Dinner with a Space Cadet

The Air Force Research Lab, where Dan works, brings in graduate students each summer to work with their program. They are officially known as the Space Scholars, but are often referred to, in jest, as the Space Cadets. Dan has made friends with one of them, named James. He's working on his doctorate, and this year was his third summer to be one of the "cadets." He'll be leaving to go back home this weekend, so his wife came from Texas, yesterday, to travel back home with him. Last night we had dinner out with the two of them, as we did at summer's end last year.

James and his wife chose the restaurant this time. It's called Marcello's Chop House, and it's pretty "high class." It's the kind of place where they come around periodically, with something resembling a little tiny squeegee, to remove any bread crumbs from the white tablecloths. The kind of place where they bring you new silverware for each course. The kind of place where they serve Kobe beef, the Japanese-style beef that comes from cattle fed on beer, and given daily body massages to make the meat melt-in-your-mouth tender and, supposedly, more flavorful. Oh, and by the way, since a Kobe beef steak goes for $115 there, Dan and I both decided we were hungry for the humble pork chop, instead. Personally, I'm more comfortable in those Texas-style steak houses with plank floors and country-western music, where they bring a bucket of peanuts and encourage you to throw the shells on the floor.

Anyway, James and his wife are a lot of fun, we had a great time visiting with them, and we look forward to another farewell dinner with them next year at the end of another summer.