“A great dinner can change your day around.” ~Brett Gelman
I agree. A great meal with great company can not only change your day around, but it can change around your whole life!
Too dramatic? Well, maybe.
What I mean is that sometimes when you have a meal with one of your closest friends, you can help support each other when it’s needed or even when it’s not needed. And when it’s the first time you see them at the beginning of the new year, your support and encouragement of each other’s new year goals can be just the thing you need.
New Year, New Restaurant
Our girl’s night out dinner date was set for a Monday after work, and my comadre Esther suggested we try Southtown Pizzeria, in the Southtown neighborhood here in San Antonio. I had never been, and it’s one of her newly discovered favorite places.
It is a very comfortable place. Lots of wood and candles with really great service.
I Owe Everything to Spaghetti
With all due respect to Sophia Loren (kinda stole part of her famous spaghetti quote for the heading…), probably the only thing we have in common is a love of pasta. Carbs be damned, I do love pasta. And I was in a pasta mood that night at Southtown Pizzeria.
Turns out I was in the perfect place for perfect pasta.
The spaghetti and meatballs were very, very good. I don’t usually order spaghetti in a restaurant but it’s what I wanted. I will definitely order it again.
Also very good is their bread. Wow! I think they must toast it a little bit with some olive oil, and they serve it warm, and with warm butter. I could have eaten the entire basket by myself. I’m glad Esther was there to help me.
Same Love & Support
The bread isn’t the only reason I’m glad Esther was there. I’m glad that I have her in my life to listen, to support and to love me through life in the way that only a great friend can.
This dinner saw us catch up on life’s recent events, exchange Christmas gifts and talk about our new year’s resolutions, our “words” of the year, and all kinds of goals we have for 2019.
Esther always asks, and always listens, and I hope she always knows how grateful I am for her attention and support.
Tasting 2019
Tasting is my word for 2019, and it won’t all be about food.
The year will be about reading and writing and me—and all of the goals I have within those categories, if you will. I have a few challenges set for the the year (although not as many as I had last year with my 52 things…) that I am excited about, but mostly I am excited to taste all the year has to offer. Both literally and figuratively.
I chose a verb as my official word for the year because I plan on doing things. I plan on a year of action.
While the dinner at Southtown Pizzeria was very good, the food itself isn’t why it was the best thing I ate last week. The food there on Monday night was the best thing I ate last week because I ate it with one of my closest friends, and we talked about the important things in life.
We talked about our goals for the year and the plans we’ve made, the plans we are still thinking about and some of the things that we hope will bring us joy.
What all will bring us joy in 2019? Who knows, but I do know that when it comes to joy in friendship, I know I can count on Esther to change my day around for the better.
Elda XO
