And Then There Were Two

Last Tuesday, we confirmed our reservations for 8 people at Dinero’s in Cohasset. Moments later, the worst Nor’easter of the season started barreling up the coast. We’d been looking forward to having dinner with the Drinans, the Nortons and the Nortons East but found our crowd dwindling by Friday afternoon as it started snowing sideways.

The Drinans lost their babysitter around midday, the Nortons lost theirs several hours later. While the freewheeling Nortons East did not require a sitter, they were nonetheless thwarted by the dreadful rush hour traffic that brought Boston to a stand still yesterday afternoon. Our sitters, Krissy & Matt – never short on fortitude -- were still ON, however, and when you have a sitter, you don’t cancel plans. Ever.

Still, I looked out the window and thought better of our restaurant choice. Maybe dining so close to the seashore in a blizzard wasn’t such a good idea. Instead of ending the evening with some crème brulee, we could end up swept out to sea, clutching a chair pad off Nantasket Beach. We decided to just go up the street to Fifty Three South and have dinner at the bar instead. But when we got there, it was closed. The parking lot wasn’t even plowed. This is almost unheard of for that restaurant, especially on a Friday night.

Is it really that bad outside? We looked around. There were no cars spinning out, no people trapped in snowbanks. What’s going on here?

We headed further down the road to Nino's. It was fantastic. We sat in a stone-walled corner with ceiling to floor windows and the snow swirling outside no longer seemed menacing but scenic. We indulged in some filet mignon and vino and then headed to Asian C for martinis.

At 10 p.m., we were the *only* people there and were doted upon by a rambunctious Chinese bartender who was heavy into March Madness. He was completely bullshit he "gave six points to Virginia Tech!" He and James bonded over their brackets and made fun of my choosing Gonzaga in mine because I like the way the name sounded as well as the abbreviation "The Zags."

A great night all around, although our friends were missed.

Snow Schmo.