Fathers' Day Dinner

We went out for dinner with our sons yesterday to celebrate Fathers' Day. I don't know about my long-suffering husband, but I had a wonderful time. The restaurant had separate menus for gluten-free and vegetarian that looked just like the real thing--no hastily printed slips of paper photocopied in the back room. My vegetarian son didn't have to search for the ubiquitous "v," or read the small-print for meat, and I didn't have to ask all the boring, and embarrassing, questions about "Please will you check with the chef." What luxury.

Then there was the food. They brought bread and sauces while we waited, and explained straight away that there'd be something for me in a few minutes. I'm not sure exactly what it was--some sort of coated fried vegetable--but it dipped beautifully and tasted just great. They even brought separate sauce for me so we wouldn't have to worry about breadcrumbs. All without my asking! All at no extra charge!

Dinner was delightful, everything beautifully prepared and beautifully presented. Gluten-free sauces for me. Gluten-free crispy coatings. Wow! All the things that I miss. And then when we were nearly stuffed, they brought the dessert menus, including at gluten-free one (they remembered!) that again looked just like the real thing. I couldn't resist the chocolate decadence--such a treat to have a "serious" dessert. So we shared melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake and ice-cream and sauce and crispy corn, and everyone wished gluten-free tasted half so good at home.

Ah yes. This was my best Fathers' Day ever! And my husband seemed to enjoy it too, which is good. Thank you Andina, in Portland Oregon.