He Said, She Said

Last night, E and I decided to go out. I am officially only behind in 2 classes, which seemed like something to celebrate. Either that, or the fact that it was Thursday, or, maybe that I just didn't want to cook.

I threw out all of our usual suspect restaurants, but kind of wanted to branch out and try something we don't go to very often. I suggested an old Sunnyvale favorite but E didn't want to drive that far. So, I suggested a new local vietnamese fusion joint that we'd gone to with friends a few weeks prior. I thought that we had loved it.

Turns out, it was just me. I loved it. I even took my bridesmaids there on our day-before-the-wedding thank you lunch. They loved it too (or so I thought). The restaurant seems to be quite a success -- they hit the right price point, the quality of the food is excellent, and the theme is unlike anything else in the area, which makes it your only option for healthy, well-done, vietnamese fusion.

But E didn't want to go there. In fact, he made a face. I was confused.


BT: Didn't you love the food?
E: It was all right.
BT: But, weren't those huge fighting prawns cool?
E: Yeah, they were okay.
BT: And your shaking beef, made from filet mignon, how could you not love it? It was delicious.
E: Dude. You guys were the ones who loved that place. It was too hip.
BT: What?
E: You know. The lighting. The ambiance. The crowd. I didn't like it.
BT: Oh.


So, we ended up at a local Pizza joint we'd never tried.


BT: Is this better?
E: Yeah. They almost got it right. Cheap beer, there's a bar, it's kind of loud, smells like pizza.
BT: [laugh] There needs to be a bar for you to enjoy a pizza joint? They can't just serve drinks?
E: Yeah, that's why I didn't want to go to Pizza Chicago.
BT: [laugh] I had no idea. [Thinking to self: We're not even sitting at the bar, why does it matter if they have one?]
E: This place is pretty good though. They've almost got it right. The fixtures are too shiny, but the menu, ambiance, and crowd is right on.
BT: Actually, I do like this place, it's pretty cool.
E: Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed in us that we've never been here. It's not quite up to the standard of The Front Room, but it's close.


We had a delicious dinner of calzones (calzone caliente is *highly* recommended). And, as we enjoyed our dinner, we ran into not 1, not 2, but 4 of my former work colleagues at the pizza joint. I guess E's taste is shared by many people. Silly me, always focused on just the food and drink (ambiance, outside of good service and cleanliness, does very little either positive or negative for my dining experience). Who knew that people selected restaurants on the basis of things like lighting, fixtures, and the existence of a bar? Learn something new every day.