Monday's Musings!!

Well,  it was quite the rainy weekend around here, thanks to Fay.  It has been MONTHS (maybe years!) since we've had this many consecutive days of rain and I loved it.  The only thing that would have made it any better would have been to have had FOOTBALL on while I was stuck in the house all weekend.  The rain was about a week too early!  Which brings up what I'm most excited about.....college football starts on Thursday!!!   Time for the Buckeyes to start recruiting more "haters"!

GO BUCKS!!

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We went out to dinner with friends on Friday and Saturday and on both occasions went to restaurants we hadn't been to in quite a while.  Friday night we were headed to our regular spot, Standard Bistro, only to find out they were closed for a private party.  (Who closes the doors on a Friday night???  Whatever)  So, since we hate to navigate 280 traffic on Fridays, we settled for Prairie Fire Grill.  Now, most of the people I know rave about PFG, but I just have never been a fan.  First of all, I think their portion sizes are way too big and it seems that every dish they serve is drowning in a big, heavy sauce.  I'm of the philosophy that if you're working with great ingredients, let them speak for themselves.....plus, I just don't like how I feel after I eat something that heavy.  Also, their menu hasn't changed in the five years they've been in business.  All of that being said, dinner was pretty good.  I was pretty safe in my ordering....fried goat cheese salad with artichokes (delicious) and tortilla soup (nice and spicy), but Donna ordered the Chateaubriand and asked for the sauce to be served on the side.  Smart girl, that Donna.  I'm sure it didn't make the chef very happy to serve it that way, but it eliminates the problem.  The filet was perfectly cooked and the grits were awesome.  The guys both ordered the Sea Bass special which was swimming in sauce, but hey, they're guys....they love that heavy stuff!  So, while PFG still is not my first choice, at least I know they can come through in a pinch.  Oh, and the night also included a quasi celebrity sighting.....Reuben Studdard sat at the table next to us (and he DEFINITELY doesn't need to be eating those heavy sauces......I'm just sayin!)

Saturday night we headed to Cahaba Heights to Satterfields.  I've always had a great meal there, but it's just not the first place that pops into my head when I'm making reservations.  It should.  It was fabulous.  I had a bass dish of which I ate every bite.  It was served with red-eyed peas(?) in a light broth and was yummy.  I'm moving Satterfields up on my favorites list!

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As soon as I finish writing this, I'm heading downstairs to the treadmill and turning on the US Open.  I really have no gut instinct for how this years tournament is going to unfold.  Usually there are clear-cut favorites heading in, but it all seems to be wide open to me.  

The matches I'm looking forward to watching today are Lindsay Davenport vs. Aleksandra Wozniak (from Canada).  Wozniak won a US Open series event a couple of weeks ago and has continued to play pretty well.  Lindsay has had some injuries, so this could be a minor upset.

The two night matches could also be interesting.  I'm not saying there's going to be any upsets, but we could be seeing some new American's emerge.  Jelena Jankovic plays Coco Vandeweghe (could this be Kiki Vandeweghe's daughter?) a 16 year-old up and comer, whom I don't think can beat Jankovic, but I am interested in seeing her game.

The other night match is James Blake vs. Donald Young, another American.  James is coming off of a good Olympic showing (a win over Federer) and usually plays well at the Open, but he's also been known to choke, so......