Loppet or Lump it.

This weekend I went snowshoeing on frozen Lake of the Isles with a bunch of friends for a birthday party.

There were ice luminaries all around the lake - it was really beautiful. There were also people juggling fire. Always a good time.  It's not something I would have done, or even known about, really, without these awesome friends, as I live in the suburbs and my fate is more directed toward carpools and soccer and chain-store shopping. After typing that I have made a vow to myself to get out more.

Ahem..  Anyway, after walking on water, we went to Amazing Thailand in uptown.  I had the Duck Curry and now I want to eat nothing but that forever.   

Photo From Yelp via B

I've made a few curries before, but nothing like this. It was perfection: meat, tomatoes, pineapple, grapes, basil, lots of sauce, the perfect spice.  Looks like I need some curry recipes. Got any?

The Only Way to Watch A Movie (unless it's at home with Rifftrax)

I went to see Avatar with my dad the other night.  It was in a fancy new theater called the ShowCase ICON.  There's one in St. Louis Park, MN and one in Chicago, IL.  This is a theater where you can reserve a huge captain's chair with a table on the side in the balcony of the 3-D theater and eat and drink before and during the show.  Before the movie we had martinis and snacks at the bar.  Here's what we had:

His: Kettle One, Mine: Sapphire.  Both: No vermouth, shake it a lot, up, twist.

I think I was right to change my order from the "Red Hot Grandma Martini" - Opulent Vodka infused with fresh pears and spiced with Red Hots served with a splash of Orange Juice and Sprite.

Meat and Cheese Plate:

Proscuitto De Parma (18 month), Mildly Spicy Coppa, Soppressata, Mortabella

Taeggio, Gorgonzola Dolce, Pecorino Romano, Provolone

Maranated Olives, Quince Jam, Toasted Hazelnuts, Dried Fruits, Currant Bread

BACON POPCORN!!!

With bacon spice AND chunks of bacon, FTW!  

As for the movie:  The seats were truly awesome.  My rebellious  side gave in as I watched, and I actually liked the movie.  It was a really cool experience.  I ate my giant cookie in a skillet with ice cream in the dark (something I'll skip next time and eat it out at the bar), and split a bottle of wine with my dad as we watched (which is so much better than sneaking in a flask of rum and mixing it with your fountain coke -- not that I ever even knew of anyone who did that).  If you live near one of these theaters, I highly recommend going.  We spent  over $100, but got dinner and a movie in one, and drank wine in the theater.  A great experience. I highly recommend it.  You can follow their parent company on Twitter here or go to the theater's website and learn more and find showtimes and buy tickets here.  To learn more about what I'm talking about in the title of this blog, please click here and enjoy, won't we?