Happy 30th Birthday PB! A Dinner at XIX

PB turns 30 today! Happy Birthday Old Man!!!

Remember last year’s surprise fiasco? Well, this year I wasn’t going to let anything stop me! I booked my flight to Philly MONTHS ago to surprise PB for dinner on his 30th, but on Monday I found out he would be leaving for a work trip on his birthday, so I changed my flight to come yesterday and it was PERFECT! PB had no idea, and my flight was even on time this year!

When I landed I headed straight to the condo to clean up the guest room as part of my present to PB, and then I surprised him for lunch, but those details will come to you later this week. For now, I tell you about my first AMAZING Philly dinner!

I asked my friend Gina for suggestions on where to take PB for his 30th and also searched the internet. I couldn’t decide between Vetri or XIX but with Gina’s suggestion of XIX I knew that was where we would go! I reserved a balcony table and our dinner timing was perfect. The sun was hot for the first 20 minutes, and then we watched it set until we felt a perfect breeze hit our bodies. The restaurant has the type of decor I like, formal but not stuffy, classic but funky.

Lovebirds:

And dinner! Let me tell you about dinner, at least as much as I can remember!

First we checked out the menu…

…and then we decided to do the chef’s tasting, which was delicious and expiremental too. A meal is not something I would normally feel good about letting someone else decide for me, but I thought it would be a fun experience. We ordered a bottle of a great Sauvignon Blanc called Cloudy Bay, some fresh sparkling water, and waited to see what the chef had to offer.

Cin Cin! To the love of my life, who I get to marry in a little over two weeks!

I caught him checking his iPhone… the only problem with them is that they are addicting!

Now to the tasting…
Course 1: Sashimi Tasting.

I tried the tuna and it was great, then passed on the other two to PB!

Course 2: A seared scallop served with baby spinach and a mousu foam

Isn’t the presentation gorgeous? I would like to mention at this point that WE HAVE THESE PLATES!!!!! They are the corporate version of the ones we registered for and received over the last year! I can’t wait to have dinner parties and use them. Anyway, this scallop was delicious and perfectly cooked. It was definitely the best scallop I have ever had.

Course 3: Alaskan Halibut with fava beans, quail egg, baby peppers, and a fish sauce

This was definitely the most interesting thing I have eaten lately, but it was also good! I didn’t think the flavors would work well together but they did. And again, love the presentation.

Course 4: Lamb with garlic grits, shaved parmigiano, and a mushroom sauce

This was a more classic dish, but still, really good.

As many of you know and can see, this is not the typical meal I would eat. I don’t eat much red meat, would NEVER have tried a quail egg, and hate sashimi. It’s amazing what love can do! I feel like I am so much more adventurous in so many ways with PhillyBoy around. We are learning so much together and experiencing such interesting things.

After the 4th course PB and I relaxed for a bit enjoying our wine and the view.

Like the silly 25 year old girl I am, I kept asking him if he was tipsy, because I sure was! Why is it that wine hits me faster when it is summer? So bizarre. I swear I had less than a glass and was giggly. Hm. Maybe it was the talk about our future and not the wine that did that 🙂 🙂 🙂

After a nice pause we ordered his and hers drinks… I had hot english breakfast tea and he had a hot American coffee. This is the life!

And then came the birthday fun!

Course 5: Dessert (they weren’t on the menu so I don’t have the beautiful description for you…)
Him: A Happy Birthday chocolate concoction. It tasted like a combo of chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, and heaven. Oh, all topped off with their homemade mint ice cream.
Her: Two pieces of a dry spongy cake filled and topped with juicy, syrupy strawberries and creme fraiche. Served along with a creme fraiche filled strawberry that PB ate in one bite!

And presents!!!!!

I bought PB a JVC videocamera so he could take fun videos since our Sony digital cameras don’t work well with Macs. He was super excited because it is just “so cool” 😉 I hope he brings it on the honeymoon so we can take fun videos of the gorgeous scene and water fun!

After a fabulous dinner, the bill came. In a black ominous envelope that yelled at me to photograph it!

PB and I had a great experience at XIX. I am so happy we went there to celebrate his 30th, and I am even more happy that I found him. I am so lucky!

16 days until our wedding!

I am off to clean a little, then lunch with PB, and then back to Rhode Island! Let’s hope my flight is on time!!!!!

Playlist of the day: Juanes’ album Mi Sangre

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILLYBOY!