The birthday boy himself. Sigh...

Chris is served his mojito.

BOC Brett, anxious to get the good times-a-rollin'.

Our chef, Manny, continues to serve us a bunch of sauces we don't want as a distraction for his lack of tricks. You suck, Manny!

Clearly the high point of the dinner, for us and our neighboring tables.

Luke from Vienna writes:

"Hey CW! My buddies and I tried to get in on Chris’s birthday dinner reservation at Benihana to no avail. They run a tight ship over there. While my buddy did get to see him dance with the staff during his birthday serenade, I need more details. What did he order? Where'd he go afterwards? Input, input!"

CW replies:

Stop us, Luke, if you’ve heard this one before: we apologize for the extended delay in posting. We’re finally beginning to emerge from the cozy cots down in CW Sick Bay after being out of commission with cocktail flu since Sunday morning. As is customary after a long stint of celebratory merriment (and reporting!), the staff here at Chris Weekly are recuperating peacefully in our cubicles, only this time we’re downing Goody’s headache powder, nibbling gently on ice chips and Jell-O and soothing our nauseous stomachs with ginger ale. When we took the assignment to cover Chris’s birthday weekend, we simply had no idea what we were in for. February FOC Sissy B. may not use “party” as a verb but Chris sure does.

While we abhor the use of Generation Y-isms, Chris’s 31st birthday weekend extravaganza was, in a nutshell, off the hook. The evening began with a cocktail/Wii hour at CW headquarters before heading into Georgetown to make our 9:00 reservation at Benihana Japanese steakhouse. The Team Chris roster included BOCs Brett and Andy; disqualified October FOC Lauren M.; October FOC Tim O., brother Paul O. and Paul’s girlfriend, Alexis; November FOC Tim H.; and walk-on Amber “Beef Cheeks” K. Words that come to mind: Gluttonous. Intoxicating. Exhausting. Debilitating.

Highlights from the evening include: actually making our reservation; our starter round of fruity (read: gay) drinks; Chris dancing with The Benihana Five as they serenaded him for his birthday; sake shots; November FOC Tim H. escorting us to the ridiculously hip L2 lounge after dinner; Chris and Tim H. trading jackets; and everyone making it back to CW headquarters without incident for a late-night slumber party. Lowlights included a Teppanyaki chef of Hispanic descent and with little culinary showmanship; grey filet mignon; Chris’s sweet and too-saucy ginger lo mein; and unfortunate fortune cookies.

For now, feast your eyes on the above and following series of photos while we continue to detox. And trust that the brevity of this post is merely a testament to the low energy levels presently experienced by CW staff. We hope to be back online tomorrow with our renowned zeal and zest for (Chris’s) life. As always, we appreciate your saintly patience and well wishes.