LadyTee's 49th Birthday

So...

My best friend LadyTee and I have a running tradition: we spend our birthdays together, where we usually do movie and a late lunch. We try to go to restaurant that we've never tried before, and we see a movie that we just really want to see.

Earlier this year for my birthday, we went to see Hidden Figures and we had dinner at the upscale mexican restaurant Superica.

Of course, a good time was had.

LadyTee celebrated her birthday number 49 last month. (And she doesn't look a day over 30. She always hollers "I'm 29.95!" LOL).

We went to see John Wick 2.

What was funny about this is that I hadn't even seen the first John Wick. So I woke up super early on the day of her birthday (5 a.am. to be exact) and watched the movie. What a scary piece of violence. It was good, but dark.

And John Wick 2 was good too. And darkly violent.

"There sure was a bunch of shooting," I said upon leaving the theater.

I thought it was good. But I don't want to see it again. TOO much violence. My goodness!

Then we went to Ponce City Market, which is a mixed use market in Midtown Atlanta. There are restaurants and stores there, and there are are apartments up above the mall-type area. This is good in that everything is right there (including a Whole Foods and Home Depot across the street). And  it is GREAT if you can work from home and you don't have to get out and fight the hellacious ATL traffic.

I bought LadyTee some gifts. One gift I buy her every year is soap. That GOOD soap.

LadyTee went to jail for a couple of hours some 25 years ago for something trivial.  In that time, they gave her some soap. She told them she has sensitive skin, and asked if they had Caress or Tone. (Of course you know the officers laughed at her). I just remember her lamenting about the situation. So I always make sure she has the best soap.

So after the movie, we went to Ponce City Market. We meandered around for a half hour, trying to decide where to eat. We decided on Botiwalla, an indian restaurant, i.e., Irani Cafe.

I've had Indian food from time to time. It's not my favorite, but I like it. LadyTee had never had Indian food, so we thought it was as good as any time to try.

It is a pretty nice place. They even had some chips that are sold in India.

I didn't buy any. I am just amazed at the different types of chips. They were different in the UAE, too.

We decided to split two entrees... the tamarind spiced ribs and the lamb burgers. Both were GREAT!

The lamb burgers were GREAT. They were spicy, and that slaw was good.

"This here is real lamb, tasting all gamey," LadyTee said as she . They didn't cut this with chicken or beef or nothing. This real"

"Yes it is. And it is good," I replied.

Now, the tamarind spiced ribs... I thought those looked a little burnt.

But they were not. That is just an extra dark sauce.  It too was good, especially with the yogurt sauce.

I almost forgot about the appetizers. We decided on the masala smashed potatoes, which are fingerling potatoes tossed with salt, chaat masala, lime and cilantro.

I suppose that is that version of french fries. The skin was crispy. That was good. I felt like we needed some sour cream with it, though. It was served with some special type of ketchup. I would definitely order it again. Good stuff!

There was another appetizer.  Something called SPDP - savory puffed flour crisps (puris). I thought that sounded good enough.

But once we got it, it was uh... well, it was cold. I didn't know what to do with it. The menu stated they were stuffed with potatoes, onions, and cilantro, and then piped with yogurt and chutney.

That looks like cheese on top, but they are rice noodles.

It was just a lot going on. And I expected it to be solid, but it busted open like an egg.

"EWW!" I hollered.

But I ate it anyway.

And that was probably the best thing I ate. There were a ton of flavors all in my mouth all at once. And like the menu said... "It's mindblasting!"

It's rare to find something good like that. I am definitely 

Yes it was.

Something I had that I keep seeing on Indian restaurant menus is Mango Lassi. It is a mango and yogurt drink. I've been wanting to try it.

Uh, I drank it, but I didn't really care for it. First of all, that is something that you can eat as a stand alone meal. Second, I'm not the biggest fan of mango, but I eat it from time to time. Third, it needed to be blended with some ice or just made extra cold. It was worth trying. I won't be ordering anywhere again. I will definitely try the other indian drinks.

Ladytee said, "I'ma save some of this for Mama and Milc [her daughter]."

Uh no.  How bout I just went and ordered more lamb burgers and spiced ribs. It was too good to share. Nope. They could just have their own! 

It was a good time, as is always on our birthdays. We didn't spend our birthdays together last year because I was overwhelmed at work and was unable to take off.

But I cherish these simple times.

And I look forward to spending such precious times with my best friend.