“And asparagus? My father would sooner have carried a twenty-dollar bill to his grave than spend it on some glamorous weed coated in cheese.

But for me, dinner at a fine restaurant was the ultimate luxury. It was the very height of civilization. For what was civilization but the intellect’s ascendancy out of the doldrums of necessity (shelter, sustenance and survival) into the ether of the finely superfluous (poetry, handbags and haute cuisine)? So removed from daily life was the whole experience that when all was rotten to the core, a fine dinner could revive the spirits. If and when I had twenty dollars left to my name, I was going to invest it right here in an elegant hour that couldn’t be hocked.”

— Rules of Civility: A Novel by Amor Towles

This quote pretty much sums up why I like good food and fine restaurants. Why a fountain pen with Jaques Herbin ink is the only way to write. Why I drink Scotch out of the Scottish-Thistle-etched glass that Tricia got for me on my 60th birthday, or have a “swift-half” in the Tenet’s glass I got when I was with my dad in Grantown on Spey. Why the only way to eat my raisin bran is from the bowl we got while we were in Yosemite. Or why my favorite chair is the tapestry chair we found in a brocant in Domfront.

These “finely superfluous” things revive my spirts and bring a bit of order to the craziness of the world.

We spent last weekend with friends and family, implementing the thought – “If you love people make them tasty food.” We got to talking about memorable restaurant experiences. Tricia and I both agreed that on October 19, 2023 we had one of our best, in a list of many great times. We were at Bergenus in Bergen, Norway.

The servers and the chef orchestrated a perfect evening. The chef even made us some new dishes he was currently experimenting with, it was a night to remember.

It started with a glass of wine in the lounge, while sipping on our vin blanc the server brought us sample of something new to try – this would be the pattern for the evening.

We then moved to a table with a view in the dining room, then the real magic began.

An evening like this can truly revive one’s spirits.

I posted more details about this meal in October of 2023.

Tricia also posted about Bergen.