2014-10-26

【Aiden in English】

        A dinner at a fancy restaurant with friends is always great, unless the friends are your mom's friends. But it was fun, since I had my trusty iPad by my side during this time. It saved me from the long wait at Bacco Italian Restaurant. All fancy and in tonight's case, Italian restaurants seem to have a long period of time between dishes, so this sounded good for mom and her friend Kristine, my preschool pal Crystal's mom who came back to PA from China. This give them an abundant amount of time to blab on about life, economy, jobs, money, kids including Crystal, Jesse, Wendy, Adele, me, and so on. They must've been long time no see and kept talking with no break. As a matter of fact, we just met in Kristine's mansion this summer. As soon as a subject was closed, another question popped into their brains like a cartoon. It looked as if one character got an idea and a light bulb popped up. Mom and Kristine did the same way around. They just kept having light bulb moments.

        When the appetizer, or should I say Antipasto, arrived at the table, Mom and Kristine were still chirping away like blue jays. Kristine had gotten a plate of deliciously looking Calamari Fritti and a plate of healthy Salad Garden House. Mom on the other side of the table, ordered a spectacular appearing platter of Antipasto Caldi with clams, mussels, stuffed mushrooms, and eggplant pomodoro in a light marinara sauce. I had the plain, old, traditional, gigantic, amazing, probably the-best-in-the-world Polpette di Nonna, house-made meatballs with fresh pomodoro and ricotta. Boy, they seemed as big as my fist, and I only could eat one, considering it was my antipasto (yes, there were 2 meatballs). Mom ate fairly quickly, and then began to chat once again. Kristine, barely eating a few bites, took her time, talked, and dined simultaneously. While they continued to wear their mouths out, I was on my iPad, not having a care in the world.

        Finally, the Entrees came. It would've been horrible if I had completed a whole game in one night. The Linguini Fra Diavlo I ordered was a seafood mix of scallops, clams, shrimp, and mussels with garlic in tangy marinara. The pasta was amazing and probably the best Italian dish ever except for pizza. The sauce provided a sourness for the seafood and combined with a little salt. It tasted absolutely dazzling.

        On the other hand, Mom had picked Pasta di Pesto, house-made capellini pasta with shrimps, yellow squash, and carrots tossed in a pesto cream sauce. It looked green and just tasted... mushy. Yes, the pasta was too mushy for my liking. To be honest, I don't think Mom cared about the pasta. All she did was to eat two bites, and you know, began talking once again. I enjoyed my meal while Mom and Kristine went on talking. They chatted long into the night, way after I was all done my food. I guess good friends are easy to talk with, especially with my mom.

【红霞译文】

        与朋友在雅致的餐厅共进晚餐一向特别来劲，除非同去的朋友是妈妈的朋友。但今晚还算不错，因为有爱不释手的“苹果”智能电脑全程陪伴，我才不会斤斤计较“酒神饭庄”用餐前无聊的等待。说实在的，所有像今晚这样豪华的意大利餐厅都大同小异，每道菜之间需要耗费很多功夫，但这正是妈妈和晓红阿姨求之不得的。晓红阿姨是我幼儿园小班童友家纯的母亲，最近刚从国内返回宾州办事。两位朋友借机狂侃海聊时事经纬工商大业子女成长，从同伴家纯、哥哥家杰、姐姐家齐、妹妹湉湉到我本人，没完没了，如同久别重逢，有念不完的旧情说不完的故事。其实今年夏天，我们曾登门拜访过正在宾州度假的晓红阿姨一家。席间，但凡一项内容结束，另一个话题立刻像卡通似地从脑袋瓜子冒了出来，正如动画片里若有人突发奇想，电灯泡就会变亮，两位大人简直就是其翻版，你一言我一语，从未给灯光创造熄灭的机会。

         当头台(我应该用意大利语发音)供奉桌上，妈妈与晓红阿姨宛若两只蓝喜雀还在叽叽喳喳纵情欢唱。晓红阿姨要来一盘美味可口的“炸鱿鱼”和一盘健康食品“生菜沙拉”；坐在对面的妈妈点了色香味全的“热菜开胃拼盘”──蛤蜊、贻贝、茸酿香菇、清淡海鲜酱烧茄子西红柿片；我则热衷简单、老式、传统、硕大、迷人、世界上可能屈指可数的“高贵丸子”──“酒神饭庄”用新鲜西红柿和奶酪独家特制的牛肉丸子。哇塞，它们每个看上去跟我的拳头差不多大，可我撑死了也只能干掉其中一个(没错，一共有两个)，这仅仅是头台而已。妈妈匆匆吃上几口，赶忙又打开话匣子；此时，晓红阿姨偶尔动下刀叉，慢慢吃好好聊，物质食粮和精神补给两不误。看来琼浆玉液山珍海味根本无法堵住她俩的嘴，而我则把精力全部放在“苹果”智能电脑上，天大的事情都与自己无关。

        主菜好不容易才到，否则我非得搭上整个通宵玩完全套游戏不可，等饭的时间长得可怕。我的“恶魔兄弟扁面条”有清蒸的扇贝、蛤蜊、大虾、贻贝，再与大蒜海鲜汤卤混合而成，汁浓味美。意式打卤面十分好吃，也许应归为意大利菜系中仅次于比萨饼的最佳食谱。卤子酸溜溜的，正好去除水产品的腥气，稍加些许咸味又提升海鲜的美食口感，真是沁人心脾。

        再说妈妈的“香蒜卤面”，号称该店看家菜拿手好戏，面条很细，经大虾、西葫芦、胡萝卜和香蒜奶油酱一起翻炒，看上去绿油油，但吃起来…黏乎乎的，我可不喜欢这种做法的卤面。坦率地说，妈妈也不在乎好吃与否，只不过随便应付两口罢了。毋需赘述下面要干的事情，她继续和晓红阿姨攀谈聊天。我独自大块朵颐美味佳肴，任凭妈妈们沉浸在久久畅谈之中。看来好朋友之间言谈话语容易投机，尤其碰上我妈妈这种人。