And here it is.

A series of random thoughts I had while reading it:

1. Ohmigod! The picture isn't hideous! In fact, I really like it! (Thank you, William Bretzger - I know I'm a horrible poser, largely unphotogenic, and hate smiling with my teeth showing. But yay! You made it work! Seriously, thank you.)

2. SWEET LIFE isn't a paperback; it's in hardcover. But Patty got the book in galley, so I can see where she got confused.

3. Angela (Martinez) is incredibly sweet.

4. Yay, Alton got a shout out!

5. Whoa, so did Joe.

6. Um. My surgery. In the News Journal. Three paragraphs after I talked about chocolate croissants (which, by the way, I ate WHILE writing SWEET LIFE. I do not currently eat them. I do, however, still drink coffee, even though I'm supposed to limit caffeine). Anyway. Yeah. I'd mentioned my surgery to Patty and knew there was a possibility it would end up in the article, but had no idea how completely NAKED that would make me feel. Also: it's 155 lbs. now. (I'm just saying!)

7. The entire English Dept. at UD now knows I had gastric bypass surgery. (I knew the article was coming out today, but actually got the link from a departmental e-mail blast.)

8. Did I mention feeling NAKED?

9. Al Mascitti makes me laugh. (It's pronounced Ma-SIT-ee, I think.)

10. Chef Phil says he hasn't heard from me in forever, but we e-mailed several months ago when Joe and I were looking for wedding reception venues. After that I met with his business partner and fellow chef Brian, and most of my contact was with him. But it's not like Phil never heard from me again!

11. The dig about the plausibility of hiring a high school student to write culinary reviews ... sigh. My only negative review of SWEET LIFE harped on that, too. I still maintain in a state the size of Delaware, with a weekly supplement geared toward a younger market, the daughter of a celebrity chef and a mother who runs a Celebrity Kitchens type place MIGHT be asked to write reviews on name recognition alone. If she'd turned out to suck, the editor would've ghost-revised it for her. And Stella did more than just write reviews, she also had to update contact info on restaurants and stuff - like the kind of grunt work I did during a brief internship at Delaware Today magazine. So. Yeah.

12. It's really freaking cold in my house. I'm going to go get some coffee (but no croissants!) and warm up.


P.S. Patty, if you're reading this, it's really a lovely article. But even if you're not, I'm going to e-mail you to tell you anyway. :)

So, tonight Carolee and I went and had dinner at the Fair Hill Inn, which recently came under the ownership of Chef Phil Pyle (who I've written about before), his wife Venka, and their business partner Brian. Dinner was part of their grand opening celebration and you had to have an invite to get in (I felt so Hollywood, right?).

Anyway.

Anyone who lives within a 90-minute drive of Fair Hill, Maryland needs to make reservations for this place - and soon. Not only do they make everything from scratch - breads, pastas, cheeses, smoked meats, pastries, truffles, EVERYTHING - the bar is to die for. I'm not much of a drinker, but when I order an Amaretto Sour and it comes in a huge glass that's not 90% ice AND THE SOUR MIX WAS MADE FROM SCRATCH ... let's just say it was heaven. Carolee got a screwdriver and hers had fresh-squeezed orange juice and came in a similarly huge glass. Later I had a mango martini that tasted like nectar from the gods.

Back to the food: the last of the five-course meal was braised pork spare ribs. I'm not much of a meat eater but MY GOD. It was so tender that it not only fell off the bone, but literally melted in your mouth. And there was this pear salad with candied walnuts and a Stilton cheese sauce, and there was warm vichyssoise with smoked salmon and fresh chives, and duck carpaccio, and HOMEMADE TRUFFLES. And oh. Everything was delicious, and the place was gorgeous, and afterward I got to tell Phil how much I loved the place and he hugged me twice and I felt all good inside.

Phil and co. plan a seasonal menu - one that changes monthly - and offer a seven-course tasting menu for a fixed price. Or you can order a la carte. But you so need to try the sparkling wines or the signature martinis. Even the tea comes in these cute, pyramid-shaped packages. Decadent! Truly decadent!

So, get off your tushes and make reservations STAT. You will not be sorry.