Stuffed

We went out last night! Haven't had a babysitter for....let me think about it.... SIX MONTHS. Matt and I haven't gone out to dinner for half a year. Last December, someone graciously gifted us a certificate to use at one of our city's finest restaurants, and we blew that and more on champagne, cheese flown in from Italy and some of the best olives I have ever eaten in my life. We stuffed our faces, and hid olives in our humps, knowing it would be a long, long winter before we got served by a waiter and had our napkin folded for us again.

Last night, we broke the losing streak, and once again ventured out. Celebrating Matt's birthday, and our eleven year anniversary, we once again tossed financial caution to the wind and ate here. It was voted by Zagat's as one of the top ten restaurants in the United States, and according to our waiter, 22% of their business comes from New York City. It's that good folks. Although, after a six month dry spell, you could have let me put on a dress and lipstick and served me tater tots and I still would have had a good time.

Did we eat tater tots? No. We ate grilled oysters drizzled in truffle oil, slathered with some insane concoction of crab and shrimp that were dipped in a spicy pepper sauce. (When they brought this to our table, I told the waiter- "ooh! I'm excited to try this." He retorts, "You should be... it's a masterpiece.") We drank a ridiculously priced California Cabernet- and shoved little tiny marshmallow puffs of buffalo mozzarella in our mouths and giggled in our seats. Matt ordered a filet, doused in peppercorns, mustard and a mushroom demiglace. I always try and order something I don't cook at home- tonight it was veal. Veal medallions, served with an onion risotto (served in an onion ring cup!) and slathered in a morel sauce. Dessert was eaten in a drunken stupor (happily assisted along with port and muscat)- gingerbread cups baked with mascarpone cheese, dolloped with fresh blueberry ice cream and the tiniest of shortbread cookies.

We stumbled out of there, and hightailed it to our favorite cafe, that looked odd at night. It felt lonely, and awkward being there- without scrambling for high chairs, or cleaning up hot chocolate and getting the chance to insult someone with my arsenal of Mommy-torts. After some Moroccan mint tea and a couple of chocolate covered espresso beans, we soberly called it a night- and took a deep breath... knowing a good chunk of time would pass before we felt this stuffed, and delirious, again.