A few weeks ago I got an email from Rachel of Boston Chefs that as a subscriber to e-licious, I had won a $50.00 gift certificate from Stix Restaurant & Lounge. I was thrilled and on Friday, I got this adorable little package in a blue velvet case!
I have to admit that I went to Stix a year and a half ago with the ladies for Restaurant Week. We weren't thrilled with the service and the food was too salty for me but I'm willing to give it another chance with this free gift certificate. Hopefully I'll have better reviews when I make a return visit!
Afterwards, I got ready for Friday night date night. B and I decided to have a few glasses of my friend M's family wine - Masciarelli Rose D'Abruzzo. Delicious.
Our dining room has turned into a make-shift gift room for all of the birthday gifts for B's nephew. So I didn't notice when B had another bag in there for me! He got a small gift for our sixteen month anniversary - the seventh season of 90210! It was a sweet gesture.
Afterwards B and I headed to Brasserie Jo for dinner. Brasserie Jo is located in the Colonnade Boston Hotel, which I've been to many times for client and UMASS events. But I have never been to the restaurant. I have told B many times how I've wanted to go there and I was thrilled that he made reservations for there. We arrived there ten minutes early. The restaurant was busy but they seated us right away. We lucked out with one of their private corner tables, which also tends to be a little more romantic.
Our dining room has turned into a make-shift gift room for all of the birthday gifts for B's nephew. So I didn't notice when B had another bag in there for me! He got a small gift for our sixteen month anniversary - the seventh season of 90210! It was a sweet gesture.
Afterwards B and I headed to Brasserie Jo for dinner. Brasserie Jo is located in the Colonnade Boston Hotel, which I've been to many times for client and UMASS events. But I have never been to the restaurant. I have told B many times how I've wanted to go there and I was thrilled that he made reservations for there. We arrived there ten minutes early. The restaurant was busy but they seated us right away. We lucked out with one of their private corner tables, which also tends to be a little more romantic.
We decided to continue with some more wine. Brasserie Jo has a decent wine list with great price points. Since we started out with Rose, we decided to continue on with something sweet - Alsace Pierre Spark reisling. Per usual, the bistro served a fresh loaf of French bread in a bag. No matter how many bistros I go to or how bad people tell us carbs us, this has to be my favorite part of a French bistro.
We were both starving and decided to order two appetizers - crispy sweetbreads, squash and a brown sugar sauce and escargots en cocotte. I absolutely love escargot and I was thrilled that it was served en cocotte via cast iron dish. The escargot was served in a delicious pesto garlic butter. I even managed to get B to have some escargot! The sweetbreads were delicious and the brown sugar sauce was not overly sweet.
For our entrees, B had the coq au vin. The coq au vin was served in a hearty cast iron pot along with a side of of kneffla. Kneffla are delicious little dumplings that look a lot like gnocchi or spatzle. They are a little bland but incredibly delicious with the meat juices from the coq au vin. I was on a seafood kick from the weekend in Maine and ordered the mussels reislings mariniere. Again, this was served in a huge cast iron pot and they did not skimp in the servings. Each mussel was perfectly cleaned and not a single one was overcooked. The reisling, butter, garlic and shallot sauce was delicious and I had to dip the pomme frites and bread in it.
Despite our hearty meals, we indulged in some cordials. B sipped on some cognac while I sipped on some Bailey's. We split the strawberry and creme crepe, which was not thankfully not too sweet. It was the perfect romantic ending to a wonderful meal.
Afterwards, B and I headed to Barnes and Noble at the Prudential Center so that I could pick up a birthday gift for my brother-in-law's birthday. While we were there, I found a book that was a childhood favorite of mine. When I was young, the administrators at my elementary school tested me to see if I could skip a few grades. I only ended up skipping one grade because my parents thought anything more would be more harmful than beneficial to me. Part of the test involved reading Danny and the Dinosaur and to this day, I have a huge sentimental attachment to this book.
So ofcourse I bought it for B's nephew! Hopefully he will love it as much as I do!
A Friday night filled with gift giving and receiving....and a delicious meal. Its the perfect start to a weekend.
xoxo
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