It's past 8:30 and Nancy Buhagiar - the World Marketing guru and entrepreneur I grew up knowing as Nancy tal- Grilioso - has not shown up yet. I'm standing in the middle of Birkirkara, just in front of Four Seasons Club walking up and down the street watching the cars drive past me like furious hell machines. Had I been a few inches taller, sported ash-blond hair and drain-pipe jeans I'm sure some of the cars would have screeched their breaks to a halt thinking I am out on a night-time-business patrol.
Finally, a sleek metallic BMW cruises smoothly into a parking spot where I stand, and Nancy tal-Grilioso appears with the majestic inevitability of a rocket blasting from the Cape. She is dressed in a finely tailored suit, a string of pearls, and heels to match. Her cropped hair is coiffed to perfection, and her big smile is warm and friendly with the ability to draw you like a moth towards her flickering flame. We exchange some air kisses ...and off we go!
Okay, let's get it up front! The place is called Four Seasons Club and that's a little bit of a shocker. The word "club" does not exactly send me into a whirlpool of euphoric ecstasy.
Here, they seem to have a love-story going on with wood. The doors, window- shutters, tables, chairs and stools are all in dark wood giving the place a very rustic feel. The only colour comes from two plasma screens facing each other, and a green, red, and some other colour I could not exactly make out, patterned ceiling which somehow is magnificently dull. Forget the ceiling - otherwise it's a very cosy place that's very unpretentious. Yet, you instantly get the feeling it's one of those blue collar affairs that are wildly popular.
The place is fully packed. Every table is reserved and I'm in shock. I did not bother booking. I have never seen a place buzzing with so many people on a Tuesday evening!
Nancy brings her business skills to the fore, and the jovial manager finds us a small table in the corner. He is nice, and seems occupied with making sure his customers are happy.
The other surprise of the night comes to me in the form of a Wine Menu. A middle-aged brunette with a heavy accent that I guess could be Hungarian, presents us with the menu, which exceeds my expectations. The selection of wines compares to those of a pretentious wine bar - Only, much cheaper. Four Seasons have 359 wines to choose from and a selection of platters, wraps, ftiras, etc. It keeps getting better - They even serve SUSHI. The latter priced at 5.00, 9.00, 18.00 depending on how many pieces one is ready to wolf down.
"Not too fond of Sushi," Nancy admits. "We can get something light. Despite a long day at work, I am not so hungry."
My Sushi dream goes down the drain once again, so I pick a platter for two - Parma Ham and Parmegiano priced at €9.00.
"How are you with wines," I ask her. "Reds or Whites, or...?"
She tells me she likes Reds but can't drink it, so she would love to settle for a nice white. She has a way of telling you things that you feel she could sell ice to an Eskimo.
It's not easy to read the menu because the place looks like they are saving on their electricity bill and light is limited. However I choose a Soave Donini Veneto for my night out with Nancy Buhagiar.
In a way Mrs Grilioso is a symbol of Maltese womanhood: She is married to Mario, and her son, Trevor, has recently graduated as a lawyer. She balances her duties as a mother with equal proportion to her duties as a wife, and is the designer of her house. However, she is not all imqarun il-forn, and Qarabali casseroles. This woman has a great business acumen that has spawned a successful empire for over 25 years. Work is both her catharsis and her nemesis because it's not easy to live a day of 24 hours if you want to pump in 34 hours into it.
"Everything, started just by chance," she tells me candidly. "My husband had a business meeting with a friend of his, and I went with him in a supporting role. And then, I got hooked and decided to create my own company."
I ask her whom she would cook in one of her cooking devices, and she tells me a name I am not allowed to mention. I forgive her that - I make very few exceptions!
"So which Maltese male is a finger-lickin' dish according to you?"
She watches me as she would watch a lion - with extreme caution. "Ray Calleja." She responds.
The wine and the food are served together. The Soave Donini is a delicate medium bodied wine with a greenish tint and pleasingly combines sharpness with undertones of bitter almonds. The platter is pleasantly well presented. Big slices of parmegiano on the sides topped with big walnuts, and an array of Parma ham in the centre, resting gracefully on a bed of lettuce.
Around us the male crowd is captivated by what is happening on the plasma screens. And no - it is not Dita Von Teese stripping off or Moira Delia pouting into the camera. It's some kind of important soccer match that is keeping everyone transfixed. A group of good looking girls dangerously on the edge of tart-appeal seem to be the only ones - besides myself and Nancy - that are not spellbound by the plasma screens. The girls have chosen black mash tank tops revealing shocking pink boob-tubes, and scrunched their hair in a way Paris Hilton's poodle would have turned down. The ear-rings are as big as the Regional Road roundabout and the skimpy denim skirts have been hiked up for effect.
And oh... the toilets! Yes, I do check them after some more intense talk with Nancy who turns out to be an adorable character. The tiles are B & B (brown and boring) but I have seen much worse than this in other wine bars, so I would classify them as average.
Nancy talks almost as much as I do. We both exchange some PR ideas and philosophies, and I find myself absorbing valuable information from a woman who knows her way around and has built herself fame (and I assume, fortune) out of nothing. She is one tough lady, but then again, her manners are softer than one might imagine. She pampers her employees with yearly vacations, is very customer oriented, and she is always willing to learn more - which I find is the magic concoction that leads to success.
So, if she were a song that represented Malta in one of the past Eurovision Song Contests... which one would she be?
"On Again - Off Again," she tells me instantly, finishing the wine with one swift movement.
"And if you were a season, which one would you choose to be?" (I feel I owe this question to Four Seasons Club)
"Spring - It's fresh, and spells out new energy!"
The good looking girls with the Regional-Road-Roundabout ear-rings are sorting out their bill whilst openly seducing two young men seated opposite them. Nancy has had a long day, and I feel that the time has come to call it a night, and get the bill.
The wine and platter amount to a pleasant 21.50, which I find to be good value for money. The offerings are fresh and genuine and do not lean towards the minuscule. The service - though not fancy - is pretty much okay too. Nancy is a lovely companion to spend an evening with, and something tells me that our paths will cross again in the future.
I walk her to the awaiting BMW and see her off to a delightful cloud of exhaust.
RATING: 1 - 7
Wine - ***** Ambience ***
Food - ***** Service ****