Dear M...
Your house this time? I'll bring bourbon-appropriate food ...
There are 2 ways to go:
I sometimes say I have no hobbies. But I do. Simone was one. Another is BBQ ... which is seriously bourbon-appropriate food.
When I was on an airplane every 2 weeks, and my hosts wanted to take me out for dinner, to fend off white tablecloth restaurants, I'd ask, "How's the local BBQ?" Because of that I've eaten in some great joints: TX, MO, Little Rock, Detroit.
Well, the best BBQ east of the Mississippi used to be just over the state line from me in Danielson, CT. But they closed two summers ago. And then I discovered this place: Gotta Q in Cumberland, RI.
It's exquisite ...some of the best I've had; this is the real stuff. And they are bourbon mad, with a well-stocked bar.
Way #1: Sometimes I just swing by and pick up an order ... then drive to someone's house. {Here's the menu.}
Way #2: Sometimes I meet people there (if they're coming from out of state) and we just swoon for a couple of hours.
Either is great for me. It's an easy detour coming in from Foster, with pick-up in Cumberland (a minute off I-295), then a fast run to East Greenwich: pretty much all highway. If that's good for you, M., let's time it for mid-afternoon (re: avoiding some traffic). You look at the menu. Tell me what you'd like (don't be shy; things run out: last time they didn't have any Texas caviar). I'll order it and pick it up and drive your way in a car that smells suddenly edible. Portions are sizeable. Feel free to order for Sophia, too. And feel free to order for leftovers the next day (I tend to buy some additional baked beans, which are rich with meat strands).
~ tom