We watched balloon artist Jimmie Whitworth creating an extraordinary balloon sculpture for the next table: a 3-foot surfer in a wet suit, riding on tri-color waves.

For Birthday Bash evenings, Ideal hires an Adventure Balloons artist who takes tips for fashioning extraordinarily complex creations; we saw a bubbling beer stein hat, a giant spider chapeau and several full-blown (so to speak) flower arrangements complete with vases.  “This is entirely successful,” Bruce said. Marcia added dreamily, “I feel like I’ve been at a party!” Now, that’s a restaurant birthday.