Happy Birthday to Me!

Ah, it's great to be 27 years old. Again.

The Button and I have this running joke. When she was little, I had her trained to answer "27" whenever someone asked her how old I was. But one day, sitting at the sushi bar at Godaiko, chef Paul Tsai asked her "when is your birthday?"

"May 2," The Button responded, through a mouthful of tempura shrimp. Sensing an opportunity, Paul then asked "hey, how old is your mom?"

"27," she replied. Paul's look of disbelief must have been plain enough for even a 10-year-old to interpret, because she immediately turned to me accusingly, "wait a minute! If you're 27, that means you would have only been 17 when you had me!"

April 16 is my birthday, and of course I managed to stretch the festivities through the whole week. Liz Davis, long-time waitress at Old Town, crafted this wonderful birthday Pinot Grigio for me. And I chose to celebrate with The Accountant and old college friends at yet another one of Bob Sparrow's (pictured with friend Beth Pascoe) wonderful private dinners at Kerrytown.

27 feels pretty good. Again.

2-Bit Review: Northside Grill

One or two visits. A few hundred words. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Usually the other side of the Broadway Bridge seems like a DMZ that I don’t have a huge desire to wander past. But the Northside Grill is only a few yards north of the bridge, and it’s always worth a foray into no-mans-land for one of the best breakfasts in town.

My absolute favorite is the Morning Egg-dition. Northside is a big supporter of WEMU, and even hosts a fundraiser for the public radio station every Valentine’s Day. The Morning Egg-dition is a sandwich featuring eggs scrambled with chopped tomato and ham, on grilled Texas toast with cheese and this wonderful spicy mayonnaise. A generous portion of crispy hash browns come on the side. Nine times out of ten, I’ll request French fries and invariably the waiter will have to remind me that the deep fryer isn’t hot yet. Oh, and just to make things interesting, I usually substitute multi-grain bread for the Texas toast, which I have found to be a bit greasy sometimes.

My other favorite order is French Toast. Bread at the Northside Grill is homemade and extra thick, the perfect medium for what is essentially dessert for breakfast. Somehow I don’t think the diet Coke that I regularly order compensates for the calories that this dish unloads. And other than breakfast, I’ve also enjoyed the occasional cheeseburger – cooked to order, juicy, and just the right size.

Northside Grill is invariably PACKED on weekends, especially during Art Fair or football season. I know some who have waited for 40 minutes or more for a table in the small diner that seats probably only 40 or 50 people. So I try to go on weekdays, when it’s easier to sit with a paper and enjoy a leisurely breakfast without two or three parties giving you the hard-eye-ball stare wishing you would vacate your table. And even on crowded mornings, the staff at Northside are always friendly and efficient, keeping coffee (or in my case diet Coke) topped off and dishes cleared.

Between Angelo’s, Frank’s, Bell’s, and seemingly dozens of Coney Islands, we are lucky to have a wide choice for breakfast on any given day. But the Northside Grill is definitely a favorite worth repeat visits.