.

We’d been given a gift card for the Broad Arrow Tavern which is located inside the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport.

.

.

We’ve been many times before, some with good results, some with bad. It’s a lovely old place…

.

.

But on this day, shortly after new corporate owners had taken over operations… we found it lacking.

.

.

One admittedly decent cranberry margarita in, the husband decided the new menu was too small and contained nothing to satisfy his appetite so we headed down the road.

.

.

To the oh so pricey but usually delightful Tuscan Bistro…. where we always sit at the bar because the husband likes to chat with someone other than me.

.

.

I started with the strawberry sangria…

.

.

And a few tasty crab cakes.

.

.

Husband opted for Allagash White and savory meatballs.

.

.

Passion fruit lemon drop martini was up next… which was when I noticed a strange bottle behind the bar.

.

.

Dough ball? You know I had to ask.

The bartender said it was a cookie dough flavored whisky which sounded horrible, and after a sniff of the bottle I discovered it was just that. At this point the man sitting next to me said, “I used to be a dough ball in high school, maybe I should try it.” I laughed and as often happens at watering holes… we spent the next hour talking to him and his girlfriend. They were a lovely couple and I enjoyed the casual chatter while we ate.

.

.

A grilled chicken risotto with asparagus for me, which looked good but wasn’t.

.

.

And a glazed salmon with fingerling potatoes and garlic green beans for the husband, which didn’t look good but was.

I wasn’t going to order dessert… but it was shortly after we finished our meals that our new bar buddies noticed hubby’s USMC hat and the conversation turned to the military.

It was then I knew all was lost.

.

.

I ate my Tiramisu by myself as the man sitting next to me discovered his father (who lives in Florida) had served in the same place at the same time as my husband. While my guy was Force Recon in Quang Tri and Dong Ha, his father was a 46 pilot ferrying Marines in and out of the area. This lead to a rather long telephone call between the two Vietnam vets…. with me twiddling my thumbs at the bar alone after the couple moved on to greener pastures. It also found me silently cursing the Marine Corps hat that in one way or another always leads to this scenario.

😉

.