Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Valentine's Recap

We are not known for going all out on any holiday, let alone Valentine’s Day. I’ve gotten some great gifts over the year around the holiday, but never on it. A dozen roses here and there, a pair of earrings, but again…not on the actual day.

This year we ended up having quite the Valentine’s Day. One of our current favorite restaurants, Café Levain, was offering a prix fixe menu on Valentine’s evening paired with a wine flight for a nice, economic stimulus friendly, price. So, we made reservations for 6:30 and headed out. We arrived at the restaurant and I knew we were in for a good night when I heard a live clarinetist playing the background music. As a clarinetist myself, I have no clue how he was able to play the entire time we were dining let alone if he played all evening. It was quite a nice touch and really added to my dining experience.

We had a great dinner complete with a Beet Salad for the first course. My meal followed next with Seared Dayboat Scallops with Parsnip-Potato “Risotto,” Parsnip Puree, Celery Leave - Herb Salad, Brown Butter, and Vanilla. The main course was a Grilled Rib of Beef with Roasted Polenta. The finishing touch was a Valrhona Chocolate Torte with a small scoop of White Chocolate Ice Cream. It was SOOOOO good.

From here we moved on to a Coffee/Wine Bar to listen to Machinery Hill. We know a member of the band and we’ve become quite the “groupies”. It’s an interesting musical genre – kind of Celtic, folksy, all wrapped up in one. On Saturday there was a large crowd gathered to relax, hang out and enjoy some music. Of note were the aged hippies that started dancing to the music. One guy looked exactly like Frasier Crane – only about 30 years older.

We ended the night when the band took their first break so we could go let the dogs out. It was a memorable Valentine’s Day….even with the wine flight!

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