Birthday dinner

Eastside Road, August 20, 2012—

AND NO PHOTOS; none at all — I just quite forgot. After cheese and crackers and a bottle of rosé at home, we drove into town with a couple of old friends to eat at a place we like well enough, sitting in an enclosed booth at one end of the room where we could talk about old times and present politics and what Dickens calls mutual friends.

Flatiron steak-on-skewers, french fries, sautéed spinach; "cheesecake" — really a sort of soft goat cheese mousse, very nice.

Vin Gris, Preston of Dry Creek, 2011 (crisp, present, compelling); Gavi di Gavi, Villa Sparina, 2010 (austere, very dry); Zinfandel, Rafanelli, 2010 (rich, luscious, well balanced)

• willi's Seafood & Raw Bar, 403 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, California; 707.433.9191