Walking Backwards

Joe has been kind enough to remind me that I failed to write about my night out with him. It was, after all, our first night out in recent memory and was quite enjoyable and worthy of being written about. Annie and David offered to watch the little one for us and we got dressed up. I got to wear the black and white dress my mother had bought me months ago that still had tags attached to it. I felt quite swanky, if a bit uncomfortable, in high-heeled shoes. For a change, I wore make-up. It was an event. We went to Ventana, which is a French restaurant attached to the Texas culinary academy. I know that going to a cooking school for a fancy night out is really running a risk, but we were willing to chance it for the opportunity to have cheap cuisine. We were both floored by how wonderful it turned out to be. The service was exceptional; it felt as if we had five separate servers who all knew exactly when we needed something. There was one member of the waitstaff who just stood against the wall surveying the floor to see if another waitperson had to go attend to a table. We each ordered a different glass of wine which was poured by a sommelier. I don't think I have ever been to a restaurant with a sommelier before. I ordered the three course tasting menu and Joe ordered the steak au poivre and a ceaser salad. My appetizer was smoked shrimp followed by maple glazed pork loin with butternut squash ravioli and for dessert, creme brulee. Everything was so good. Joe would stop every few bites and just exclaim how wonderful he found everything. How the wine matched the food perfectly. How the staff was just on top of everything. All in all, one of the best dining experiences ever. The bill, which was far larger than we expected, didn't even phase us in the end (although it may keep us from going there as frequently as we would want).