Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas



It has become a family tradition. Without a doubt, it is one of our favorite traditions. Every Christmas, we have brunch at Park 75 at the Four Seasons. Sure, it's expensive. And yes, one cannot possibly eat enough to make it remotely cost effective. But, it is worth it? Oh, yes! It is so much fun. So decadent and such luxury. And they know us now and treat us like family!

L and I started this tradition many years ago, before we were married. I remember that first time vividly. We were so blown away. The Christmas buffet is just awesome and has something for everyone. Of course, they have a traditional carving station with turkey, ham, prime rib, fish, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing and the fixings. But they also have a cold salad station, hot pasta station, shellfish, meat and cheese, caviar. And our favorite: the asian station, featuring dim sum, sushi, korean beef, and tempura fried veggies.

This year, the salads were particularly awesome. The golden beet and red beet salads were both fantastic. As was the Morroccan chicken salad. I think the kale and sweet potato salad was my favorite. Usually, I just get a taste of everything, a bite size portion. But this year, I filled my plate at the cold salad station. And that was my first trip to the buffet.

From there, I headed to the pasta station. This is always an awesome station, but you got to be careful here. I loved the bay scallop and butternut squash risotto. And the shrimp and grits is always one of my favorites. L couldn't get enough of the mushroom ravioli. Good stuff was found at the Asian station. I'm always impressed with how fresh the sushi is. But after that, I was pretty much done.

Not L. He had seconds of everything. The man can eat.

And what of A? Was any of this fun for a 5 year old? Well, Santa was there and he came and spent a considerable amount of time at our table. A was concerned about where the reindeer were but Santa and I explained that the reindeer were very tired from the previous night's activities and were at home in the North Pole resting.

And if Santa wasn't enough to keep the boy entertained, there is the dessert station. Really it's whole room. It has gingerbread houses, a train, a giant chocolate fountain, as assortment of truffles, cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, and a chocolate-cherry bread pudding. What did A want? Swedish fish and sweet tart. Oy!

Eventually, A did get bored. He asked if we planned on staying there forever. If only we could.

But we will be back next year. Happy Holidays to one and all!