Basil Leaf

Since I'm a single mom and (virtually) never have a break, I've declared it Mothers Week.  I deserve more than one day, right?

It was a beautiful afternoon.  Driving home from work, I realized I didn't really want to go home to the mess/bickering/noise that exists at my place.  Instead I ventured to 4th Street and wound up at Basil Leaf.  Since it was early, I was the only customer outside, picked a seat in the sun, cranked up the music on my iPhone, and ordered a glass of wine.  Nice.  Flipping through the menu trying to decide what to order, I saw the signature dish and ordered it.  If the restaurant is named after it, surely it's good. 

The waitress brought a bowl of miso soup.  It was a lukewarm broth with a couple chunks of tofu, green onion, and basil thrown in.  It was ok.  By the time my meal arrived, there were other patrons so I had to turn down the Aretha.  Sigh.  The Basil Leaf appeared to be a stir fry of chicken, green beans, carrots, .. next to a dome of rice.  They seasoned it the way my kids would -- with tons of soy sauce.  It was so incredibly salty that I had to make a big decision - do I order the second glass of wine even though I'm in an outdoor cafe and there's a cop car parked 40' away?  Uh, yes.  Surely I'm still legal to drive, right?

I love the patio.  The wine was good (I had Malbec).  The food, not so much.  I like to be able to taste something besides soy sauce.

I continued the evening with a mall massage.  Ahhhhh.  I should do this every day!