Fancy Feasting at 59

I begin the final year of my fifties on Monday, so this weekend we went out for dinner. It doubles as our Mother's Day outing, just like it did when I was a boy, and Glory picked up the tab in exchange for the title to Mum's Jeep that I inherited in 2019 and which she has driven almost exclusively the past few years.

She was initially resistant to the idea of the trade dinner taking place on my birthday, thinking that I was cheating myself out of an extra meal out, but when I explained that her mother and I share a bank account, she understood and became quite agreable. She remained so when I asked if we could go to Atlas steak + fish, the restaurant attached to the casino in West Edmonton Mall, so that's where we went.

I put on a tie because, honestly, why not? I don't have a ton of cause to wear one anymore, and it is nice to give some intentionality to the event and just change things up.

Despite being a fancy place with a live piano player, most people were dressed pretty casually, but we all had some denim on so it's not like we stuck out or anything. Our server, Shea, seated us in a booth and before too long we were tucking into some fresh baked bread with blue cheese butter and a delicious order of beef carpaccio. 

Three of us ordered small to moderate steaks (none of us daring to look at the double orders like the porterhouse or 155 oz tomahawk) while Audrey got seared Ahi tuna, because, hey, it's not like we have that at home. 

We over-ordered the sides though, not understanding they were shareables, some of which came in delightful little cast iron pots. The girls were ecstatic with the whipped brie mashed potatoes, while I thought the Brussels sprouts with pistachio and mortadella crisp were aboslutely amazing. And of course, the enormous pepper mill never fails to delight.

Glory added a lodster tail while Fenya got seared scallops to accompany their steaks. We also had a peppercorn sauce prepared  at our tableside, which involved an impressive amount of flame and was also delectably savoury. More than enough sauce for six steaks too, if it came to that.

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The steak were done to a turn and very well seasoned, but I mentioned how they made me feel better about my own steak game. "That's why I got the tuna," Audrey said. (I'm grilling steaks tomorrow just to use up the leftover sauce!)

Oh, and before the steaks even came over, they presented us with a selection of knives to choose from, and Shea outlined suggestions based on weight, grip and style, relative to the dish ordered. Maybe y'all see this all the time, but it was a first for me and made me feel a little provincial (despite recognizing the Laguiole knives from the bees mounted above the grip), but not in a bad way.

Not my pic, nicked it off the web, but just like this

It was all quite delicious and even a bit elegant - dining with three lovely ladies will have that impact though - and for my birthday, they even threw in a complimentary dessert. Having never tried baked Alaska, that seemed the obvious choice. The girls hadn't even heard of this perhaps fanciest of treats, and were delighted by the presentation as well.

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The combination of spongy cake, cool, fruity sorbet and toasted meringue was absolutely amazing, and no, like the peppercorn sauce, I shall not be attempting to make this at home!

We finished our meal with a bottle of icewine, a drink that always takes Audrey and I back to our time in Ontario. They served it in snifters, and Glory, surprisingly, found the taste superior to the smell, while I find such beverages a feast for the olfactory as well.

It was a wonderful experience from pillar to post, with wodnerful treatment from the staff. Out budget means it will take another special occasion before we return, but I honestly hope it isn't too long!

Funny story about this picture: both girls commented on how much they liked it, which I found tremendously gratifying, as I am more than a little self-conscious, especially living in a household full of gorgeous people. 

Then Glory offhandedly said, "Yeah, I think if you were to pass away suddenly, this is almost certainly the picture we would use for your little, you know, funeral card."

Fenya gasped. "That is exactly what I was thinking too!"

Ah, the joys of family. (Honestly.)