Puppy In A Bikini!

[lupestripe]

Last night, Wolfie and I met up with my father, who drove down from Middlesbrough to exchange Christmas presents. As usual, I won't be seeing my family over Christmas, which is a particular shame this year as apparently everyone else is convening back home this year. But Wolfie being on his own and my excessive workload mean it's just not possible for me to go back, so I've delayed my visit to the first weekend of January.

Consequently, my dad drove down yesterday to meet up with us and go out for a meal. He favoured a place with a Christmas menu but these were surprising few in Leeds and the ones which had one were either excessively expensive or only serving on Christmas Day itself. In the end, we ended up in Manhatta, a new New York style restaurant which we had been meaning to try since it opened last month. I opted for the New York strip steak with bearnaise sauce and it didn't disappoint, although the service was exceptionally slow, borderline chronic throughout. They clearly hadn't got to grips with Christmas demand as even though it was a Monday, it did fill up quite healthily as the evening progressed. The range of beer wasn't the greatest, it more being a cocktail and wine place, but there were good brews nonetheless.

My dad parked at my work and we walked into town, spying the licensing information for the potential new BrewDog bar, which will be very close to work and is incredibly exciting, not to mention distracting. I showed my dad some of the lesser known sights of North Leeds while after the meal, we headed back to our house where we showed him hue and the cracked roof tile which we believe is causing a little damp issue in the kitchen. He gave us some advice on how to resolve this over a cup of tea before heading back home at around 10pm.

I do feel increasingly guilty about not seeing my family at Christmas but circumstances dictate that it's difficult every other way. This is a very intense time at work for me, with Boxing Day a 14 hour marathon, so I think it's better setting aside an entire weekend in the new year when I can see everyone properly. I could have gone up this week but I would have had to work throughout. As I've done this for ten years now, and five with my present company, I may try and get next Christmas off so I can spend it with my folks for the first time since 2006. That would be nice but it's far easier said than done. Still it was nice to see my dad last night and my sister last week so that's something at least, even if it's not ideal.

Comments

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a pretty good choice, in the end. ^_^ I'm generally not much for sauces with steaks, but there are occasional exceptions - the blue cheese that the Royal Standard offered (their menu rotates every month or two, so I dare say it's gone now) with their steak last December was especially carefully balanced - distinct, without becoming pungent, and interfering with the steak. (I went with the lamb shanks with puy lentils - absolutely top-notch. Beautifully braised, delicious gravy, and the lentils went with the meat very well. One of the best lamb dishes I've enjoyed)

Unfortunate about the service, but I suppose there are going to be teething problems early on, as they work out the wrinkles in the system. =:/

A BrewDog near the salt mine? Oh dear. ^_^;

Still, you'll be getting to meet up with everyone again soon, even if not on the mandated days. And that's the key.

I assume you're salaried, so these unconventional hours won't accrue delicious overtime?