On the way to dinner last week…..

I met some friend’s downtown last Thursday night for dinner at St. Elmo’s Steakhouse. I was actually running ahead of schedule and I drove around the block a few times looking for some street parking with no luck, so I resigned myself to a parking garage. I just hate spending money on parking, but at least it was at one of the $1.50 locations and not $5 or more. I found a spot on the ground floor close to the entrance ramp. I briefly considered walking up the ramp, but I somehow thought that would be considered a dangerous activity.

I began walking around looking for the exit and I saw a sign painted on the wall that indicated stairs. This sign was a bit vague and I wasn’t sure where I should go. As I was craning my neck around looking, I noticed a guy doing the same thing. He was a slim small man and dressed in a black leather jacket with dark dress slacks. He looked at me and wondered aloud about the location of the stairs. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “I don’t know”. After a few moments he pointed to the right and indicated that was the correct way to walk. As we both approached the dark corner he began to slow down and said that it looked “scary”. I stopped behind him for a moment and contemplated what to do, so I decided to walk around him and look at the door. If you are acquainted with me, you will know that I will not let small obstacles like scary looking stairs get in the way of my good time. I proceeded through the door and into a dimly lit hallway leading to the stairs. The stranger began to follow me and it appeared to me that he let me precede him to “protect” him. When we arrived at the top of the stairs we encountered another long hallway and it almost appeared to lead to an employee service door. I kept going even thought I had lost confidence that I was walking in the correct direction. When we exited the door I was thankful to be on the correct street in the midst of the evening rush hour. Hurray…I found my way out.

It didn’t occur to me until later that night as I was retelling the tale to my friends to be scared. I just didn’t think about the guy being the dangerous part of the situation. I normalized him by talking to him. It really made me think about smart single women behavior. I will think twice next time before walking ahead of some stranger to enter a dank isolated stairwell. I did just say I would think twice...not that I wouldn't enter the stairwell ;)

Dinner was very tasty and I enjoyed their bi-yearly set menu of $30. On a normal basis I wouldn’t want to go to a fine dining restaurant and spend gobs of money. But, thirty dollars seams to be a good value for me. I always enjoy the Devour Downtown event and try to select different restaurants to enjoy. Click here to get information on the Devour Downtown event.

BTW…as we were about to exit the restaurant we encountered a random sports celebrity. A gigantically tall Asian man (7 foot 6 inches) walked in the restaurant and by us. My friend began to get all excited and pointed out that it was Yao Ming, a famous basketball player for the Houston Rockets. I assure you that I didn’t know who he was…but apparently he is famous. There were people (OK…Men) on the street trying to take photos of him through the windows of St. Elmo’s. When I was in China I did not see one seven foot tall Chinese Man. What an anomaly!

A couple days later I met a friend for dinner at Bella Vita in Geist. I know…I know…two expensive dinners in one week…where do I get my money! My friend Casey sent me a link to a website selling $50 dining certificates for $25. We each paid only $14 (this included a shipping fee) for a GREAT meal. I think that the food at Bella Vita was far superior to St. Elmo’s. They also had a set three course meal on their menu for $30. It included a salad, petite fillet, mashed potatoes, broccoli, scrumptious bread and a piece of German chocolate cake. You should try it, you will not be disappointed.