Too much wine makes a whole lot of whine

Friday I scored 2 seats to a Spanish wine dinner at TJ's at the Jefferson. It wasn't as nice as when Lemaire was open, but it was still the Jefferson and it was still the best meal in town. The Jefferson throws these every now and again, and if you happen to hear about one, you'd better jump on it quick, or you'll be like J, on the wait list... sitting at home.
Openers- cornmeal crusted oysters with Palicio Bornos Verdejo Rueda '07. Yum. I hate oysters. I could have eaten a bucket of these, and the wine was perfect. (inexpensive, to boot.)
Course 1- Lobster bisque w/caramelized fennel, tarragon, and semi-dried tomatoes served with Valminor Albarino Rias Baixas '07. I love Albarino's. They taste like the shore. The lobster bisque was wonderful and i thought Cliff was going to lick the bowl...
Course 2- Duck 4ways... seared breast, leg confit, "dirty rice, and foie gras- served with a wonderfully, earthy Finca Sobreno Crianza Toro'05. If there was ever a year for wine, it has to be '05... This was the best dish of the night and reminded me of the pheasant and wild rice my Mom used to cook after my Dad and I would go pheasant hunting. And the wine... if you bbq... you should run buy some. Its very inexpensive. It's perfect for meat. (and was pretty good alone, too.)
Course 3- Mustard crusted rack of lamb, sweet garlic risotto, brussels sprouts, smoked bacon - with Mas Sinen Priorat '05. If someone asks you what you want, you want a case of this wine. Its pretty expensive- about $50 a bottle, but man, was it good. I drank waaay to much of it, and was really glad at the time that I did.
Dessert- Grand Marnier Chocolate Molten cake with Balsamic marinated strawberries and Patricia Cream "sherry" montilla Morales NV. I hate Sherry, nuff said. But the strawberries were killer.

All that for $75.00, which included tax and tip. Jealous?

You should be. No worries though, you eat that, and then the next day get on a bike and you are guaranteed going to suffer...

J's hubby went down to run a race and dropped her off at my house at 0'dark 30. I handed her the clicker and went back to bed.

An hour later I got up and we slowly headed out on the roads for 30 miles of whinefest. My head hurt. My leg hurt. It was cold. It was windy. Damn, it even snowed. I think my hair even hurt. Three glasses of $50 wine will do that to you. The other glasses joined in there to beat on me as well. It was not a ride that I'd care to repeat.

Sunday was round two. Col. Sweatsalot, J, and Cliff took turns ripping my legs off on my hilly Hadensville ride. For as bad as I felt, and for as much as I tried to hide what horrible shape I'm in, I had to be thrilled with J and Sharon. Sharon was like a very fit race horse, all up on her toes, grabbing the bit, and throwing in a little exuberant buck every now and again. It was fun to see. And J, what can you say... even with a dead headwind the whole way out, she would charge to the front and sprint up the hills.

And the friendly black lab was back... and ran in and out of the pack for a good 1/2 mile until Cliff scared him. (Big meanie...)

So today is a recovery day. If I get the gumption up I may just finish my taxes... or I may just take a nap.

Oh, and by the way, congrats to Dr Marc on his win yesterday at the Wolfpack crit... even though he sprints like a girl. Oh, yeah, maybe that's why he won!