Friday, March 08, 2019

Birthday Month

It's Sue's birthday month. In another time and place, she seemed to have an ongoing celebration as different friends would have her for coffee or some such at different times. I jokingly said that her birthday seemed to last for the whole month. And so, it became a bit of an ongoing joke and tradition that we have tended to carry on to some degree.

The events or even non-events can be simple. She might say, "It's sunny out, happy birthday to me." Yes, it can be that simple. Or we might go out for coffee and even an occasional meal. Some things might be what we were going to do anyway, and a few might be added extras.

Her birthday won't be until the 25th, but I felt that we were lagging a bit this year with regards to those added extras. There seems to be only so much you can do in the Ottawa Valley in March, and most things that I might think of involve food, and I have been trying to watch my figure lately. Goodness knows there's plenty to watch.

But it was time to do a little something special, so off we went to The Glen for fish and chips. It's in the city but not deep in the city, and we can drive there in about 20 minutes. We had gone to The Glen almost 14 years ago when we first arrived here and were greatly disappointed and hadn't been back. Others, however, have mentioned it praisingly, so we finally decided to give it another chance.

I don't know what happened all those years ago, but we had great service and we really enjoyed our meal this time around. The fries were fresh and plentiful, and the fish portions were a good size. Sue ordered her fish with the crispy breaded batter, while I decided on the beer batter version. We halved and shared our portions and enjoyed both. Sue liked the breaded variation while I slightly preferred the beer batter, but we both enjoyed both,

Fish N Chips are not something we would want to do often, but we had a few good places back in Sarnia which we would visit every now and then. We've had less luck here, however. We have found one other good spot, but they don't tend to do the batter as crispy as we prefer, and it's farther away to boot.

Fifty years ago, when we were first married, and I was still a student, there was a chippie very near where Sue used to work. It was just a carry out place, where we would frequently stop on Fridays. The cost was 50¢ per order, so even as students, it was well within our budget. We would happily carry our meal home and enjoy in our small basement apartment.

Yesterday, our cost was almost $60. It was a full restaurant with good service and did include non-alcoholic drinks (coke and coffee) and one shared dessert. And then there was the 13% tax plus a fairly generous tip. But still, if I recall correctly, the cost per plate was $16 or more. What a change in 50 years! It seems harder to afford now than it was when we were poor students.

I'm glad we did it. but for the most part, sunshine and coffee dates will have to suffice for Sue's birthday month. Not completely but for the most part.

13 comments:

Shammickite said...

I know all about a birthday lasting all month, as YoungerSon's birthday is on 31st of this month, and early in the morning on March 1st he starts reminding us on a daily basis "It's my birthday soon". It can get a little tiring!!!!!!
Happy Bday to Sue, glad you both enjoyed the fish'n'chips. One of my favourite dinner menus.

MARY G said...

The Glen is a great fish and chip place. Good for you. I always have a hard time remembering what money was worth 50 years ago, but around then we bought a bungalow in Ottawa for $12,800.00. And $5000.00 bought me a new car.

Vicki Lane said...

Happy Birthmonth to Sue! The ever-higher cost of restaurant meals is why we tend to spend our money on the ingredients and cook at home. For my birthday we splurged on some lobster tails and made lobster rolls (my favorite) at home.

Country Gal said...

Happy Birthday to all in this month of March. We have a few March birthdays to I am also March 25th *smile* It is crazy how pricey going out for a decent meal is now a days good thing we only go on the odd occasion lol ! The weather here is to warm up this weekend and rain and all of a sudden Spring is to swoop in, hope it does your way to . Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !

Marie Smith said...

It is a lot for fish and chips IMO. It is the same here though. We eat out rarely too.

Joanne Noragon said...

My friend and I bemoaned 16 dollar oatmeal and toast breakfast tabs the other day. I see we're not alone. Happy birthday month, Sue!

William Kendall said...

Sometimes a restaurant and staff can have a bad day.

Other times a new manager works wonders.

Christina said...

I like the idea of an extended birthday! My mouth was watering when I read your fish and chips description. Living in the land of fish and chips, we have lots of choices but rarely give in to the temptation. A good fish supper from our local chippie is maybe £4.50. Did you get mushy peas with your dinner? This seems to be a traditional accompaniment when eating fish and chips in a sit down place, in Glasgow anyway. Lately, I have had a hankering for deep fried pizza, also available from the local chippie. I have no idea why because I never ate this before!

Mage said...

We used to have aa great chippy near here. No more. The family retired. Darn it.

Mara said...

I love fish and I love chips, but for some reason I have never really gotten the fish and chips bug. Somehow it doesn't work for me.

Marie Smith said...

Happy birthday month to Sue. I love the idea of the birthday month!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Good for Sue celebrating her birthday all month long. personally, i say to go for a full year because you only are this age once in your life so make the most of it. I know that will mean many more coffee dates for you both, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Jenn Jilks said...

I cannot tell you how many times my client complains about the price of things! I just have to change the topic. Thursdays are half off the 2nd fish and chips at CC's. That has been fun.