Friday morning and feeling lively (broken rib not withstanding). Yesterday I didn't feel too hot as not enough sleep due to our visit to Bogart's the, urm, Bogart themed cocktail joint / restaurant in Raleigh. Probably my own fault – ate a variety of starters including oysters, bruchetta, shrimp and stuffed mushrooms, then for a main course scallops wrapped in bacon with walnut risotto. OK – bad enough but I had to follow it up with some sort of extreme triple chocolate nightmare and a double espresso. Followed by 3 hours of intense indigestion and no sleep.

No such problems last night - we went to Magnolia Grill in Durham which I can only describe as pretty spectacular.

Despite the usual getting lost en route we all arrived eventually and settled into a fairly extreme gastronomic experience. I started with veal sweetbreads served on a bed of citrus rissotto with shrimp which was fantastic - the sweetbreads were perfectly cooked, set through but without the slightest trace of rubberiness. What with Mad Cow doing the rounds I guess not a lot of people are ordering what is basically a calf gland at the moment, but what they hey - gotta take some chances ;-). I followed that with some fantastically tender venison with a cabernet sauvignon jus and red cabbage etc. Just great. Finished off with a double chocolate tart with chocolate sauce and my usual double espresso. Slept like a baby - fantastic :)