Great company and great food

Miss D. and I spent an enjoyable day running around south and central Indianapolis.  A lot of it was spent in the company of Mike Williamson and his family, catching up on their news, inquiring after mutual friends, and examining Mike's wonderful collection of veteran and vintage firearms.

We had lunch at Mama Irma's Peruvian restaurant.  Neither of us had ever had Peruvian food, so everything was new to us.  Based on the flavors we encountered today, we're going to have to read up on Peruvian food and order some of their spices and flavorings to try making it ourselves.  It was rich, exotic and very tasty.  I had Aji de Gallina ("shredded chicken in a creamy walnut parmesan sauce served with a side of rice") and Miss D. had Jalea ("deep fried seafood floured and seasoned with our own blend of peruvian spices served on a bed of fried yucca root and topped off with fresh onion salsa").  Both of us found our meals very tasty indeed.  Miss D. also sampled a Peruvian drink, 'Chicha Morada', which Wikipedia describes as "a sweet Peruvian beverage made from Blue corn, a variant of Zea mays native to the Mesoamerica, and spices. Non-alcoholic, it is a type of chicha usually made by boiling the corn with pineapple, cinnamon, clove, and sugar."  It's certainly very sweet, too much so for our taste, but might work better if cut 50-50 with water.

For supper Mike took us to one of the nicest steakhouses I've visited for some time:  Stone Creek Dining Company.  The food was outstanding, the prices reasonable considering the quality of the food, and the service was more than adequate.  Miss D. started with ahi tuna, moved on to bourbon mushroom beef medallions, and split a bittersweet chocolate mousse with me for dessert.  I began with bistro steak bites and topped that with a delectable horseradish dijon crusted sirloin.  We had a great time.  Afterwards we adjourned to Mike's home for a glass of 'Writers Tears', an Irish whiskey of which I'd never heard before.  It proved to be a light, pleasant distillation, and a very good way to round off our evening together.  (The name, of course, was serendipitous for a gathering like ours, and entirely appropriate.)

Tomorrow Miss D. and I will be heading for Ohio, to visit with her parents and spend some time with fellow author Cedar Sanderson and her other half.  Should be a fun weekend.

Peter