Lock & Key

Guess who’s back??? Back again?

(Sorry, flashback to Eminem circa 2002).

Anywho! I’m back in Michigan, swaddled in blankets and trying to get the feeling back into my fingers. Not gonna lie–it makes typing a tad challenging.

I’m sure everyone’s ready for a race recap, but I’m still processing, so let’s skip to my post-race eats. shall we?

Last night, my grandparents took me to dinner at Lock & Key in Englewood, FL for a belated birthday/5th half marathon celebration!

Papa & I are ready to PAR-tay!!

Lock & Key is a great little spot right on the beach. They have lots of fresh seafood and their food is always delicious. I grabbed a glass of sauvignon blanc to start. I find that when it’s warm out, I don’t mind white wine quite so much. Plus, I’m so picky about reds that I can rarely find one I like on a restaurant menu anymore (thanks, Mom and Dad!). My unrefined white wine palette can deal with pretty much anything.

I then proceeded to dominate the bread basket. I’ve been better lately about refueling after long runs. I used to have a really hard time eating after them, since they pretty much killed my appetite. But I find that if I make myself eat something, my appetite comes back pretty quickly. Bring it, bread basket!

These were straight out of the oven and had lots of melty butter to go with. Mmmmm.

A fresh caesar salad came next–greens seemed necessary!

Followed by penne with vodka sauce. Usually, I’m not a pasta fan, but this held some appeal, so I went with it.

The bowl was ridiculously enormous. It’s hard to see, but this was full of fresh shrimp, artichokes, and mushrooms, too. I actually hardly ate any of the pasta, but the shrimp and veggies were gone. It was fantastic, but I didn’t want to load up on pasta because I needed dessert. Yes, needed.

What’s that you say? Turtle ice cream pie with butter pecan ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, and graham cracker crust? Don’t mind if I do!

Yes, it was approximately the size of my face.

Now, I have a thing about sharing dessert: I don’t. I mean, usually I want it all to myself. If I have my fill and then offer you a bite, that’s fine, but typically, I want to eat the whole thing. Of course, if I get it with the intention of sharing it, that’s different, but you get the idea. Anyway, it irritates me to no end when servers constantly bring out extra utensils for the dessert. This is MY dessert, bitches! Hands off! Extra utensils invite people to have bites. I want to be the one to make that call.

End rant. You can see where I’m going with this.

OK, I love my grandma and she can have some of my dessert. But I secretly resent it! Kidding! (Kinda).

It was a great little celebration we had–the perfect end to my visit!

Not the prettiest picture, but when you consider that I came home to this frozen tundra . . . well . . .

I promise a full recap of the fun and the fury that was Miami tomorrow. For now, I need to figure out how to get the circulation back in my hands! Damn you, Michigan and your cold weather!!!