Table for two

perched at the top of the round-about staircase, our table for two rubbed shoulders with a floor to ceiling wine rack. Gorgeous. The lighting was so right. And for the first 30 minutes we were alone up there. The place so quickly filled up, I'm glad I made the reservations. And I'm so glad Evan was equally affectionate for the space.

We ordered our bubbles and gawked for a bit at the unidentifiable ingredients on the menu. I have always ordered the same thing at this place because I know it's the best and I have to fulfill that craving. But we still read on this time and decided to order something different. We were all cute and couplsy sharing every dish!
The flan/darkened truffle blew us away. Flavor was the order of the day, and just advanced with every bite. The sliced vine tomato, roasted pepper, motzerella with aged balsamic and green peppercorn vinaigrette was my order and i loved it the way i always have. He had a dish with Asapragus and mushrooms with arugula and it blew me away.

After our toast, we had another toast, then another toast and we were finally ready to swing onto the next chow. Our waitress arrives once more (she had great timing), this time with a wine menu (really we'll call it a book, there were hundres on the list) and a fold down card on a plate. She hands Evan the wine menu and says there was someone who would like to take care of the drink for us. The card was opened and it dotingly said "Happy Anniversary The Abns". The staff probably assumed that Mr. or Ms. Abns must be foreign with a name like that but then i explained that it was ABNS (all caps) stnading for the Am. Board of Neurological Surgery. My boss knew of my plans to dine at Mark's and she was so thoughtful to have the Board send us the gift. Wow.

The night just got better. We could actually feast on that list and discuss what region was going to put out the best grape or blend for our night and our meal. I have nothing but gratitude for that oppertunity. We are wine lovers.

There is a little anxiety sitting down at a restaurant like this and saying anything goes. We were uneasy about saying yes to a $70 bottle of wine, knowing the food would cost more than that easily. The release of that distress really turned an already great evening into celebration. The Anakota "Helena Dakota" napa 2002 had a star next to it which stands for a recommended wine. We figure they pay these people to search out best of the best and that is assurance it will be a bottle of "spirit".

It gets funny and well, a little awkward here. She arrives back upstairs with the bottle perched on the towel draped on her forearm and allows us both a chance to read the label. I felt some relief not seeing some art neuvo decoration meaning I choose it because the bottle was pretty. What was inside this bottle was chosen because of the depth, the profundity. Open, Open, Cheers! Well, not really! The uncorking of the wine did not go so well. She broke it in half and sliced the air in half at the same time. I just froze. I think Evan did too, and our waitress probably started sweating. I was troubled with the thought of her having to get another. We all know that cork in your wine will oxidize it and it will ruin the wine. Well, I don't believe Cork fell in it, at least not at that time. She apologized and walked away. My first thought was that she was going to get another bottle. It's typical principle that the staff open the bottle in front of you. If someone walks away with your bottle and comes back with it decanted how do you know you got the wine you really ordered. Then Evan suggests that maybe she was getting help to get the cork out just the right way to avoid any droppings. Sure enough she came back with a decanter. Now I'm just not that picky. I would have loved to enjoy it either way, and didn't expect a new bottle, but i just worried about her getting in trouble for having to open another once i assumed that was the restaurants etiquette. Well thank god it wasn't and we were all pleased. $150 for one bottle effortlessly puts you in a great mood.

The entree was great. It's not just any seasonal or winter vegetables, it's outstanding. They provide you with 3 dipping sauces, one being an orange bell pepper spicy sauce, one is the green peppercorn sauce, and the third I'm not certain of but it was tasty. The aesthetics of the plate is art. The variety was amazing: diamond shaped sweet potato, slivers of grilled squash and zuccini, a dalop of garlic herb mashed potatos that were so good that calling them mashed potatoes seemed like an insult. The chedder waffle/cracker that was balanced in the middle of them was really really good. Green and white asparagus, and bundle of seasoned green beans and so much more. And the best part was the pairing of the sauces with each bite. We spent a good half hour exploring all those options.

To make the evening even greater, we decided to skip desert and head across the street to the bar we met at. Bloody mary for desert because i just don't think we had enough veggies yet! ha! Well, she brought our check but she also brought a complimentary desert and there was that lone candle extending out of it to represent 1 year. The freshest, indescribable blueberry muffin ice cream in the middle of some kind of bun or something. And sauces were zigzaged around. That really finished us off.

I only called the baby sitter once in the two hours we were gone. I really behaved myself.

To many more.........

Salud!