Nov 2008: @ Macaroni Grill

November 15, 2008
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
USA


I left Sanfo in the morning and I arrived in the evening in wet, cold and freezing (at least to someone like me who comes from the tropics) airport.

First priority: pull on coat, pull on beret, pull on scarf.

Second thing to do: get luggage and struggle with the second bag - a heavy bag of books which had no wheels.

I was happily and pleasantly surprised to see my manager Calvin coming towards me as I emerged from a long line of escalators after some hasty remapping of the place in my memory. 

While I had told him my itinerary, I had also said I could manage to go to my hotel since I was already familiar with it. I didn't want to bother him on a wet weekend night by driving all the way from his house to CVG. I was thankful though as I was sure it was going to get so busy that we would hardly see each other or have a meal together the rest of my stay in Cinci. I was right!
 
After giving me a hug and a wide grin and amidst conversation of how his dad was sick and in the hospital, he first presented me with a flourish his wife Susie's hats, scarves and gloves and had the gall to take a picture of me (with matching snickers) when I was swaddled completely in his balaclava/ski mask and the aforementioned accessories.

I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of the car when he went out for gas. But can you blame me for wanting to test the attire in the blowing wind? I felt snug as a bug in bed.

Since he also knows I am usually hungry in cold weather, he accommodated my request for dinner instead of going straight to the hotel.

I had already tasted Mexican food in Chipotle, their usual chilis at Skyline and the other brand and I was somewhat embarrassed to ask to be taken to Hooters..so I settled for saying I wanted Italian.

He took me to Macaroni Grill.

Bread and olive oil for both of us and a couple of drinks like iced tea and red wine.

I ordered a yummy-looking ravioli which I've not had for a long, long time.

He had spaghetti with meatballs but asked them to hold back on the meatballs.

When I asked him why, he said the meatballs were so big (probably like golf balls or bigger) he wasn't really happy with how it could play havoc with his diet.

I blinked.

"You diet?," I asked with a twitching right eyebrow.

He blinked back and said yes.


While looking him over surreptitiously, he intercepted my gaze knowingly and said with a laugh that the results were not obvious. I grinned back.

We resumed eating and talking desultorily more about the same topics.

He picked up the tab afterwards, which was lucky as I had plunked my dollar bills somewhere deep in the luggage in the car, along with my camera (hence the pics here are from my cellphone).

After offering to take me around on Sunday as he said he would just be in the hospital with his family watching over his dad, he escorted me to the Westin and I settled down happily for the night.

I had ravioli dreams that night. And since I had no dessert, I dreamt of tiramisu too.