Anna and I were invited to Susan and Andrew’s for dinner tonight. They served what Andrew called a “Moroccan themed” meal. Delicious. We started with olives, dolmas, pita, cheese and a very tasty spinach pastry. The salad course was lightly roasted eggplant slices and a rainbow carrot salad (accented with a delicious lemon juice and cilantro dressing). The main course was a lamb stew with apricots and squash accompanied by couscous with mushrooms and chickpeas. A sweet mint tea was a delicious companion to the meal. Anna made a brownie pie topped with almond whipped cream and chocolate shavings. We managed to polish off the brownie with little trouble. What a meal.
Joining us for dinner was artist/beat boxer Desi W.O.M.E. (Weapons of Mass Expression). Desi is originally from Chicago and a really interesting dinner companion. He’s also a community organizer and teacher. You can see his murals on many Oakland buildings (we drove by one of his pieces on our way home from dinner — 28th Street and Martin Luther King). He really piqued my interest in mural art, and I’ll need to take a bike tour soon and hunt down more of his stuff. (It was too dark to take a picture of the building we saw tonight.)
Conversation at the table was fascinating. Susan is a writer and journalist. Andrew is brilliant. Desi is fascinating. Even Susan’s dog Winston (who was named for and closely resembled Winston Churchill) was friendly. Nothing makes for a more pleasant evening than a meal shared with friends.