Happy
Monday, friends! We had quite the
productive weekend this weekend and also had some fun as well.
Friday
evening was absolute perfection. We
picked up a pizza, opened a bottle of wine, and had dinner on the back porch under
the twinkle lights. The weather was
amazing – 70ish and sunny, there was a breeze a blowin’, and we turned on the
new Lumineers album that Brian got me for my birthday. The kiddos were both in excellent moods so
there were no tantrums, no whining, and no arguing. Just a bunch of laughing and loving.
Saturday
B and I worked out on the back porch all afternoon – we got the fan hung, all
of the furniture cleaned off, the porch swept, and most of the new decorations
hung up and put out. It was a crazy
productive day! We were so exhausted from
doing all the things that we were worried we weren’t going to have any fun on
our date night.
We
had a six o’clock reservation at the fanciest restaurant in our entire
city. I’ve been dying to go, but we’ve
just never gotten around to it since it opened a couple of years ago. But friends, let me tell you, the wait was
well worth it. Well worth it. We’re not very fancy people on most days, but
I sure do love being fancy every once in a while.
We
walked in and I was just blown away. The
restaurant is in an old mill so there was lots of exposed brick, an
impressively high ceiling, and massive floor to ceiling windows which they had
covered with shades to give the restaurant a very dim and intimate feeling. There was a gorgeous bar up front and a row
of booths down the side. The décor looked
like somewhat of a posh, upscale nightclub and it had a very modern feel.
The
waitress checked my coat and then led us to our table – a booth toward the
back, which was just how I like it. The
backs of the booths were massive – probably twice as tall as Brian, so we felt
itty bitty sitting at the table. Our
table was bathed in the warm glow from a single chandelier and a single
candle. It was the perfect intimate
setting for a date night with my favorite.
Our
waiter came to the table in a tux (crazy) and brought our menus. He went over the drink menu and explained
that the whole restaurant has a book theme so the meal was going to be divided
into chapters, as well as the drink and meal menus. Each cocktail was named after a book. Brian ordered the “A Tale of Two Cities”
which was their version of a Moscow Mule, and I ordered the “Beauty and the
Beast” which was a strawberry mint cocktail and a “mystery side car.” Well, ladies, my cocktail was like a little
slice of heaven, and it was, by far, the best cocktail I’ve ever had in my
entire life. And I’ve had a lot of cocktails.
It was made of vodka and a strawberry mint syrup, and garnished with a
sprig of mint. It is now my life’s
mission to figure out how to make this for myself at home. It was so fantastic that I hardly paid
attention to the “mystery sidecar” which was a glass of Milwaukee’s Best.
After
we ordered our cocktails, the waiter brought out a gift from the chef – an amuse
bouche of potato, truffles, and caviar.
Well folks, I’ve never had caviar in my life, but let me tell you that I
downed that sucker without so much as a second thought. And it was very tasty.
After the amuse bouche was consumed, the waiter brought out a tray of the softest warm bread accompanied by our choice of either herbs and olive oil or a pat of maple syrup butter. I tried the oil first and it was so delicious, but the maple syrup butter? Only two words came to mind - oh my. Best bread and butter of my life! I could have made a meal out of just that. Needless to say, I didn't even give the herbs and olive oil another glance!
After the amuse bouche was consumed, the waiter brought out a tray of the softest warm bread accompanied by our choice of either herbs and olive oil or a pat of maple syrup butter. I tried the oil first and it was so delicious, but the maple syrup butter? Only two words came to mind - oh my. Best bread and butter of my life! I could have made a meal out of just that. Needless to say, I didn't even give the herbs and olive oil another glance!
The
first chapter of the meal was appetizers.
Brian and I both ordered the Fried Green Tomato Salad at the recommendation
of his mom and step-dad who have been there before, and it was so
delicious. I know a lot of my readers
are probably not from the south, but if you’ve never had a fried green tomato,
then you are really missing out.
After
the apps, we ordered a couple of glasses of merlot to pair with our main
courses, or chapter two if you will, (see,
I’ve got that fancy talk down pat now!) and the waiter pulled what looked
like a very thick, old book off of the back of our booth. He opened it up and pulled out two of the
fanciest, sharpest knives I’ve ever seen and placed them at the top of our
placemats. Shortly after that our main
courses came out. Brian and I actually
ordered the same thing – the Filet of Beef with Fava Bean Risotto, Zephyr
Squash, Parsnips, and Madeira Reduction.
I don’t even know what half of those words mean, but every single bit of
it was excellent. The steak was cooked
to perfection and the knife sliced through it like butter. Not an ounce of fat in sight. We also ordered a side of the Truffled
Mac and Cheese with Herb Crumbs and, oh
man, best mac and cheese of all time.
Ever. I can’t imagine anybody ever making mac and cheese that's better than that.
Chapter
three was dessert. Brian and I were so
stuffed by then, but being the dessert lovers that we are, we weren’t about to
leave without trying something. We
decided to forgo the coffee and dessert cocktails (which by the way, included a
$280 glass of cognac – I mean, has anybody seriously ever ordered that?!) and
we decided to share one dessert. We were
torn between the Contemporary Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Ice Cream and
Peppercorn Macerated Strawberries or the Key Lime Mousse topped with
Banana-Lime Essence and Blood Orange Sorbet with a Rugelach Crisp. Lordy
those are both a mouthful! We went
with the Key Lime Mousse and the chef sent it out with a single candle and a
happy birthday message for me. So
fancy! And again, so delicious!
The
entire meal, or presentation as I should
probably call it, took about 2.5 hours so you can’t try to go there if you’re
in a hurry, that’s for sure. Brian and I
had nothing else planned, so we just talked and laughed and drank and stuffed
our faces, and it was the best time. I
sure do love getting to do life with him!
Sunday
was spent with family – our usual lunch with B’s fam and dinner with my fam,
and we switched it up and had my family over to our house instead of going to
theirs. The weather was perfection again, so we had dinner on the back porch
under the twinkle lights, turned on some jazz, and enjoyed each other’s
company. It was a picture perfect
weekend and I don’t wanna go back to work!
But I guess somebody’s gotta work to pay for that fancy dinner we
had!
That restaurant sounds awesome!!!! And the food looks amazing--so glad y'all had a wonderful date night! Much needed for sure!
ReplyDeleteSarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
Still obsessing over that picture of you and Olivia from Friday - just perfection. Your dinner date does sound epic! The nights you can linger around the food and have great conversation are the best in my opinion. Cannot wait for the office reveal tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteSo, so many things.
ReplyDelete1. Your yard is fabulous! Luke would love a backyard that huge! How big is it? Your weather looks fabulous! We should be hitting 60 by the end of the week with SUN! Yay!
2. I need to see some of those patio updates!
3. My mouth is watering as I sit here drinking my little cup of coffee. That restaurant sounds phenomenal. I'm so glad that you & Brian got that time together.
4. Yay for family!
What a fun weekend!! That dinner looked amazing! What a fun way to end your birthday celebration!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like SUCH a fabulous weekend. Your dinner sounds and looks divine. I love going to fancy places that really sell the theme and give you an experience, so fun when you want to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness that restaurant sounds fancy!! I totally had to google amuse bouche, LOL. I'm glad you and Brian had a great time! And yayy for productivity! Your porch looks awesome and the kids looked like they had a great weekend too!
ReplyDeleteI felt like I was eating at that restaurant with you as you described all the food and now I'm starving!! So glad you had a wonderful weekend and date night! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had an amazing weekend! The restaurant sounds fabulous...totally made me a bit hungry. LOL! Your porch, back yard in general, look amazing! Can't wait to see your office!
ReplyDeletexo, Lily
Beauty With Lily
Sounds like a great weekend! That restuarant seems amazing and I always love once it gets warm enoughto do dinner on the back porch!
ReplyDeletewww.amemoryofus.com
Talk about amazing! Every moment sounded picture perfect. Love your description of dinner. What a cool place! I have the new Lumineers CD on my Birthday wish list too. How is it? So glad you got some warm weather, porch time and most importantly family memories in the making!
ReplyDeleteNow I know why your post title says "epic".... wow!!!! That restaurant sounds amazing!!! And even though I'm a Northern girl.. I've visited my friend in Mississippi twice, and can I just say, I'd move there for the friend green tomatoes alone???? They are heaven!!! What an awesome weekend friend!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat meal! Wow!!! Everything about your date night sounded fabulous. I love going to restaurants like that. How's the new Lumineers album?
ReplyDeleteThat restaurant sounds so awesome! I love that they have a book theme and that everything is a chapter. Sounds like you had a great celebration!
ReplyDeleteEvelina @ Fortunate House
What a fun weekend!!! That food looks AMAZING!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, your menu from date night has my stomach growling! Yum! Sounds like so much fun! And I can't wait until it's warm enough here to eat dinner outside. Soon enough I hope!
ReplyDeleteLove the matchy-matchy shoe pic! So cute!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! What a fun dinner date!! I was hanging on every word, because I love fun foodie dates like that. I think my favorite part was the cocktails being named after books :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow, girl!!!!! That restaurant sounds amazing! I'm so happy that you and Brian were able to enjoy each other. You looked beautiful as always and so happy. Actually, this entire post was just so darn happy. That's why I love reading your blog! You're so full of life!
ReplyDeleteSo happy you had a great weekend!
Thank you, Marie! That's exactly why I love you, too! Hugs and kisses!!
Delete