3rd Anniversary Recap

Since our anniversary fell on a Wednesday this year and we are celebrating 3 years, it was only appropriate to have 3 anniversary dinners. ;)

Dinner #1:
We did a mini-celebration on Wednesday night. Jim met me at The Melting Pot right after work so we could take advantage of the happy hour specials. We each had a glass of wine and then split the Wisconsin Trio cheese fondue, Spinach Bacon salad and the Yin and Yang chocolate fondue. The seats at the bar were all filled when we got there, so we had to sit at one of the cocktail tables without a burner. The chocolate fondue was awesome, but the cheese fondue was only so-so. The blue cheese seemed to just sit at the bottom and was way too overpowering, especially for this blue cheese hater. It was still nice to actually go out for dinner though on a weeknight.

After dinner, we came home and exchanged gifts. The 3rd anniversary is "leather" so Jim got a new pair of work shoes (boring, but necessary). In addition, I also got him a Pleepleus t-shirt and a little Pleepleus toy monkey. Confused as to what in the world "Pleepleus" is? Read this. The shoes might have been necessary, but Pleepleus was definitely the hit of the night!

As for me, I got a new pair of Uggs in anticipation of the chilly nights at our new house this winter. I love them!

Dinner #2:
Friday night we made dinner reservations for Simon LA. Ever since seeing Kerry Simon and his restaurant featured on an episode of After Hours we have wanted to dine there. We tend to fade fast on Friday evenings, so we had a very early (like 6pm early) dinner reservation. The service was excellent from the get-go and the restaurant itself has a great cool vibe to it. I'm an idiot and totally forgot my camera in the car, so sadly no pics :(

For the food, it's wine & dineLA week right now, so we both opted for the 4-course set menu and Jim also ordered the wine pairings. The menu:
Course One - Yellowtail carpaccio, cilantro, mint, citrus vinaigrette
Course Two - Crispy striped bass, chanterelles, grapes and hazelnuts
Course Three - Grilled New York Steak, faro risotto and sunchokes
Course Four - Passion fruit souffle

Overall the food was very good, but not spectacular. The highlight of the evening was the farro risotto and the passion fruit souffle. I wanted to lick the plate clean to make sure I got all of the risotto and the souffle? Jim just kept staring at it trying to figure it out. Easily the more flavorful and delicate souffle I've ever eaten. So. Damn. Awesome!

I had alerted the restaurant that it was our anniversary, so before the souffle was served, they brought out 2 glasses of muscat and a HUGE platter of fresh pink cotton candy for us to split. It was a nice touch and made us giggle.

After polishing off the wine pairings, Jim was toasted, which made the drive back home pretty hilarious. Great anniversary dinner and a good way to start the weekend!

Dinner #3:
Late next week we're headed to Vegas for Vino's wedding and we're spending a few days there as a mini-vacation. We're toying with the idea of either Bouchon or Carnevino as the site of our 3rd and final anniversary dinner for the year.

It's been a very happy anniversary and I'm looking forward to many more to come!