as knives...well, until everyone has had a few drinks in them...then it's a whole lot of hugs, laughter and general cheer.

see that? cheer...like cheers?

you like how i brought that one back around?

aaaaanyway...

it happened to be a beautiful, balmy spring evening that felt like summer (it was 88 degrees that day!), so we opted for a table outside on the sidewalk and enjoyed some tasty wonders. i had the pan roasted sea bass on a bed of fennel mashed potatoes & zucchini compote. it was scrumptious. joellen had the hanger steak and mike had the sirloin, i believe.

forgive me for not having photos of their food. i thought i had taken the photos correctly, but it turned out that they were blurry and wouldn't do the dishes any justice.

throughout the night, i was introduced to the "regulars"...

• martin: the chef...entertains with an unending stream of filthy jokes in his charming irish accent. this coupled with his generosity (thanks for re-packaging our leftovers after you stepped on them by mistake...very chivalrous) and brotherly love for jo convinced me that he was a good one to have on your side.

• mo: the bartender & owner...likes shaking jo's chair, enjoys stretching his legs, and has the general vibe of calm & composure.

• leigh: sweet, sprightly and smiling...seems to be all heart.

• tara: the hard-chargin' waitress...keeps the sleaze at bay, keep the patrons happy and has a tongue that could lash a million jerks in an instant. if i was the general of a war, i would want her as my commanding officer.

• chris: the eccentric & witty numbers guy and bassist...likes devious behavior and has a news-anchor-like poise when discussing the disasters of modern social behavior. doesn't like cooking. enjoys modern technology...notably the microwave.

• sal: seems to think that all japanese people do is eat sushi, tells me the best sushi restaurant is in howard beach, offends me by initially talking to me in chinese and then pretends to get a phone call when i tell him that just because baseball players go to a sushi restaurant does not mean it's the best. is probably a good guy who made a bad impression.

• westside: likes to call everyone mo. owes lots of taxes and likes to jokingly complain about his wife.

• creepy pilot: nuff said...he was a creepy pilot. please don't tell me to be a good girl and stop staring at my legs...and don't chime in on the sushi conversation...you're just making it worse.

• singing sassy girls: the disasters of modern social behavior mentioned earlier in the form of dancing at the bar of a restaurant with no dance floor, singing to shania twain and getting sloppy drunk. in other words, a crowd that i wish would get caught in the rain...if the raindrops were made of knives...and the knives were on fire.

what can i say? it was an eventful night.

yes, i felt completely burnt out by the time we got back to the apartment. poor mike had to get up early the next morning, so he crashed right after getting back. jo & i? yeah, we ended up sitting in the living room and chatting till 1am.

by the end of it all, we were both completely zoning out on the walls, and exchanging fleeting words. i'm fairly certain by the last few minutes, we weren't speaking at all...just yawning at each other back and forth. needless to say, it was time for bed and i blacked out within minutes. (did i mention they have this amazing fan in the living room that mimics natural breezes?...no? well, they have one and it's the most amazing thing EVER.)

i guess that's what happens when you have fun. (you black out.)

a big thanks to the kew two for being such gracious hosts. <3