Picture 7
The obvious:
Mark and I are out to dinner with a group of our family and friends. Pictured from left to right: Ty, Najla, Terri, Julie, Brian, Mark, Me, Arletta, and Kevin.
What you can’t see:
We are at La Tasca Tapas in Arlington Heights, IL. It is the very first Ethnic Food Night. (EFN) Some of you that know me personally may have heard me mention this monthly dinner. We pick a new type of food and order whatever seems the most authentic. Sometimes we have to ask the staff what is good. Most times we get odd looks as we try to pronounce the names of the dishes.
EFN was inspired by my dear friend Lindsay. I went to visit her in St. Louis in February of 2008 on a weekend that happened to be Ethnic Food Night for her group of friends. I had a great time sampling the food and and thought it would be a fun thing to do regularly. As soon as I got back, I started recruiting adventurous family members and friends to participate.
Each month we visit a new restaurant. I’m sure we will run out eventually, but so far the list of places to try keeps growing. We’ve been to some really great restaurants, and it has prompted many of us to expand our food horizons. I can’t even express how much more open Mark has become to tasting new foods since we’ve started EFN, though he still orders chicken if we pick a restaurant that is on the extreme side. My favorites so far have been Greek, Thai, Indian, Polish, and Japanese.
Since this picture was taken, we have happily added a few more people to the group. I love that it gives us an excuse to get together and catch up. My favorite part about the meal pictured above is that it signifies the beginning of a new tradition. Also, the sangria was delish.
How this picture makes me feel:
Fortunate to live in a community that offers such diversity in restaurant choices. Happy to see my fellow EFNers soon for the holiday dinner!
*Title of the post is a line from “In Color” by Jamey Johnson. Buy it here!