Night out with the girls a delightful challenge

Planning certain events can be difficult and time-consuming. Getting together with the girls for dinner should not be. 

A few weeks ago my friend Smadar sent a group message to five friends, including me. It was simple. Who wants to get together for a girls night out? That part was easy — everyone responded immediately with “yes.” Then it became difficult.

First we had to decide on a night. You would think that we had our calendars booked years in advance. Now mind you, the chosen date didn’t have to be that week or month, still it took two days to find an evening. That out of the way, we had to decide on a restaurant. Two of the six don’t eat meat or chicken, so it had to be a restaurant that served fish or sushi. We decided the city would work best as four of us lived in the Five Towns, one in Brooklyn and one in Teaneck. Menus were checked out online and we settled on a restaurant on the Eastside, Prime at the Bentley. The reviews said the views from the ceiling-to-floor windows were breathtaking, the dishes eclectic and delicious.

Wow, in just three days we were able to agree on a restaurant and a date, but the decision-making was not complete yet, not by a long shot. As the date approached, we then had to decide how we would get to and from the venue. Should the 5T girls drive in? Amy thought it best to take a train in and a car service home, so no worries about drinking and driving. All agreed. Smadar was going to take a taxi from Brooklyn and Miriam B had to drive since she lived in New Jersey and worked in Queens.

The day arrived and it was nasty and snowing. Smadar warned us that a little snow was no reason to cancel. Of course those of us on Long Island texted pictures of backyards full of snow. I thought the 5T women should take a cab in as well as back; by the time we would pay for the LIRR and then a train or a cab to the restaurant we could split a cab there for not much more. Ok, now we were pretty much set, thankfully … or so I thought. But not by a long shot.