Aristocratic Meal

So, Katie wanted to know what aristocrats eat. While I can't say
that I'm an expert on the subject, I will tell you what we ate that
prompted the comment.

First off, it was Joel's birthday, so we dressed up a bit (including Joel
donning a vest and tie), and went out to dinner at The Souvlaki House,
home of "Ithaca's Finest Greek and Italian Cuisine".

We ordered fried ravioli as an appetizer, had a bottle of Retsina on the
side, Joel had veal in a marsala and mushroom sauce with a side of pasta
and I had a sausage and green pepper parmigiana. These came with garlic
bread sticks and Greek salad.

As we were paying and leaving, the owner asked where we were from. Joel
said Vermont and I said Oklahoma. He looked slightly and confused and
then asked, "Are you American?" We answer yes, and he says, "Oh, you eat like aristocrat." We mentioned we had both spent a year in Europe and
this seemed to clear up any confusion on his part.

So, what is aristocratic about what we ate? Discuss.

Updates (in no particular order):

Joel and I are back in Ithaca, in a new apartment and starting a newsemester.

My camera liked Sicily so much that it decided to stay.

Joel hit the quarter-of-a-century mark.

The English department convinced me to work with them for a month.

I planted lettuce!

John and Galadriel are married.

And, of course, Kelly and Alexander are married.

We've been borrowing other people's children and pets.

Marble tabletops aren't as expensive as we thought they'd be, at least not in Italy.

Cornell has a position called Graduate Resident Fellow that is similar to that of Faculty in Residence, but for graduate students, that we are considering applying to for Academic Year 2010-2011.

The absence of a skirt hanger can easily be remedied with a normal hangerand two clothespins.

Joel and I were told that we eat like aristocrats.

The Lincoln Park Zoo has a sun bear that enjoys sticking her tongue out at passers-by.

Joel is teaching an elementary Italian course this Fall.

Most of my plants are still alive after going all summer without me (aided by our friend Jesse).

Freecycle enabled us to receive a nice, new-to-us desk to help Joel in his studies.

We have really deep windowsills that fit lots of plants!

A drying rack and a dehumidifier make a very nice combination.

I think this list is long enough for now.

:-)