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Five years ago today, our dear Bro Bro crossed the rainbow bridge. In the immediate aftermath of this devastating loss, Foursheets asked to have dinner at Nikushou because she couldn't be bothered cook, and couldn't think of anywhere to go eat. So we had a few cut of beef at our favorite yakiniku (焼肉) joint and washed it down with a bottle of wine.

We returned to Nikushou for the next 4 years and established the tradition of just having simple, delicious food with a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, Nikushou closed its doors days after Bro Bro's 4th anniversary. Tonight we needed fo find an alternative venue, and I defaulted to La Maison - another place whose food we enjoy without too much fuss. And they don't charge corkage.

I was late to dinner due to a work call, and when I stepped in to the restaurant, every single table was occupied. The space was very lively, unlike the few quiet evenings I have spent here in the past. There was even a singer on stage entertaining the guests.

I've always liked the bread they serve here. It's never anything fancy, but it comes out warm and generally tasty enough.

Grilled diced salted ox tongue - this is something we love. The ox tongue is cured so it's got that extra layer of flavor, while keeping that tender yet springy texture. Inhaled.

Fried bacalhau potato balls - usually a reliable choice, but somewhat inconsistent tonight. These were a little drier than I had remembered, and while one was OK, another was really salty.

M9+ ribeye steak, from Jack's Creek - we wanted to up our spending a little bit tonight, so we took the more expensive protein.

While this wasn't top-notch beef that we sometimes like to indulge in, it was good enough for a night like this. Pretty tender and tasty.

Stir-fried cabbage Portuguese style - pretty much our go-to veg dish whenever we come, as we love cabbage and the addition of chouriço is never a bad thing.

Deep-fried cauliflower and broccoli - very tasty stuff, but admittedly these soaked up a little too much oil that they were fried in... especially the broccoli.

We toasted to Bro Bro's memory with a simple yet delicious bottle of wine.

2004 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Reine des Bois - lots of leather, animal, a bit of smoke, and cassis. Pretty fragrant on the nose, and sweet on the palate with juicy fruit. Definitely a little rustic on the nose. More than an hour after decanting it became a little more open, and then showed a little bit of farmy notes.

We had expected a quiet evening here, like all of our previous visits. Well... they have live singers on Friday and Saturday evenings, starting with a hired singer for "stage 1". "Stage 2" involves the boss belting out some classic Canto hits from the 80s and 90s. And apparently, if one stayed late enough, diners could grab the mic and entertain the crowd in "stage 3"! Maybe next time...