early this week carlo and i headed to van gogh is bipolar to drop off some floral teas for jetro. it was around 9pm and since carlo and i havent had dinner, we decided to eat there.  cuzin tricie was with us and would have joined us but had to attend to the mother so she left early.  there were very few diners that night so it was a treat to find jetro relaxed and had time to sit and talk to us.  it’s been a while since we were able to just sit and talk.

we tried his 3-course meal that night: virginia vegetable soup with pieces of shredded chicken and some beans, norwegian salmon belly with bowls of cabbage leaves filled with sting’s spicy marble potatoes (we opted for this instead of rice) and a slice of orange, mel gibson’s darkest sin and a refreshing cucumber tea with sprigs of tarragon and mint (see photo on left).  a better lighted photo is posted below but we already dove into the drink, enjoying it like kids who picked on flowers and leaves from the backyard and mixed it up for a dare. sorry for the quality of the photos, had i known we were going back to van gogh and staying longer i would have brought my dslr (photos were taken with my phone cam).

we were already in high spirits finishing the soup when the main course arrived. it was overwhelming and i thought the only way i could deal with it was by eating with my fingers. and so i started picking on the cabbage leaves, the lettuce et. al. the downside to this was carlo and i werent speaking to each other because we were so engrossed with the food and the experience of eating it (we’re normally engaged in conversation while eating), though not entirely bad because we savored every aspect of the meal.  and kudos to the well-cooked salmon belly, superb.  there might be some truth in jetro’s diet since we were left heady and clearly stoked.

it’s no surprise we are fans of mel gibson’s darkest sin.  jetro tells us he tweaked it since then but we still enjoyed it immensely– mel gibson’s darkest sin is a jägermeister shot with a chocolate bottom and finished off by a walnut. call it crazy, we call it love.

winding down, jetro mixed us a tea concoction and pulled out all the stops to setup the bed out in his garden with candles and lace table covers. we then chilled out under the stars and talked until midnight. we could live like this forever  🙂  jetro was kind enough to offer us a suggestion for our bluementritt cafe we couldnt resist.  we’ll keep you guys posted. i marveled at the dill flowers blooming in jetro’s garden and asked for a few to bring home to mindanao for mom before we left the cafe.

van gogh remains a large part, jetro’s home and it really was just visiting an old friend and enjoying dinner with him.  but more than anything, van gogh will always be that moment where life stands still long enough for you to reflect on it. this universe is always worth visiting, a necessary trip to discovering what you might just need to do and unravel things about yourself.  over tea, childhood drinks and cabbage leaves.

gutten nacht!  till the next universe hop.