lagilman | Runaway, Jersey-style

After my last post I decided that running away from home sounded like a fine idea. So I went South. South Jersey, that is. Made a stopover in Atlantic City to spend a few hours in the casinos playing blackjack, grabbing a quick lunch on the boardwalk (met up with a pair of delightful older black women who were outraged I’d paid $3 for lemonade. Fabulous stuff, though. Fresh-made, just the right blend of tart and sweet. Worth every penny on a warm August day).

Then on down to Cape May and wonderfully indulgent dinner at 410 Bank Street. If I were ever to put together a short list of Best Restaurants Ever, 410 would be on it. The service wasn’t as sharp as previous visits, but the food was *swoon* yum. Appetizer of mako medallions in a ginger-honey dipping sauce, and entrée of rack of lamb with a Burgundy demi-glaze and foie gras truffle butter mashed potatoes. Dessert was a very light cheesecake with an equally light and wonderful raspberry sauce. Then French Roast in a huuuuge mug. I highly recommend eating there. Well, there and the Mad Batter, which I didn’t get to this time.

Also did some window shopping. Rampant Victoriana tends to be a bit too fussy for me, but there were some lovely bits of jet and marcasite jewelry that called my name. I pretended to be deaf and walked on.

And best of all, this is all research for a project I’m working on. So I didn’t really ‘waste’ a day at all.

Thought about hitting the boardwalk at Seaside on the way home, but decided to keep it for another runaway.

And home to lovely sunrise, one of the awaited e-mails (la agent comes through!), a couple of blush-inducing fan letters, and a very peevy cat who demanded attention. Shall spend the rest of the day making garlic butter (yuummmm), trying out a new risotto recipe, and working on the last project that’s past-due. I’m caught up! I’m caught up!

Um.

I’m not as far behind! I’m not as far behind!