Nothing Romantic about Schnitzel & Spatzle

Single Awareness Day, or SAD, as it is more commonly referred to , is celebrated by many on February 14th. I prefer not to refer to it by it's initials or acronym, SAD, because it's not a sad day for me--I'm not sad about being single or about getting to celebrate Valentine's Day with some of my best friends.

In the words of my roommate Jessica, "A single girl can ROCK this holiday too."

For the third year in a row, my roommates, myself, and our good friends Beth & Rea all went out to eat together for Single Awareness Day. Last year we struck out in search of the ultimate "Hole in the Wall" and found it at the corner of 46th & Woodstock (see last year's post for details). The year before that we ended up at a little Chinese restaurant, almost by accident, that was flooded with suburbianites waiting for take out. This year Rea's request was that it not be any place romantic or rather any place that could conjour up romantic memories, so we settled on Gustav's German Pub & Grill in Clackamas, OR.

We were all in good spirits as we arrived toting our little valentines gifts and/or cards. Some of us enjoyed the complentary cider in the lobby as we waited to be seated. After a short wait we were shown to our seats and started the evening off with some great cheese fondue! We laughed at each other's stories and enjoyed the ease of company that long friendship brings.

It was a learning experience for us. I don't think any of us really knew exactly what "schnitzel" and "spatzle" were before that evening, but we found out they were good! And Rea was right, German food really isn't the least bit romantic. Our booth was high backed and cozy in a good family meal kinda way, and this feeling was spurred on by the meat and potatoes compositions on our plates. Our waiter was friendly, attentive, and didn't seem to mind our frequent questions about the menu or our lengthy stay in his section.

We finished off the evening by exchanging the small gifts we'd brought along for each other as well as sharing a fantastic piece of strawberry pizza . . . that's what I said, strawberry pizza. How German it was, I'm not sure, but it was good! And finally we ventured out to the front of the restaurant to take some pictures. What we didn't know was that what had been a mild, day had turned into a freezing cold night. So in between snaps of the flash, our teeth chattered and we all wished we'd worn more layers. Good thing you can't tell in our pics :)

What a bittersweet memory! As Jessica prepares to move, our three year tradition has come to an end. We'll probably gather to celebrate Single Awareness Day next year, but without all 5 of us, it just won't be the same.