As an IT consultant, I have eaten at my share of company cafeterias over the past nine years, but today I was absolutely and completely blown away. The cafeteria at the client featured guest chef Declan Brennan today, and he created the following menu:

• Aged balsamic Waldorf salad with micro greens


• Grilled Irish lamb chops with Jameson mint demi glaze


• Turned root vegetable buerre noir
  
• Truffle Yukon potato torte


• Chocolate orange bread pudding with Baileys anglaise sauce

What will truly blow your mind is that the meal was impeccable and only cost $6.95 plus the cost of the soda. I really only needed a wonderful pinot noir...

On Monday, October 24, 2005, Shawn and I will have lived together for two whole years! It has been fabulous! To celebrate, Shawn took us OTP to Dick and Harry's on Friday, October 28. He had been talking about it for a long time, and after enjoying the service and the food, I do not know why we waiting so long! I had the most amazing veal tenderloin with pearl onions, truffled mashed potatoes, and baby bok choy. Shawn had a pork chop.

Shawn had never been to Canoe before, so last Friday, I took him. We had a fabulous and romantic meal looking over the green waters of the Chattahoochee as well as great service. I enjoyed the pheasant, and Shawn had the duck. After this experience, I know Shawn wants to go back! :)

Last night, a group of us went to dinner at Chow Thai Pacific Rim. This restaurant features pan-Asian cuisine, and as far as I am concerned, has the best tom kha gai in Plano, Texas. The atmosphere is also very pleasing and modern, no kitschy Asian. Teos took this picture of the group for me; I was actually seated at the one end of the table. That is my green curry chicken waiting there. Yummy!

Last Tuesday, we returned to the Bavarian Grill and positioned ourselves in the seated area of the restaurant. This is a great place not only to enjoy the beer and the food but also to enjoy the entertainment provided by Alan Walling. Simply put, he plays the accordion extremely well, sings, yodels and wears lederhosen. His web site is www.willpolkaforbeer.com. What really cracked me up was that he accepted all of our requests and played them on his accordion. For example, he played "Free Bird", some Led Zepplin, and even a hilarious version of "Margaritaville". Here is what I can remember:

On Saturday, Shawn and I finally decided to try Emeril's Atlanta. We made late reservations through Open Table. The atmosphere and architecture was very modern. Immediately noticeable is a massive wine tower. There were even tables in the middle of the tower area; this is where we sat. The floor, walls and furniture are literally woven in broad bands of rock, wood and leather. The service was slow, but who wants to be rushed through a meal anyway. What was more disappointing is that they had run out of one of their specials - boar with risotto. Shawn finally decided on the crawfish enchiladas, the pork chop with mole, and a molten chocolate lava cake. I had the cheese plate (a selection of three out of six), the filet mignon with haricot vert and a bread salad, and a huge slice of banana cream pie with layers and layers of sliced bananas in it. It was really tasty and good, and thankfully none of the food was too wierd to order. We decided that we would definitely like to come back again.

As a perfect end to a perfect weekend, Shawn took me to The Melting Pot (using his winnings from the Texas Lottery). I had actually never been to any of the chain's restaurants, so I was very excited. It was very romantic! We shared a traditional cheese fondue starter and then an oil. I really liked the tempura dip with the chicken in the oil. Yummy! After all that, we barely had enough room for the dark chocolate dessert fondue - but we found some! :)

A group of us on the project went to a delicious French restaurant last Wednesday called Lavendou. The conversation was great, and so was the food! I had a hearty beef stew and followed it with a delightful Gran Marnier souffle. Yummy! :)

I just started at a new project in Plano, Texas. Plano is a beautiful suburb of Dallas, and by far, the best project location I have ever been! My colleague and friend, Bert, took me to the Bavarian Grill my first week on the project to relive our Heidelberg days. It was GREAT! We had Nurnberger Wuerste with spicy mustard, Wiener Schnitzel, Spaetzle and German beer! Bert earned his stein on his next visit for drinking one of each! Yeah! Even the owner came over while we were enjoying the old time jazz band! Awesome! :)

Last night, Shawn and I enjoyed dinner at the new 24 hour French restaurant Au Pied de Cochon. And, yes, they did have the 'pig's trotter' on the menu as one of their signature dishes, but neither Shawn or I were tempted to nibble around the 37 tiny bones of a pig's foot. Instead, Shawn had escargot and a huge filet mignon. I had a tomato tart with arugula and a small filet mignon. We split some green beans with dinner and shared a dessert of crepes filled with dulce de leche and topped with cinammon ice cream. We were so full when we left that I could not stay up and pack my bags!

Mona, JB, Shawn and I had a wonderful dinner at the Atlanta Fish Market yesterday as a way of celebrating the season! Everything was delicious, but the company was really the best part! :)

A year ago yesterday, Shawn (and Winston) moved into the house. We have had some challenges, but living together has been very rewarding! We have done so much over the past year from traveling to cooking to remodeling! Thanks to Shawn, most of our favorite pictures are even available on the Web. Here is one more that I would like to add from our anniversary celebration dinner yesterday at Woodfire Grill. It was our first visit to the restaurant but it definitely will not be our last. I simply loved the selection of artisan cheeses that we shared. Shawn liked the smell of the wood-burning oven and really enjoyed the Valrhona cake! :)

Shawn invited me on a date to Boi Na Braza on Friday. Boi Na Brazais the newest in the flurry of Brazilian churrascarias popping up all over Atlanta. The concept is simple. You start will the salad bar, from which you can serve yourself cheeses, dried meats, salami, and - of course - salads. At your table, you can enjoy fried yuca, fried bananas, fried polenta and bread. Each person has a small circular card. The front is green, and the back is red. This is the card you use to signal the "gauchos" to bring you more meat! There were fifteen different kinds to choose from at Boi Na Braza. My favorite was the rump roast (picanha). The wine was great also! We enjoyed a 2002 Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast called La Crema.

The atmosphere and the service set Boi Na Braza apart from the other churrascarias, to which I have been. The restaurant occupies the corner where Kudzu Cafe used to be. Inside, it is very open, and the salad bar has remarkably beautiful iron work. Three different managers stopped by our table and asked if everything was in order. When I told the one gaucho that I was waiting for the roast to come by again, he immediately took what he was offering back to the kitchen, and came back with the delicious roast! Also remarkable was the fact that the meat was more on the rare side - a fact, which made Shawn and I both happy! All in all, we had a lovely date!

On Friday, JB, Mona, Shawn and I met for dinner and drinks at One Midtown Kitchen. Admittedly, I felt like we were pulling up to the front of an old warehouse (i.e. just another steel door), but inside, the space is creative and cool. The wine storage along the wall was particularly intriguing as were the glowing bulbs that hung from the ceiling. There was a romantic view of Piedmont Park on one side, and a busy look into the open kitchen from the other. The staff was very friendly albiet maybe too well-meaning. Other than the duck, the best thing that I ordered was the bottomless glass of wine! You could pick any wine from one of the four groups and switch with every glass if you wanted! The only bad news was the headache I had the next day.

I escaped work early on Friday, and Paul and I hurried to Frankfurt to try and get in some tourism. We discovered two really fascinating places: the Maggi Kochstudio and a Nutelleria! For those who do not know, Maggi is a seasoning and packet mix vendor. All of their advertisements feature Maggi's cooking studio. I had no idea it was in Frankfurt! I bought many packets of gulasch mix and salad dressing mix. Right next door was a Nutelleria. As the name suggests, it was a store that sold nothing but products made with that delicious hazelnut spread. Paul and I each had banana crepes with Nutella, but they offered ham wraps with Nutella, banana muffins frosted with Nutella, Nutella brownies,... YUMMY! Slowing down after our sugar fix, Paul and I took a cruise to nowhere up and down the Main. It was not as beautiful as many other cruises on the rivers in Germany that I have taken, but the company was good, and we had to wait to build up our appetites again. After the almost two hour voyage, we wandered to Alt Sachsenhausen, where we went to a traditional Aeppelwoi establishment. Aeppelwoi is hard cider and is especially loved in this region. Despite the torrential downpour that forced us inside, the cider was delicious, and we made a couple of new friends! The evening was over too soon, and I was on the plane home early the next morning. Paul is somewhere in France celebrating his 39th birthday! :)

Paul drove yesterday from Linz, Austria to Heidelberg, Germany. I left work at 5 PM and met him at the hotel. We took a long walk down the pedestrian street and then had a lovely dinner together at the Hackteufel. Today, we will be heading to Frankfurt!

Despite the torrential rains, Shawn took me to Dante's Down the Hatch in Buckhead last night. The experience far exceeded my expectations! Entering the restaurant is like entering another world. This world is a cross between the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in that famous mouse park and an old-time speakeasy complete with lazy jazz. To make matters even more complicated, Dante's specialty is fondue! Shawn and I shared a bottle of Zinfandel from their extensive wine list, a cheese fondue appetizer, a tenderloin beef fondue, and a mixed plate of breaded shrimp, pork, tenderloin and chicken fondue. Horseradish, teriyaki, remoulade, and soy pineapple ginger sauces were offered with the meat. My favorite was the tenderloin with the teriyaki. Delicious!

Before dessert, we caught a glimpse of Dante, an older gentleman with tufts of thick white hair. He had a generous number of keys clipped to his trousers and was accompanied by a large puffy, white dog. He moved so quickly through the dark restaurant and up the stairs that he and his canine partner reminded me of a couple of spirits, and I lost the opportunity to send greetings from my family. There will be a next time - hopefully in the near future - and then I will be ready!

Disclaimer:

The views expressed here are solely mine and not my employer's. This blog may contain language, images, subject matter, opinions and even recipes that some consider offensive. Wanna make something of it?