I think it is easier to accept that our grandchildren are either in college or have graduated, than to believe our children are getting older. Our other son who just recently moved back from Las Vegas, turned forty-eight and he and his wife wanted to celebrate at Mint 29 in Dearborn, Michigan.

Mint 29 was originally a bank, then famously remembered as Dearborn Music for ages; during renovations they found coins in the wall from 1929, hence the name.  Our waiter asked if we wanted tap or bottled water, and now having lived in the Detroit area for over seventy years, surrounded by the Great Lakes, we opted for tap water. I asked if they dipped the carafe of water into the infamous Rouge River as it was very skunky. We ordered a couple of bottles of Acqua Panna Tuscany, which is natural spring water to make sure that we made it through dinner.  We ordered several appetizers for the table as shareables: Ceviche of Salmon, Cod, Onion, Jalapeno, Avocado, with a Cilantro Citrus Marinade and house-made tortilla chips, Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Cilantro Mint Coulis, Cocktail Sauce and house-made tortilla chips, and their Truffle Crab Mac N’ Cheese with Maryland Jumbo Crab, a four cheese house blend, bread crumbs and topped with Parmesan.

Our son had an order of Braised Tenderloin Tips, with Wild Mushrooms, Zip Sauce, Fried Onions, Crostinis and Garlic Smashed Potatoes.  His wife had Chicken Citron, an organic Chicken Breast with Roasted Potatoes, Roasted Carrots, Broccolini and a Cilantro-Lime Sauce.  My Bride and I decided to create our own version of Surf & Turf with an order of Chilean Sea Bass with Garlic Smashed Potatoes, Wilted Spinach, Lemon Butter Sauce and Cilantro Mint Coulis and a Dry Aged Angus Filet with Broccolini along with Bearnaise butter and some roasted garlic.  I ordered a bottle of Decoy Brut Cuvée Sparkling Wine California NV, figuring everyone likes some bubbles, we have to have kids that don’t drink wine and they drink Diet Pepsi.  Decoy Wines was a second brand label for Duckhorn Vineyards and was originally Napa Valley based and a Bordeaux style red blend.  Now this label is basically based in Sonoma County.  Duckhorn Vineyards also owns Paraduxx, Migration, Goldeneye and Canvasback labels as well as acquiring Calera Wine Company. The Decoy label was created over thirty years ago by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, and this Brut Cuvée uses the Methode Champenoise to craft a fine bottle of sparkling wine. The wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and has a “dosage” of French Oak barrel fermented Napa Valley Chardonnay.  The soft golden colored wine with plenty of small bubbles offered notes of apple, peach, orange zest, honeysuckle, and vanilla.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of Golden Delicious apple, citrus, orange zest, florals and a delightful mousse with bright acidity and ending with a medium-count mouth-watering finish of vanilla cream and crisp minerality.

For dessert we left the restaurant and went to their house to have cake and coffee.  It was a fitting that the day before we had six inches of snow, on the day that he was born, the morning was clear and bright, and I got a chance to drive home in a blizzard.  We had a chance to see their daughter who got home after work, but their son was still working. Our son and his wife were saving themselves to have some drinks later that evening, when their friends would stop by to celebrate. Their internal clocks are still on Las Vegas time, especially for partying.  In two years, he will be fifty, and in eight years, My Favorite Daughter will be fifty, it just does not seem right.