Dave and I were finally able to have my slightly delayed birthday dinner last night at La Dame de Pic, a French restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel near the Tower of London. (It was supposed to be last week but we had to postpone because of Dave's strep throat.)
I took some photos, but unfortunately none of the food because I was busy eating! That's the domed ceiling of the hotel bar above, where we had a drink before our meal.
The rose on our table looked a little tired. Some of the dishes were better than others, but I particularly enjoyed a langoustine course and the main, which for us was venison. (Or "fallow deer," as it was called on the menu. As I said to Dave, "Why don't they call the veal 'baby cow'?")
We also had wine pairings, and I am moving a bit slowly this morning.
It's an unusual space -- tiles and hard surfaces predominate.
My special birthday pastry!
We checked in on Olga during the meal via "dog cam." She was awake on the couch awaiting our return. (That's a maidenhair fern hanging over the table in the foreground. The picture is taken with infrared light, I believe, so there's no flash but there is a click, which she probably heard.)
Anyway, it was a fun evening but now I'm going back to bed.
Good that you finally got your birthday treat. It looks like a big place? I wonder how much " fallow deer" they manage to sell? I think that" venison " sounds better!
ReplyDeleteOoh, that special birthday dessert. Was it as delicious as it was beautiful?
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting which words are used in English.
ReplyDeleteFrench, for when you are eating it...Mouton. Boeuf et cetera
Anglo Saxon when it is alive!!
A fallow deer is a breed of deer, smallish. If it was referring to a baby it would be a fawn.
ReplyDeleteUltimately it sounds like you had a good belated birthday dinner out, while keeping an unnecessary eye on Olga.
ReplyDeleteThat ceiling is fabulous! I'm trying to get a handle on what your birthday pastry actually IS, apart from gorgeous, of which there is no doubt! I love that you have an Olga-cam!
ReplyDeleteWell, next time you come to Lloyd I'll make you some fallow deer. Or at least venison. If you want. We tend to have lots of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you did celebrate your birthday, albeit late. That's sort of nice though, because you got to stretch out the celebration!
Looks very fancy! Glad you enjoyed it and that Dave has gotten over his strep throat.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your dinner went well. It sounds very fancy. Yiu didn't mention what the drinks were before though. Something with little umbrellas? Or maybe olives.
ReplyDeleteOoo, fancy meal. And what the heck was that pastry? What were all those round things?
ReplyDeleteThe Happy Birthday dessert!! Is it melon balls! Festive and very happy I would say. Recover well, in bed, Sunday morning , coming down.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lovely birthday dinner celebration. Interesting pastry for dessert too.
ReplyDeleteProlonged birthday celebrations are the best - although may be not for the reason yours was prolonged. Rachel is right - fallow deer are a species of deer that are smaller than the white-tailed deer we are familiar with in the US. Not small because they are young.
ReplyDeleteThose Eyes!!! Love It - More Olga Girl Captures Please
ReplyDeleteCheers
LOL. That last picture! Oh my gosh, it looks like your house is haunted!
ReplyDeleteI love the first picture too. Very posh place. We eat a lot of venison in this house. Perhaps I will begin to call it 'fallow deer'. It sounds much more posh.
A good way to treat yourself.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I burst out laughing when I got to the photo of Olga! I love glowing dog eyes!
ReplyDeleteThe dessert looks beautiful. I hope it was tasty, too!
Your birthday dinner sounds like a memorable event. That birthday pastry looks pretty special. Love the spooky photo of Olga waiting patiently for your return.
ReplyDeleteLove the birthday pastry - it's lovely.
ReplyDeleteWine pairings, moving slowly and back to bed. Sounds like a wonderful evening! That dessert could trigger my trypophobia but it looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteThat birthday pastry looks totally exotic! And Olga totally attentive. Hope you had a good birthday, no matter when it was celebrated, Steve.
ReplyDeleteIs that a little pastry basket of marzipan fruits? It's so pretty! Your dinner sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteFrances: It was big, with VERY high ceilings. Kind of a weird space.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Like many French pastries, it was prettier than it was tasty -- but it wasn't bad.
GZ: Exactly!
Rachel: Oh, I know. I meant that "fallow deer," like "baby cow," is usually used to refer to the animal, but not the meat.
Andrew: We're always curious what Olga does all day while we're gone. So the camera has been handy for that! (Answer: she sleeps.)
Jeanie: It was melon balls and other fruit with globes of something like tapioca.
Ms Moon: Dave's family is big on venison, too. It was kind of unusual to find it on a restaurant menu.
Ellen D: It was quite fancy! I avoided wearing a tie, though, for which I'm always thankful.
Boud: Mine had olives. I always go for olives. :)
Ellen: Mostly melon balls!
Linda Sue: And that was my SECOND dessert. I also got one with my dinner menu!
Robin: It was quite lovely.
Wilma: Yes, I didn't mean to imply that fallow deer were baby deer. I just meant that's what you call the animal, as you would call the animal that produces veal a baby cow. (If that makes sense.)
Padre: I will try to post some more Olga-cam photos! Usually they're really boring -- just pictures of her sleeping.
Debby: I'm laughing at your "haunted" comment. She does look possessed, doesn't she?! LOL
Red: It was a fun evening out.
Kelly: It was tasty, but better to look at!
Sharon: It's funny how everyone finds it spooky. I didn't take it that way but now that it's been said I definitely see it.
Allison: It WAS pretty! Very shiny.
Merlot: I had to look up trypophobia! I can see how that might be an issue!
Catalyst: She was definitely waiting for us, on red alert.
River: Not marzipan -- just glazed fruit with pastry cream beneath and balls of something like tapioca.
I suppose we don't say baby cow for the same reason we don't use chicken fetuses. We just prefer to remove ourselves from the reality by coming up with creative terminology. Politicians in Congress have taken up doing the same thing with some of their legislated bills too.
ReplyDeleteI love special treats and occasions like that, even if the food isn't fabulous. They are dishes that you wouldn't make for yourself! That pastry is unusual looking-tasty?
ReplyDelete