No workout today as it was time to celebrate  my wife’s birthday with a wine tasting and dinner at our favorite restaurant in NJ: Sophie’s Bistro.

Phase 1

Wine tasting from a local vintner distributor. Part of what makes tastings so much fun is not just sampling new vintages, but meeting the people who are with you. It was a great 30 minute aperitif to prepare us for dinner.

Phase 2

For our entrees, my wife selected brisket while I opted for filet minon wrapped in prosciutto. Surprisingly, even though my meal sounded awesome and WAS awesome, I preferred my wife’s dish. The brisket was the best I’ve ever tasted, and the fat on the meat was the most succulent I’ve ever tasted. It was so tender that you could spread it on a piece of bread (and in fact I did).

Phase 3

Drinks with the owner. One of the things we love about Sophie’s is that the owner will often be found walking amongst the patrons to say hello and catch up with the locals. The owner knows us from our repeated visits, and at the end of dinner brought forth a tequila that he himself had designed and wanted us to try. I’m not usually a fan of tequila by itself, but this liquor that he designed was an amazing flavor, and if I had to describe it, it would be the taste of a single malt scotch from the Scottish Highlands, but without the peatiness.

After the tequila, we had to finish up with our favorite after dinner cordial, the owner’s banana rum. It is better than any desert, goes down so smooth, and leaves you in your happy place.

The lesson of the day – good workouts are enhanced by eating good food, and good food makes you want to work out.