Twenty years ago today Laura agreed (probably against her better judgment) to marry me. To celebrate the anniversary of our engagement, we decided to keep it fairly simple and do a dinner and a movie out. We wanted to catch Leatherheads before it left the big screen, and with my busy concert schedule it was this evening or never.
The movie itself was a bit of fluff – a romantic comedy starring George Clooney and Rene Zellweger about pro football in the 1920’s. While it was entertaining enough, our interest was in seeing if we could recognize local landmarks, since this was filmed in Greenville, Greer, and Travelers Rest. The Poinsett Hotel was the only obvious landmark. Everything else was very well disguised. I did recognize a sign that had been painted for the movie that is just off of the Swamp Rabbit Trail near downtown. It advertises the Ambassador Hotel in Duluth, Mn., and served as the background for a boxing match in the movie. Some of the country road scenes were clearly from the Upstate, and I’m sure I caught a glimpse of Paris Mountain. Somehow, I couldn’t reconcile the movie with being set in Duluth and Chicago.
In addition to locations, we kept our eyes open for people we knew who had been extras in the movie. Laura spotted one of her colleagues who played a barber in the film. I didn’t really recognize anyone else.
After the movie we went to Snapshot for dinner. This turned out to be a let down. Ever since Soby’s stole their chef to go work at Lazy Goat, the quality of food at Snapshot has really deteriorated. Laura usually gets the crab cakes, and was dismayed to find that it was no longer offered. Instead, she got grilled chicken, and I ordered the Southwest chicken bowl.
The last time I got the Southwest bowl, it was dry and tasteless. The waiter assured me that they had changed the recipe, and that they now used risotto instead of cornbread for the base. While it was nowhere near as dry, they also had ground the chicken into something unrecognizable. It still needs much more work before I’ll ever order it again.
As for Laura’s meal, it came out black with a blob of potatoes on the side. I actually had to try to remember what she ordered, because I didn’t recognize this as chicken. It tasted OK, but we both agreed that this was about the most unappealing presentation one could imagine.
We had high hopes for Snapshot when it first opened. However, we made the decision that it will only be a drink and appetizer place for us from henceforth. At least, until they get a new chef and we hear that things have really turned around.
We ended our anniversary with a trip to Barnes & Noble, then just back to the house to collapse.
What a shame about The Snapshot. Seems I missed the “glory days”, at least so far. Maybe they’ll get it fixed.
Happy Anniversery!