And I knew as soon as I typed the "gas" comment that there would be consequences.
We are nothing if not predictable.
I am glad that they have it as an option, mostly because I completely lucked out and was 2 for 2 making those reservations for the CT. I don't know if I would even like the dining room, especially if I sit under the Eavesdropping Rotunda I've read about in other reports. Hmm, maybe it would be more fun, actually, especially if it was juicy gossip. The downside is that the other table could hear me just as easily.
I like that V&A offers that flexibility - I think some time in the future I'd like to eat in the dining room again while still gorging on the CT menu. You kind of get the best of both worlds, even if you do have to forgo that escort to the bathroom.
Was Krusty dressed like one of those Emmett Kelly hobo clowns in that vision, by any chance? Heheh.
No...I pictured Krusty in all his Simpsons Techni-Color glory right in the middle of the GF staircase... he was smoking, too!
Ooh, you totally plussed my visual with that caviar tin! I didn't have any havoc with caviar in my visual. How about making his dining companion his wife, utterly horrified by the turn of events, fainting delicately into her chair?
I like that... but I think that either her champagne flute should empty on her dress or the caviar garnishments should end up stuck in her ample cleavage.
I wonder how difficult it really is to make their version. My version wasn't that difficult to make.
Maybe not as difficult as they'd like us to believe. Part of our problem is that we don't have a very good food processer - we end up pureeing in the blender. That really isn't very effective.
Say what??? There is nothing bleeeeeecccccch about you B. You both looked stunning!

And shouldn't that be: One-Legged-Bewb-Flashin-For-Freebies-Brown-Juggin'-Spoon-Slapping-Brenda-No-Pants??
Thanks Nancy - you're always nicer to me than I deserve.

And I only play the jug - it was AFEG who claimed to be the spoon slapper.
Anyone else want to join my hillbilly band? I need someone to play the washboard and someone who can sing... because I can't.
Great update Brenda, but I do detect a slight variation of the picture you posted of you and Jason before dinner and the one on the KK thread of the two of you after the dinner.
Thanks again for reading. And you're not supposed to mention a picture that everyone else hasn't seen yet! You'll ruin the fun!
Did You Just Say We Spent This Month's Mortgage Payment on Dinner???
You ain't kiddin'! But, it's so worth it.
Isn't it though?
Well, so far, so good!

You had me drooling at
Roasted Butternut Cream Soup.
I would kill for this soup. We had it at our CT in 2004 and were hoping to get it again last time. When it didn't appear on our Amuse Bouche plate, we were so upset! But, the little quail egg w/caviar was good.
I am right there with you Michelle - maybe if we ever make it to Disney at the same time you and I can go on some sort of dining rampage in seach of this soup because it was that good.
And I liked that quail egg / caviar combo just fine... I'll take another dozen of those to "go."
By the way, you look mah-velous, darling! Stop beating yourself up. I really like your hair down. (I understand why you wear it up so much. It has to be a very special occasion for me to wear mine down and curled.)
MORE, please! (and where's Jay's side of the report?!)
Happy 4th! I hope you're having a great day off! Now, get back to writing!
-Michelle
Thanks for the compliment and I'm glad you're enjoying the CT so far. Jay drank too much Sangria last night and crashed before I was finished - since we both had the same Amuse Bouche I just did that segment by myself. He will be making his voice heard with the next 10 courses or so.
Happy 4th to you and yours as well!
Brenda,
PLEASE don't be so hard on yourself! You look beautiful! I LOVE your hair down. It frames your face very nicely. Love the dress, too. Believe me, I KNOW from arm flab and crazy hair, and YOU don't got it!!!!
Well thank you very much - you're very kind.

I'm beginning to think I need to take part in one of Stuart Smalley's twelve-step programs.
DH and I will probably never get to V&A, much less the Chef's Table, so just sitting here wishing and dreaming about it!!
Can't wait to read Part II!!
BTW, were you guys at the Chef's Table yourselves or were there other people joining you? Just curious.
Take care,
Mary Beth
Never say never, Mary Beth! It took us three years of planning and saving coupled with a solemn agreement on my part to at least be willing to broaden my food horizons and try everything that was put in front of me.
We had the table to ourselves. There is only one reservation and if you get it you can make it for anywhere between 2 and 12 guests, but once it's gone it's gone. So if another couple called right after me for 5/29 they were outta luck because I'd already booked it for my party of two. Did that make any sense at all?
Love Part I!!! I, too, have one of those husbands that will NEVER go to V&A because of several reasons:
1. Too many foods he won't eat.
2. Too much money involved with things he might not like....
I am now looking for someone to eat there with sometime.... maybe there is a millionaire somewhere who wants to give a poor, starving schoolmarm a good meal somewhere...
You know...I'm just going to throw this out for consideration, but Jay and I would be perfectly willing to act as supplemental dinnner guests at V&A for anyone who might need them. We'll even brush up on our "funny" in an effort to make the evening more enjoyable and less awkward for you!
Of course, we'd have to work out the financial details because we're not wealthy and we don't live in Florida and our vacation time is limited and ... maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.
And I LOVE the dress and the hair looks great! You look perfect in the south dahling.....we love big hair down here!
Look forward to Part II! Have a happy fourth and don't shoot off anything important!
Thanks June... I'll keep the huge hair in mind if Jay ever gets that transfer to Deerfield or Jacksonville.
Thanks again for reading and Happy 4th to you and yours as well. We're avoiding all explosive devices this year...it's no fun celebrating the 4th when you have to get up a 5AM the next morning to go back to work.
HOLY CANNOLI!!! You JUST posted your Chef's Table review and there are already 84 THOUNSAND responses from readers and responses to responses from you!!! Y'all are on hyper typer mode!!!
This is what happens when I have a day off during the week and no household chores staring insolently at me from the doorway of our little computer room.
Okay first: You look right perty in that black dress! Your Jason looks very dashing and together...let's just say *POW* y'all look good...
Awww, thank you very much.
I'm not a fancy shmancy food person. I'm allergic to everything...okay well, shellfish...any fish really...walnuts...any kind of squash(weird one I know) and guinea pigs...I've never actually eaten a guinea pig but cuddling up to them=eyes sealed shut and looking like battered wife in desperate need of asthma treatment! Wait...what was I talking about? OH yeah...food. It looks fabulous!! I think it's great that you are able to be so adventurous with your eating. A friend of mine in college had Crohn's disease and she literally lived on potato buds and sugar free jello...she was pretty much terrified of having an "attack" as she called them and I don't blame her one bit...but it led me to believe that when you have Crohn's you can't eat anything fun! You have disproven that theory!!
Poor you - so many allergies! How do you deal with those when dining out (aside from the Epi pen I assume you carry at all times) ?
And you had me there for a moment with the guinea pig... It's not funny that you're allegeric but I was going to ask why in the name of all that is small and furry you were eating them.
I feel terrible for your College friend - I do understand where she was probably coming from. When my last "bad" episode spit me back out of the hospital it took me a long time to work my way back into a lot of food. I was scared to death to eat anything other than yogurt and soup and scrambled eggs. Five years, lots of pills, and 20 pounds later I have almost no fear of food...until my intestines decide to explode.
I LOVE the idea of the salt plate with the tuna. Tuna is the only fish I can eat. It sounds fab!!!
I'm so excited for the rest of your review!!!
Thanks for reading! I could have done with a little less salt to be honest, but the presentation and the overall flavor of the tuna itself were great.
Hope y'all are having a happy 4th...kids are with their mom...puppy is snoring in my lap and my Jason is upstairs painting the bedroom (I'm not "allowed" to help b/c he's a perfectionist and it drives me nuts...so I disallowed my helpage!)

Yup! we sure know how to have a rockin 4th of July!!!
k...more Chef's Table please!!!
Our 4th has been marked by gardening, powering washing the siding on our house, scrubbing the tarnish off some silverplate, working out, and stuffing our faces with crablegs for dinner. I think we may have tied you for "rocking-est" Jult 4th couple.
Wow, I just finished Part I of your CT review. BTW, we didn't get to go camping. Ever had a corneal ulcer? Not fun! I'm on steriod drops and have to be seen every 3 days by the eye doctor until it heals...
Oh Denise, I'm so sorry to hear that you weren't able to go. How in the world did you end up with a corneal ulcer? I do hope it heals quickly and you start to feel better soon.
Anyway, you two looked amazing all dressed up! I love your hair down, and Jay looks very handsome. I'm too chicken to try much of the food you've shown so far, but I love reading about it and seeing the pictures. I'm so glad you guys got to celebrate your anniversary by going there!
Can't wait for more!
Denise
Thank you very much for the kind words and for reading - especially when your eyeballs are not behaving. Plenty of pictures to come, oh my yes!
Holy Crap! I went on vacation and came back to 20 pages! I started makeing notes of things to comment on, and then I gave up because you're just to darn funny! Altho I do need to thank Joh for the walk the dinasour song that is now going thru my head...........
You may now commense with the hilarity!
Winkers!! I thought maybe I'd written something offensive that had driven you away forever (it does happen, I'm sure of it!). So glad to see you are back but... didn't you just come back from a different vacation? I want to join your world!
Anyhoo, thanks for continuing to read - it's good to know you're still enjoying the fun. Hilarity...us? How kind you are!