Wedding shower smoothies at Eastern Standard

As I've started again with the food (drink?) writing, it would be remiss of me not to talk about how much I love Eastern Standard. I mean, I've always loved them (as I may have mentioned here once or twice), but on this occasion they went above and beyond.

First off, bad news, boys: Lovely Co-worker Sarah is getting married. (Actually, she's no longer a co-worker, though she is still lovely.) True to form, she decided to have her wedding shower at Eastern Standard; she's even closer to becoming a resident there than I am.

I was so excited to get the invitation, but then immediately started to worry. This was my first public outing, since the trismus kicked in, at which food would be served. What was I supposed to do? Leave early, before lunch? Arrive late, having had? Sit and make small talk at an empty setting while everyone else ate salad?

I asked Sarah, who passed me along to Trish, her best friend and shower organizer. Trish said she'd talk to Eastern Standard.

"Seriously, I don't need anything special," I said. "Tell them to take whatever they're giving everyone else and throw it in the blender."

Well, of course, that's not what they did. Not even close.

Turns out they had separate meetings to decide on a special menu just for me.

I get quite misty-eyed just thinking about it.

So while everyone else had flatbread pizza and salads, I had an amazing chilled corn chowder that tasted as though they'd extracted essence of corn, fresh from the field, and poured it into a glass. Vibrant, light, refreshing. How often can you say that about a soup?



And when the other guests moved on to steak frites (which oh lordy looked so good), I was well compensated with a healthy blueberry-spinach-Marcona almond-Greek yogurt smoothie. The almonds were a great touch; the flavor came through very nicely.



Dessert was perfectly pretty and preppy: macarons in Lily Pulitzer colors (which I could admire, if not consume):



And then everyone got strawberry milkshakes, so I felt more like one of the girls.



Dining out when you can't eat is enough of a challenge. Dining out when someone else is in charge of the menu — and has been kind enough to invite you along — brings a special set of concerns: How much are you allowed to intervene? What responsibility does the host have for your needs, especially when they're also dealing with other guests?

This event went well, partly because the organizer was happy to work on my behalf (for which, thanks a million, Trish!) and partly because Eastern Standard does such a fantastic job with customer service. I'd say when in doubt, talk to the people who know you and know your challenges, and see what can be done.

And happy upcoming wedding, Sarah! No, I'm not taking this picture down - we look too divine!