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Eating In Was a Much Better Option For the Dining Divas in December
by Lisa Kampeter
Another year has passed us by, and what a year it has been for the Dining Divas! Through the many Diva years, I’ve downplayed any mishaps that we experienced at our restaurant choices. I would hate for someone not to try out a place because of my silly issues or dislikes. I tend to believe in second chances. The one time my entire Dining Divas column was negative, I didn’t even mention the restaurant by its name. I continue to believe that for us, it’s not about the food. It’s about the camaraderie with our friends.
Well, this time is different. I’m not downplaying anything. The Dining Divas outing last month was at Q or Quintessential in downtown St. Charles. Rather than waste any more of your time or mine, I will just come out and say that our experience started off well as we all enjoyed our food, but it didn’t end pleasantly. The Italian Diva and the Educator Diva happily shared a meal and unhappily shared food poisoning.
A long-awaited trip to Phoenix had to be cancelled as the Sick Diva spent her night and day in bed. At first, she assumed it was the flu until she heard from the other Diva and the stomach issues she was experiencing. So that’s all I have to say about Quintessential. Thank God it’s not about the food for us!
This year started off on a somber note as one Diva lost her father, and the year has ended with another Diva losing her mother. Although these are extremely difficult experiences, it’s nice to have a group of women to share the tears with. We had one Diva change jobs a couple times and another Diva fear she’d be on strike. And the entire group has worried about job losses and the horrible housing community.
But at the end of the year, we still celebrated. The annual Dining Divas Christmas dinner at home brought back the Maintenance Diva and the Deep Thoughts Diva. We laughed as a game of Rob Your Neighbor turned violent. And we ended the evening with a board game that was far from boring.
Looking back at 2011, we shared many joys at many great places. Lucas Park for Sunday breakfast/brunch was a great start to the new year as was sharing photos of the newest Grandson Diva. We learned that Hendel’s isn’t the only classy place close to Florissant where you can enjoy a glass of wine. We loved Cork in Ferguson. Toasted raviolis from Angelo’s Taverna downtown is a great stop before a ballgame. And what a delightful surprise was the Shaved Duck in the Tower Grove Neighborhood.
We watched as the Returning Student Diva survived her first semester back at school and the Continuing Education Diva worked extremely hard to juggle her schoolwork and her career. We felt right at home at Trattoria Branica and wanted to bring home more than one of our waiters throughout the year…to serve us food, of course. And we welcomed a few new Divas to the group.
Many may be glad to see that 2011 has come to an end. I, for one, am glad that I got to share 2011 with the Dining Divas. What an experience it has been!
