Anniversary Dinner

I'm finally getting around to posting the dinner we splurged on for our anniversary in lieu of gifts. They are of terrible quality since I used my phone and no flash to try to keep a reasonably low profile in the cozy darkness of the restaurant. We stayed in a hotel within walking distance and left a little early to enjoy a French martini and a Hurricane at the bar.

When we got seated, we knew we had to order our favorite appetizer: crawfish, smoked Gouda, and bell pepper cheese cake drizzled with a green onion and tomato coulis. We enjoyed it smeared on thick slices of French bread, just divine.

For our first course, we both chose the soup. It was a corn and crab chowder with just the right level of heat.

Austin ordered his entree off the menu for the first time*, usually opting for the specials. He selected a grilled tenderloin stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes finished with homemade smoked almond Worcestershire sauce.

My entree was a special:seared scallops and blue crab over arugula and angel hair pasta with a base of port wine tomato bisque topped with basil bread crumbs and fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.

We were unable to pass up dessert so we shared a slice of frozen chocolate peanut butter cream pie. It was amazing.

* I thought for sure Austin would get the other special: spice-crusted salmon cutlets over brown rice with a shrimp, mango, and ginger and slaw along with a green chili butter sauce. I'm mainly documenting that in the event that I ever decide to get creative with salmon.