As a kid my parents never made a really big deal of our birthdays, but we always got our favorite meal at home on the day (I was always a steak and potatoes kid . . . still am I hated my one sisterâs birthday as she preferred fried shrimp and pasta. But every birthdayâeven momâs and dadâsârequired chocolate chip pound cake from the local bakery.
As I got older it was the usual local bar blowout. My birthday often falls on Labor Day weekend, so picnics and barbecues were not uncommon.
Now I am at an age where Iâd prefer not to acknowledge that day, but mom still takes me out for a nice lunch or dinner and sisters and sundry relatives call me (not text, not e-mail
I have three very close friends from high school and we were all born within three weeks of each other (same year). All these decades later we still have a big birthday dinner at a restaurant. For milestone birthdays itâs a long weekend away with lots of wine and good food
HAH! Whereas, my favorite birthday meal was roasted leg of lamb, potatoes and probably peas. And a boxed mix spice cake (Duncan Hines, I think?) My sister despises lamb and peas. So Mom always had to make something separate for her.
Back in the 60s and 70s, it wasnât as easy to get lamb in the fall (my birthday is in October). So Mom would almost always buy 2 for Easter, and one would be very well wrapped and tucked in the back of the freezer for my birthday meal 6 months later.
Mom wasnât big on alternate meals. I think I generally got a salami or grilled cheese sandwich. As long as the chocolate chip cake was there, it was all good.
Very low key and itâs been that way for some time now. Sometimes I spend it with family or friends, sometimes Iâm on my own and Iâm fine with that.
Thatâs a special story. My dear mother turned 90 a few months ago, weâre 20 years and many miles apart. I talk to her at least once a day on the phone.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
27
I often wonder how things would have been between us, had either of my parents lived to a ripe old age. As it was, both died in their 60s, while I was in my 20s.
Iâm sorry to hear that. I lost my father when I was in my early 30âs. I have a special bond with my Mom. She & I were the only girls in a household with 6 males. I canât fathom losing her.
When the kids were younger, and we were both working like dogs and too tired to cook, we let them choose which restaurant theyâd like dinner at. Chuckie Cheese was too far away, so many times they chose an upscale family pizza parlor. Sometimes it was Toxic Smell ( Taco Bellâick). Later dinners were more relaxed and home cooked, their choice of menu and dessert. My favorite birthday #10, dinner ever, was at Trader Vicâs when it was in Oakland. To a kid it was a wonderous place, full of sights and mystique and the pan fried abalone, bedspring potatoes and LeSueur peas were memorable. My 60th fell on Fat Tuesday and oh what a party with a few close friends at the local Cajun joint. This last birthday I was solo and picked up take out from my favorite sushi/Japanese fusion spot. Never again! The order was way wrong (found this out when I got it home) and I overtipped (35%) because well, it was my birthday and I felt generous. Most if it landed in the compost or trash. Iâll eat there in person dining, but not take out. # 70 is in the plansâŠ
Neither was mine. Usually it would be cereal or a PB&J sandwich. But for a birthday meal, sheâd make an exception. My sister probably got a piece of chicken and the sides we had with my birthday lamb.
Holy moly. I can barely remember the last place we went out to this week!
Starting in my teens when my dadâs business began doing well we got in the habit of going out to nice dinners for everyoneâs birthday. I recall having several at Bernâs by the time I graduated from high school so that place holds a mythical place in my personal history.
Itâs changed a lot over the years. 10-15 years ago, there was a bar restaurant that had a huge space in the back and if you gave them an estimate of how many people you were going to have, you didnât need to pay deposit or anything like that. We sometimes had 50+ people there⊠Mainly for drinks, but some people ordered food. It wasnât really a dining destination. Lol. I usually had dinner elsewhere with a few friends beforehand.
Eventually that changed to only a dozen or so people in a restaurant somewhere⊠When the focus became more on food with close friends and less like a huge party. That huge bar was out of business by then anyway. We had maybe a dozen people in a food Hall that had some great Asian options⊠Just before the pandemic.
Then the pandemic happened and we skipped a year.
This year, I had a friend visit from New York City that weekend, and had two different birthday lunch get-togethers of eight or so people who are ready to eat indoors. One was Filipino food in a food Hall (not the one I mentioned earlier) and the other was a sushi brunch. I also had dinner with him five nights at he was here, one at the restaurant of a celebrity chef. Hopefully, next year people will be more comfortable dining indoors, since I still have friends that arenât and my birthday is in the winter.
By request, we host our son and grandkidâs birthdays with formal table and menu and cake of their choice,. Husband and I try for more low key, maybe a cake party in the afternoon if the kids insist.
I celebrated with chicken enchiladas from a place called Los Lobos (not traditional, wonât bother with a photo) and some carrot cupcakes my cousin had delivered from a bakery called La Noisette this year
I hated my one sisterâs birthday as she preferred fried shrimp and pasta. But every birthdayâeven momâs and dadâsârequired chocolate chip pound cake from the local bakery.
. It was a few days ago. 