“Never put off a celebration.” A former asshole boss gave me this piece of advice ages ago and to my surprise I have learned to appreciate it. At the time I was his assistant and he was a chauvinist, pushy salesman, so I didn’t feel that I had much to celebrate. But now, as a business owner who endures plenty of stress, sleepless nights, and terrifying decisions, his advice feels warranted. The good days can be life-changing good.
Last Thursday was one of those good days, so my husband/business partner and I headed downtown for a beer at the usual spot, The Flying Saucer (111 E. 3rd St.) As we walked, we chatted about how weeks of preparation truly paid off at an earlier meeting, which is not always the case. It was one of those moments when we let it sink in how fortunate we are to have success doing what we love. That was when the asshole’s advice hit me. As we crossed Commerce Street and I told Adam we were making a left instead of the typical right turn toward the saucer. This day deserved a celebratory night at Del Frisco’s Grille (154 E. 3rd St.).
We walked in the place disheveled and sweating from our impulse decision and 100-degree walk (WTF were we thinking?), but our feeling of regret never had a chance to set in. We were greeted by a smiling blonde hostess, who complimented my shoes (validating the recent purchase), and made Adam feel at home by showing us to the bar upstairs.
Now, I know it’s not Times Square, but the adorable view of Sundance Square is simply perfect when you’re already feeling a little bit on top of the world. Our laid-back bartender, Hillary, described the summer cocktail list, and we proceeded to order pretty much all of them. Adam chose the appropriately named Youth Serum ($12) to start, which had a generous ration of Ketel One (or “Kettle” as it was spelled on the menu), mint, cucumber and lemon sour. After one, his inner 23-year-old was ready for MORE DRANK. I started with the Dutch mule ($12), similar to the Moscow mule with ginger beer and mint, but with Nolet’s Silver gin and grapefruit juice instead of vodka and lime. It was tasty and refreshing but I can only handle so much sweetness and moved on to red wine.
I had to laugh at Hillary’s flatbread appetizer suggestion, only because I recently watched comedian Iliza Schlesinger’s set about this girly menu item. (“Should we like go out and get like a flah-bread?”) However, the spicy pork meatball flatbread ($13.50) was not an hors-d’oeuvre made for an undernourished valley girl. Hillary’s server intuition must have told her we were the types that would appreciate a hearty pizza disguised as a starter. We proceeded to eat our way through two more appetizers, dessert, and enjoyed a few more beverages as the sunset and our celebration came to a close.
Whether you are an assistant, an executive, a bartender, or a struggling entrepreneur, the “never put off a celebration” mantra are words to live by. When something makes you happy, take time to revel in it. Because the next day is most likely a 10-hour work day that ends with whatever is in the fridge and falling asleep to a stand up comedian on Netflix.
