Yesterday was all about having appointments and running errands on the east side of Ft. Lauderdale. What with my cataractic eyeball I am, temporarily, leaving the driving to C, at least until after said cataract is excised next month. I literally hate driving in South Florida anyway, so I don't mind being confined to the passenger seat. Rush hour or not, the traffic here is always pure evil incarnate; it's like I-95 and all its adjacent tributaries and side streets are possessed by the souls of every boogeyman ever conceived. Jason, Freddy, Ghostface, Michael Myers....yep, all souls imprisoned within the highway's concrete and asphalt, which has been, for over 20 years, in a continuous state of disrepair and reconstruction. 

After spending several hours running hither and yon yesterday, we decided it was time for lunch and headed to Zuckerello's, one of our favorite Italian restaurants. To celebrate our wedding last year, we hosted a small dinner at Zuckerello's and hadn't been back since. Much to our disappointment, Zuckerello's is not open for lunch so we jumped back in the car and made a mad dash to our plan B restaurant, Rendez-Vous French Bakery and Bistro, which we'd never set foot in despite its years-long residency on our Bucket List. I tend to get very hangry if I wait too long to put food in my stomach so, despite the plethora of traffic lights, maliciously unsynchronized in order to inflict the maximal quota of road rage and frustration, we made it to the Rendez-Vous without a moment to spare. We were not disappointed.

The interior of the cafe is brick(ish) and coolly casual, not unlike the old Sage French Cafe we once frequented in pre-pandemic times (Sage, sadly, closed its doors last year but Rendez-Vous, while significantly smaller, offers much the same vibe). With a delicious sounding menu to choose from, we both wound up ordering paninis, of more Italianate origin than French, I suspect. Mine was a jambon et fromage panini (ham and cheese, for those in the know), so perhaps that makes it equal parts French and Italian? Doesn't really matter. It was delectable, and so were the French Fries I selected to accompany it (I rarely eat fries anymore so these were a treat!). C's panini had chicken, brie and roasted red peppers and came out with a mixed greens salad. He enjoyed his meal as much as I did mine, although I must say these mixed greens salads do little to stimulate much enthusiasm on my part. I mean, what are they but weeds in a bowl? Unsurprisingly, neither of us were able to finish our enormous meals so, typical of most South Florida seniors (whose tribe, I suppose, we must eventually join), we asked for to-go boxes, later serving up our lunch leftovers for dinner. 

We liked the Rendez-Vous so much that I texted our friend, Kevin, about it and now he's coming up from Miami later this week to meet us there for lunch. I figured it would appeal to Kevin since he does antique shows in West Palm and we used to meet him for lunch at a vaguely similar place on Dixie Highway. FYI: those luncheons came to an abrupt halt when, one day, the owner unwisely revealed herself to be somewhat less than appreciative of our continued patronage. Well, we were always the only men--gay men, at that--in the joint, as well as the youngest (by about 20 years). Despite Kevin's best efforts at pretending he was too cool to care and much too classe superieure to have ever dined there in the first place, he was cut to the quick. Frankly, I didn't take it to heart. It always felt like we had stumbled into the middle of a meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution when we went there for lunch, anyway. 

Rendez-Vous, as it happens, was also a bit special because we didn't go out for dinner the previous day, which was Valentine's Day. For us, it makes sense to avoid going out on VD because (a) the restaurants are always packed to the rafters and (b) restauranteurs tend to jack up their prices two-fold, sometimes more, with prix fixe menus that have become de rigueur on most holidays down here. We're not really cheapskates, but we're not exactly romantics, either. For sure, neither of us are fans of overcrowded restaurants. Our 17th anniversary (of our first night as cohabitants) was 2 weeks ago and we didn't go out then, and our first wedding anniversary is this coming Saturday but we're expected at a party being thrown for someone else who is visiting from out of town. I think maybe Monday night will be the best time for us to celebrate our February milestones at a nice restaurant. Monday night usually means fewer crowds, better service and a more leisurely dining experience. 

And we are all about the leisure. What with one thing and another, between the cataract surgery and the colonoscopy, we are taking our leisure where we can find it these days. But, come May, by God, watch out world, these leisure travelers will be on the run, chasing the sun and howling at the moon with all we've got (however slim the reserves). One only hopes that no further bones will be broken during all this leisurely chasing and howling.