Meeting a Reader Over Drinks and Snacks c/o The Dandelion

A few months back one of the blog's readers reached out to me about her impending arrival in the States. Huckleberry has been occasionally commenting on the blog for at least two or three years, though perhaps closer to four. And I've always gotten a kick out of the fact that she's a reader whom I never actually met in real life. It feels, on the whole, like I'm writing this blog mainly for myself and for those who already know me and like to see themselves turn up in the narrative from time to time. So to have any readers who aren't related to me or know me in some other context, is very neat. Well, Huckleberry finally made it to the States and so we determined a day and place to meet up in real life. My first suggestion was A.Bar, but when I got there a little early the space was entirely packed and I didn't really want to stand awkwardly in a crowd while trying to talk to a new person. So when Huckleberry appeared I suggested we try The Dandelion Pub instead. It, too, was certainly crowded, but not to the point where we weren't able to get a table.

I was drawn to the Nosey Parker cocktail, which included Bulliet Rye, grapefruit, Campari,
basil, and Peychaud's. Huckleberry went for the Pimm's. I liked my cocktail with its tart grapefruit notes and the slight bitterness of campari evened out by the sweet rye. Good stuff. I think Huckleberry seemed pleased with her drink as well.

I also ordered a snack of the curried crab, cod and chili cakes, which came with a little ramekin of malt vinegar mayo.

Definitely crispy on the outside and more interesting than many a fried fish ball on the inside. I think I would have appreciated having four instead of three as the serving size, but such is life. Huckleberry had the....hmmm. I think it was the pickled beet root jar? Or olive tapenade? Memory is such a fickle thing.

I joked a bit about not wanting to be murdered by a stranger because it is an odd thing. Huckleberry seems to be a non-crazy, interesting person and I'm glad of that, but one never knows. While on the whole I realize that this blog is a vanity project, it's still a vanity project that is open to the public. I'm not too personal or revealing, but Huckleberry definitely knew more about my life than I did hers. And that's par for the internet course. There are plenty of folks whom I follow on one social media channel or another that, if I were to meet them in person, would know barely anything about me but I could be a wealth of creepy knowledge on. That was a terrible sentence. What I'm trying to say is that it was nice to meet Huckleberry and to hear more about her journey and to be assured she wasn't a murderer. And that I hope if I ever meet any of the people I follow from afar, they also realize that I am interesting and not a murderer. Murder is so not 'in' right now y'all.

A big thank you to Huckleberry for reaching out and braving public transportation for a meet-up. And an even bigger one for the drinks and meal!