Do you have a tendency to attempt too much during the holiday season? Or all the time? I do! Yesterday was a reminder that when I’m sick, I really should just stay the heck in bed. Ah well, at least I got a good lunch out of it.

My grandparents used to throw a big Christmas party every year, but after my grandmother died in 1999, that stopped. Though I don’t want to get all sad and morbid and start musing about why my grandfather has gotten into the party-throwing spirit this year, there have been several gatherings in the past few months.

Yesterday’s was a Christmas luncheon at NYC’s 21 Club. I’d never been here before, so it was interesting to learn about the history of the place and its unique decor. The food was also really good. I went with the salad and fish options. I also had a few bites of the dessert, which was super-sweet (even with my dulled sense of taste) but delicious.

Grilled asparagus with greens, goat cheese, and olive vinaigrette

Grilled Bronzino

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Unfortunately, I faded pretty fast. By the end of the three hours, I was a little cranky and hoarse. Go figure, the second I stood up to quietly slip out, one of the priests at my grandfather’s table (as I’ve mentioned before, his posse is not complete without someone to bless whatever is about to be consumed) also rose— to give a blessing. A very long, detailed blessing. Good timing, Jess.

After that, I went right home and got back into bed.

Another funny tidbit from the day: a waiter tried to take away my glass of wine, insisting that I was not over 17. While I’m used to being carded, I can’t say I’ve ever had to grab a glass back from a server’s hand as he begrudgingly gets out his reading glasses to check my license. Go figure, I drank less than half the glass, but it was the principle of the thing! One of my pet peeves is being misunderstood or knowing that someone believes something untrue about me, so it felt really important to set the record straight.

The moral of the story? Eat your vegetables and don’t smoke and maybe you too can become an expert in awkward social interactions!

If you’re of drinking age, do you get carded a lot? Any funny stories about it?