Versailles Part I

Cindy, one of my co-workers, asked me to write a story from a few months back. It was a great story when I told it at the time but having to write it down months later will test my remembering and writing skills - two skills that I'm not too proud of but would like to improve with this blog-xperiment. I've always been able to tell a story far better than writing it down.

My aunt and uncle came in from Oregon this past April for Passover. The first Sedar wasn't until Saturday night and my mom approached me about finding a nice restaurant we could all go to on Friday night. She gave me a list Russian restaurants in the northwest suburbs recommended by her across the street Russian party animal neighbors and asked me to look them up on the internet.

Metromix led us to settle on Versailles Restaurant just steps from my parents house:

"Versailles Restaurant's Russian and French menu includes foie gras, tuna tartar, borscht, mixed vegetables vinegrette, Siberian ravioli and chicken Kiev served in a super-posh dining room with crystal glasses and chandeliers and candelabras for lighting. The crowd is mostly Russian, but anyone who's curious is advised to come on a weekday or plan in advance; Friday and Saturday get busy, with live international music adding an extra draw, so reservations are recommended one month ahead. "

We didn't have a month lead time - in fact we had only a day and a half. My mom called and after speaking to the owner who had to check to see if they could make it work (???) she called her back the next day to say that our party of five would be welcome at 7:30 p.m.

After putting the girls to bed, I found my dressiest maternity top and raced over by 8:00 p.m. Walking in, I was struck by the extreme juxtaposition between the Buffalo Grove strip mall exterior and the extravagant interior of heavy burgundy drapes that covered the windows and chandeliers that dressed the ceiling. Metromix was right on with the decor.

I approached the empty hostess desk and an elderly Russian woman dressed a sequined off-white dress sat in a chair just to the side and silently watched (judged) me. Also she didn't react to my reaching-out half smile. After looking around for a bit, a woman in black finally came out. Convinced that my family was here already - perhaps tucked away in a brimming dining room somewhere in the back, I asked the woman if I could go look for them. She shrugged her shoulders as I proceeded to let myself into the one and only dining room.

The one - completely empty- dining room. Picture a stage in the back of the room with a good sized dance floor in front. And big speakers. Long tables, lending themselves to family-style eating went around the dance floor. Each table had heavy burgundy cloths. Each table was dressed with a GIGANTIC candelabra. The chairs were velvety. And literally, there was no one in the room. I stepped back to hostess stand and back into the room. A couple of waiters began to shuffle in and out and gave me funny looks.

I had that familiar 'Why am I here; I knew this would happen' feeling in my gut. I scooted myself outside to the parking lot and flipped open my phone when I saw my mom's red Subaru Forester start to pull in. My family emerged dressed pretty casual - well, casual relative to the old woman in sequins.

Inside my mom could immediatly communicate in Russian and the hostess politely led us all into the --still empty -- dining room. We made our way to the far inside very last table on the left side of the dance floor. A bus boy came and filled our crystal water glasses. Did I mention that there was NO ONE ELSE in the room?

I recounted my humiliation of the past 15 minutes as my family began to peruse the menu. No one seemed to be quite as bothered by the bizarreness of the whole situation.

After we ordered our food, a few people started to trickle in. But strangely they didn't sit down. Also they all seemed to know one another. And they were dressed very fancy. There were little boys in little suits and little girls in flower-girl type dressed that chased each other around the dance floor. The parents just stood around and mingled. They all seemed to know everyone including the hostess, the waiters and the old woman in sequins.

(OK so this is where I go back to work and write more tomorrow....Stay tuned for Versailles Part II) The screen behind us in the photo above is a hint to what lies ahead. Below is another photo taken that night that will hopefully serve as a teaser as well: