Simple fare.

We all unloaded from the vans we were driving and wandered into the Cliff House Restaurant at Mesa Verde National Park. It was a cold evening, but the building was warm and inviting. The evening crowd had not arrived yet and we went immediately to get our 16 people onto the call list.
We weren't dressed for the finery about us, but the leader of our travelling group requested the window seats and held his ground when the request was first ignored. Reluctantly, they complied while continuing to eye us contemptuously. The restaurant is known for its cuisine and atmosphere -and for its prices! One couple actually left our group. They wanted to shop a little and the expensive fare would short them. They had brought food along and as yet had not eaten any of it. We all bid them happy hunting and sadly watched them walk away.
My husband and I sat down at a small two person table overlooking a vast landscape that would normally be full of golden color but was quite bland because of a large forest fire in recent years. A huge fire roared in the fireplace across the room, which was good because the window was quite drafty.
Our waiter brought us a wine list. We ordered coffee and ice water with lemon. The wine list was wisked away in a huff. Shortly the waiter returned with two cups of coffee and an appetizer menu. We ordered a large salad two plates and two bowls of mushroom soup. Small loaves were complimentary. When the entre menu was presented, we denied it. The waiter was professional, but none too friendly. We were in the best seats in the house having the cheapest food we could order.
We complimented the food enthusiastically. It was by far the best mushroom soup I had eaten to that date. My husband who never really liked mushroom soup by itself, was impressed. It wasn't just acceptable, it was quite good. The salad was ample for two people and very nicely diverse.
Somewhere around the 4th or 5th coffee refill, the waiter decided not to hate us anymore. We even let her talk us into a shared dessert. The tab came to over $40. It was worth every cent.
That experience 5 years ago this month spurred me into a quest for a 'good' mushroom soup recipe. I tried two or three without much satisfaction. Some I could just read the ingredients and know it wasn't right. Then two years ago, I happened on a recipe I thought sounded promising. I'm proud to say it made good on the promise. I add some ingredients including a dash of Worchestershire and a small hot pepper diced.
As I sat down to the hearty bowl of mushrooms and barley tonight, I recalled, as I do each time I make it, that crisp October evening when we wandered into a fancy restaurant dressed in jeans and sweaters, tired and slightly unkept and sat down to one of the sweetest 'dining out' occasions in my mental scrapbook.