Lunch and more presents

Sonal is once again in town for the weekend, and since she’s spending most of it with her folks, we met for a quick lunch yesterday. (My friends and I seem to have a good understanding that if you’re going to be in town for whatever reason, we have to make time to meet up.) I left work early and went to the airport to meet her, and with perfect timing Thom came with the car and picked us up. The afternoon was sunny and balmy, and as Sonal noted, cicada-free. (You can hear the cicadas in the distance, though, which is perhaps just as eerie as seeing them.) We went to nearby Pentagon Row, which has a bunch of good restaurants all on one plaza. I suggested Lebanese Taverna; I hadn’t been there before, but had heard good things about it. Oh, it was excellent. We shared a whole bunch of dishes, including lamb kabob and falafel. Yum. We’ll have to make this one of our regular places.

Side note: Sonal came bearing gifts! For Thom and me, she brought L. A. Burdick hot chocolate (the package comes with a tiny whisk; how cute is that?), and as a belated birthday present, she got me a box of Italian soaps by Santa Maria Novella. Sweet! And speaking of gifts, thanks also go to Susan, who got me the Will & Grace season one DVDs! When the discs arrived, first I watched the interviews and then one of my favorite episodes, “Yours, Mine or Ours,” in which Peter, a cute new tenant, moves into the building, and Will and Grace, unable to figure out whose team he’s on, viciously compete for his affections. It has some of Rajani’s and my favorite lines:

Grace: I–I love–love–love–love that sculpture.
Peter: Oh, yeah! I got that in Africa. I found that trailing through Mombasa.
Will: Ah, yes, Mombasa.
Grace: Was it last week you were in Mombasa, Will, or… never?

Anytime I am caught up in some kind of artificial reverie (“Ah, yes, Vienna…”), now you know the appropriate response to snap me right out of it (“Was it last week you were in Vienna, Jeff… or never?”).