Our First MISadventure

Marigold Cafe & Bakery: sounds innocent enough, right? Well, tonight it was the scene of the Krzych's first misadventure in Colorado Springs.

This afternoon found me out of sorts. It was our second Saturday in Colorado, and I felt so lonely. Scott's family had been here all week, which made my first week here not seem so daunting, but today everyone was gone. The house was quiet, almost eerily so. Combine that with another issue that was pressing on my mind, and I just needed to get away. So I asked Scotty if we could go eat barbecue at this yummy little place called Rudy's, and, of course, he obliged.

Now if you've never been to a Rudy's, try to picture it: You walk in the front doors and are immediately greeted by the smell of deliciousness. To your left is an ice cream shop and to your right are long rows of tables lined with red and white checkered table cloths, with folding chairs and benches for your seat. You order and pick up your food at the counter, grab some napkins and your drink, and find a place to sit. If the place is busy, you share a table with who-in-the-world knows - a group of the military, some bikers, people in suits -- they all come to enjoy Rudy's. And there's a note on several of the walls: "Your Momma doesn't live here, so clean up after yourself." What I'm getting at is this is casual dining at its finest.

On this particular night, Rudy's was packed -- parking lot full, line out the door packed -- and it's a shame because I really wanted that barbecue brisket. It's the only one I've had that actually rivals my mother's, which is about the highest compliment I can give a restaurant. But, anyway, the place was packed and, with a 5 month old in tow, we decided not to stay. Instead, we decide to try Marigold's because it was relatively close by, and we had heard so many good things about it.

Scott starts telling me he's pretty sure this is the place that has amazing hamburgers that was recommended by a friend. We pull up to the restaurant, and I see the bakery sign, and of course I think "Yum, maybe that have some delicious dessert that will make up for me not getting that brisket." We walk inside, and the hostess immediately asks us if we have a reservation. "Um, we need a reservation for a hamburger cafe?" I'm glad I didn't vocalize my thoughts. As I look past the hostess stand, I see why we might need a reservation: white tablecloths with candlelight, the very distinguished waitstaff, the couples clearly on romantic dates. The hostess smiles at Cooper and says "Well, look at that adorable smile; I just have to seat you now." I still wonder if that was a small dig, as if she normally wouldn't seat us with a baby(?).

She seats us in the corner booth closest to the kitchen, and I feel my blood pressure rising. Coop is normally such a good baby, but I can just picture this evening going wrong in all kinds of ways. And then I look at the menu. Blood pressure starts rising even more. Roasted chicken: $22? This was definitely not cheap, casual barbecue. Here we had just had a talk about trying not to spend money and now we're about to drop at least $60 on our dinner, and that's if we eat the cheapest items on the menu. I thought I was going to have a panic attack right there, and my eyes filled with tears. This was not the fun night out I was hoping to have. I kept reciting all of the things that could go wrong and why I was on edge; thankfully, I have a husband who's a little more of an optimist(okay, a lot more of one). "Happy Anniversary," Scotty said, as he grabbed my hand in his. "Not quite where or how we had planned on celebrating," I replied. "And now we won't even get to celebrate." (see, i'm a pessimist at heart)

I won't bore you with all of the details. Suffice it to say, the food was average; the waiter was nice until he found out we weren't ordering alcohol; and Coop was on his best behavior.

We survived the evening, and at some point, probably as we were pulling out of the parking lot, my blood pressure went down. Or maybe that was as Scotty and I sat on our top stairs eating the delicious slices of cake we ordered to go. That was, indeed, the best part of the evening.

The moral of this story? Even misadventures can turn out okay, if they end with chocolate cake. Oh, and, check Yelp's convenient "Kid friendly?" feature before you head to a new restaurant.