A Rockin' Good Time
Last night may have been one of the best Monday nights I've had in a LONG time. I am paying for it today, though, I can barely keep my eyes open.

Mike and I started out the evening with dinner at LaScala. He and I e-mailed back and forth almost all day on Friday trying to find a restaurant we both liked, that was open, and that was afordable. I had some pricey options on my list. After hours of scouring the internet for restaurants, we found this one. He and I both studied the menu and knew what we wanted. Well, maybe Mike knew and I had narrowed it down to about a half dozen. I was hoping something on the "specials" list would appeal to me - and it did! We had two appetizers since we couldn't agree on one. Mike ordered the "Brocolli Rabe, Sweet Italian Sausage & Polenta". I had brocolli rabe once and didn't like it. So, I ordered the calamari.

For the main course he ordered the Linguine Fra Diavolo. Now, I enjoy a good seafood fra diavolo. In fact, one restaurant we both loved (but was closed) had a lobster fra diavolo which we both wanted. I was made fun of for even considering this one - it had clams and mussels on it. He kept picking on me because he thought it would be silly to order a dish when I don't like 2/5 of the ingredients. Okay, he's right. And, when his dinner came out, I saw nothing but shells. Once unburied, I did sample it - VERY tasty! I selected the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese off of the specials menu. Wow! It was so good. There was TONS of lobster dripping with cheese and butter - yes, a heartattack on a platter. I couldn't begin to finish. I really wanted to try the Pumpkin Tiramasu for dessert, but we were stuffed and had to get to the concert.

The best part? There was free parking in the attached garage! Convenient! Oh, and dinner was very reasonable. We had four drinks, two appetizers, and two entrees and the dinner (including tip) was under $100! And, we certainly weren't ordering the cheapest things on the menu!

So, next stop was the Tin Angel for the concert. We were early, so we sat at the bar and had drinks. Yes, if you're counting, we're up to three each. I had a tasty glass of some kind of Shiraz. It was Australian and from the region I visited a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it online. It was called Box Head or Ox Head Shiraz. It was a Cab/Shiraz blend from Southeast Australia.

The concert was upstairs. The room was tiny, but intimate. It was really cool. It was a long, narrow room. There were bar stools that lined one wall (that's where we sat) and room for two tables that sat four people each across. There was a bar in the back. To get to the restrooms, you pretty much had to risk your life or be patient. Why? The band had six people on a stage that should have held two or three. So, one of the guitar players kind of stretched out to the hallway leading back to the bathrooms. So, you had to either duck under his bobbing guitar or wait for a break! The crowd was an interesting mix of people. Most were probably in their thirties and fourties. I even saw some who were probably in their sixties. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and am really looking forward to hearing them again in about three weeks. Somehow I doubt I'll enjoy the music on Thursday as much as I enjoyed hearing Marah last night, but I'm going to stay open-minded.