A couple of months ago, you might recall, I took the afternoon off and went for lunch with some friends at Machiavelli’s.

It was a really lovely experience, though I felt a slight sense of guilt at having taken half a leave day for such an indulgence.

I didn’t take a leave day, today, but I did take an extended lunch break (2 hours), and went with a small group of colleagues for lunch at Pendolino, a reasonably new restaurant in the Strand Arcade on George Street.

In contrast to the bright sunny day outside, the moment you walk in your eyes need to adjust to the dark.

As I looked around the room, there were maybe 150 people seated at mostly small tables of four to six people. This particular lunchtime was quite well booked. And apparently, it’s even tougher to get in at night.

I, for one, had never heard of it. Though now I have, I’ll definitely be returning.

Although we could have indulged ourselves, we only had mains. All mostly pasta dishes (except for one who had John Dory) which came with optional truffles. A couple of very nice glasses of red wine accompanied the meal, finishing up with a coffee.

As you look through the extensive menu, though, you notice how important they obviously consider olive oil to be, offering at least a dozen pages of choices from around Australia and around the world. And in a nice treat, each person is served a choice of three differently infused oils for dipping.

“Seven thumbs up” was Homer Simpson famously said when he became a short-lived food critic.

Overall, it was a very lovely way to spend a couple of hours. And we all got back to work and managed to achieve a fair bit for the remainder of the day.

Leaving work at about 6.30, a colleague and I had a couple of drinks together for a chat about this and that.

And then tonight, I’ve just been at home watching a bit of television and listening to a bit of radio.

I need my strength. Next week is quite a busy one. I’m doing a new, more senior job for the next few weeks, pending the appointment process. And I’ve also got a fair bit happening socially next week going to the Helpmann Awards, seeing Judith Lucy, going to the movies, and having dinner with a mate I met last year in Stockholm.