Deb and I had a wonderful evening last night. I left work on time and so got home about 15 minutes earlier than usual. Deb was making vegetable soup for freezing. We had about an hour and a half before our dinner reservations. Deb had mentioned maybe having a quickie before dinner. She hopped in the shower and I went onto the front porch for a smoke. In about eight minutes, I hear my honey saying "Time's a wasting," and look back to see her head and naked shoulders peeking around from behind the front door. Woo-hoo! It might've been quick, but it was way hot. And both of us know all too well that after we eat at Babette's we're too foundered for amor.

Dinner was wonderful. The menu changes with the seasons, so we didn't expect the mussels to be on the appetizer list. But they were. This is the best appetizer ever. It's mussels in a white wine and strawberry sauce with the merest hint of serrano pepper. I know it sounds weird, but believe me, it's heaven in a little black shell. You can't taste strawberries, or wine, or even the peppers�it all just blends into something incredible. Usually the mussels are as big as your thumb. They were a bit smaller last night, but still wonderful. After we finished the mussels, we sopped up the sauce with bread. And when we decided we'd better not fill up on more bread, we ate the sauce out of the dish with our spoons. I don't think you're supposed to do that. One of the waitresses caught us doing it, but smiled.

That's one of the best things about Babette's. All of the waiters are great and completely without attitude. They wear jeans and white shirts, and you can wear jeans to the restaurant, too, if you want. I like a really good restaurant where you don't have to worry about dressing up. I did wear black slacks and dress shoes last night, but that was more about looking dashing for Deb than anything else.

My entree was roast duck with glazed pears on top of potato and parsnip slices. It had a dark brown sauce that I feared would be too heavy and strong like the oxtail sauce I had at Oscar's recently. But it wasn't. Not anything I wanted to sop more bread in, but very complementary to the duck, which was luscious itself.

Deb had broiled scallops with wild mushrooms over pasta. She actually finished hers (all of the scallops, but not all of the pasta). I had a little taste, and it was fabulous. I had them put half of my duck portion in a to go box. It's the only way you can save room for desset.

We were disappointed that there was no cappucino flan on the dessert menu, but made ourselves happy with marscapone crepes for Deb and a dried cherry tart for me.

All in all a wonderful evening. I gave Deb the brochure for our bed and breakfast in Savannah and we looked it up in the guidebook. We'll be in Savannah on Martin Luther King, Jr. day, staying a block away from where the parade starts at 10:00 a.m.

What I forgot to mention was that ten minutes before we left for the restaurant, Deb's mom called to tell her that she'd been in a car wreck and wanted Deb to spend the night with her. Deb's mom tends to overreact and overdramatize, so we weren't afraid she was at death's door or anything, and Deb promised to call her mom after dinner to see if she still felt like she needed someone to stay with her. After dinner, mom-in-law was feeling better and didn't need someone to stay. Yay.

That meant that Deb and I could sit on the couch, my arm around her shoulders, drinking some fabulous German wine and watching a two-hour episode of "Ab Fab."

The only problem is that I didn't get much sleep last night. I've been drooo-peee today. In a meeting this morning, I started such a viscious yawn that I slapped my hand over my mouth. The guy beside me didn't recognize the gesture as a suppressed yawn; he said he thought I was going to yak.