Bike Date Friday Returns at the Empire Tap Room

For the past two years, Dick and I have gone out to dinner every Friday night. The rules are simple: eat at a different restaurant every week and arrive by bike. If it’s raining, we grab a big umbrella and walk instead. In June Dick went in for minor surgery that kept him off the bike until last week. On Friday, we celebrated with our first Bike Date Friday in six weeks. We were both very excited.

For this special comeback dinner, we chose the Empire Tap Room in Palo Alto. We wanted to enjoy their patio before summer ended and somehow a place named Empire seemed right during the London Olympics. The ratings on Yelp were only average, but since we’ve eaten at almost everywhere in Palo Alto we took a chance.

Dick met me at the Caltrain station in Mountain View and we rode the seven miles to Palo Alto together, pedaling hard to make our reservation. I always forget to add extra time to account for the strong headwind you face riding up the Peninsula on a summer evening.

We arrived just a few minutes late for our reservation and quickly relaxed at out table on the patio. The cocktails, appetizers, entree, dessert and ambiance were all very good. I don’t know what the reviewers were expecting. But the relaxed ride home in the fading light was priceless. Walking home after a date is romantic, but not as romantic as a twilight cruise on our bikes after an exceptional dinner out.

What would you miss most if you couldn’t ride your bike? Where would you go first once you were back on it?

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About Bike Date Friday: Since September 2010, my husband and I have had a standing date every Friday night. We eat at a different place every week and arrive by bike. There’s no better way to end the work week.