Sometimes you just have to take the bad with the good

Hello everyone! Hope you're either still out having a good time, or recovering from what I hope was a fabulous weekend!! I had yet another great Cleveland weekend, filled with cookouts and parties. Unfortunately there was one bad nightclub experience, but there was one FANTASTIC dining experience that more than made up for it.

Usually, when people ask "Do you want the bad news or the good news", I ALWAYS say bad first. So in keeping with that tradition, I will tell you about my bad experience first.

On Saturday night, N's friend Matt was in town. Matt is one-half of The Kickdrums, and in support of a friend and a musician that got his start in Cleveland, a bunch of us went to listen to Matt spin at Fortress, which is at the corner of W9th and St. Clair. It.was.awful. The decor is interesting (I would describe it as emo chic), and that's about all this place has going for it. At 11:30 pm on a Saturday night, there were maybe 20 people in it. At first, I was surprised, and then I figured it out why it was so empty: (a) $10 cover (b) RIDICULOUSLY expensive drinks. N and I had 5 drinks between the two of us; two were Miller Lites, 1 Jameson on the rocks, and a couple of saphhire-tonics; the bill was $65!!!!. This is Cleveland. And these were not Velvet Tango Room-esque cocktails, for which I will HAPPILY pay $15. (c) all the seating was roped off for VIP/Reserved. ummm, there's 20 people in here. Needless to say, someone would have to give me a VERY good reason to ever go back there.

Now that the "bad" is out of the way, I can move on to the FABULOUS!! N and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary on Friday, and we celebrated with dinner at L'Albatros. I've eaten french food before, but I was definitely eating the wrong thing. THIS.PLACE.IS.AMAZING. Everything is so FULL of flavor, I can't even begin to describe it. And, there's no skimping on the butter or cream. N ordered a martini, while I started with their signature drink, the L'Albatros (absinthe, pineapple juice, lime juice, mint, lemon-lime soda).

This was followed by escargots (omg, so yummy) and a selection of amazing cheeses. For entrees, N ordered the Pied de Cochon (a sausagy dish) while I ordered the Mussels with Pomme Frites.

If you like Mussels, these were absolutely, unbelievably, DELICIOUS! So if you're looking for some place new to try for dinner this weekend, I would definitely recommend L'Albatros. It will leave you full and happy!!