We rarely go out in the evenings, especially after the unfortunate Applebee's outing. But I was on a roll yesterday, having already left the house once to venture to Sears, and so we decided to have a little "Date Night".
We couldn't really afford it, but then we found a gift card for Mimi's Cafe that my parents had given us the last time we were down. My mother loooves Mimi's Cafe. It's a chain of faux French cafés.
*Fun Fact! The original restaurant is actually a major gay watering hole in West Hollywood called The French Market. Equal parts La Cage Aux Folles and Victor/Victoria, it's campy good fun. It even has a little gift store named "Dorothy's Surrender" selling all things gay. Including porn. The story is the owner's family saw what a gold mine it was and thought it would have mass appeal if only it was "straightened out" a bit. So they kept the phony French overlay and the menu, dropped the gay parts (the fun and irony... and the porn) and voila!, a whole new casual dining concept. If only the locals knew.*
I agreed to meet the boyfriend when he got off work at 6:00pm, the height of the dinner rush here. I was surprised to see the restaurant fairly empty. The hostess looked like F. Murray Abraham in drag and she clearly had a thing for me. For the rest of the evening she would swing by the table to see if we were "O.K." with a wink and sly smile.
We were shown to a back room where the bulk of the diners had been herded. There were a couple of large boisterous groups and a smattering a screaming babies. Perfect for a quiet dinner out. We were seated across from a table of 10, a loud group of people who clearly worked together. Salespeople of some sort. If I were to guess I'd say they were from the nearby Mattressland. We ordered our fake French food and cheap wine. Conversation was pointless since we were just drowned out. Our food arrived and it was cooked. In Bako you just learn to lower the bar. Around 6:45 the group of shysters left and suddenly the place was completely dead.
On the drive home at 7:00 I couldn't help but notice the streets were practically deserted. The first Friday night of Summer, with the sun still high in the sky, and it looked like they were already rolling up the streets.
There must be something that passes for night life here, but honestly, I've seen no signs of it. Not that I really care. I have a sneaking suspicion this may have been our last "night on the town" before we move on. Which can't come a moment too soon.
