IBM gives retiring employees a lunch, and with a limited budget it was a challenge to decide who to invite… I picked 12 to share the afternoon with, and I think we all enjoyed it. The venue was Baka which Terry had suggested based on a Summerlicious event. The scotch list was enough to confirm it, and the menu was great.
I thought a late lunch (1pm) might mean people weren’t going to rush back to work and it worked out well… people stayed until at least 3, and we wrapped up a little before 4. With a delightful glass of single malt… Hector looked through the list and suggested this one. It’s not old, it is rare. And it was a great choice… those of us who sampled it enjoyed it very much.
Lunch was an assortment of first course dishes, followed by some amazing mains. Steak, fish and gnocchi were the popular choices.
When it came to dessert, almost everyone picked the Grey Goose Creme Brule… and to be honest I’d have to say it was the one part of lunch that didn’t live up to expectations. Somehow I felt like they rushed it, perhaps having that many ordered at the same time? Still, it was good. Not great, as the rest of the meal had been. And speaking of great, our hosts were very attentive and definitely added to the delightful experience.
Here are a few photos from around the table…
https://picasaweb.google.com/pkraiker/20110427IBMRetirementLunch#
There was some discussion about how to pronounce the name of the scotch… Keith posted this to picasa:
from http://www.maltmadness.com/whisky/bunnahabhain.html
Bunnahabhain (Pronounced: boona-HAAven)
And Denis sent this in an email:
I am told it is pronounced boona-har-vin or boona-haa-veen… A question of accent!