Love and Food in the Big D

Monday, October 07, 2013

Date Night at Spoon, Reunion Tower and Klyde Warren Park


For the last couple of months, life has been pretty hectic around our house.  Packing up the old to move into the new.. with a 1 year old that wants to get into EVERYTHING and "help" out where she can.  Sifting, sorting, trashing and resettling...moving is definitely not for the faint of heart!  Who knew 1,800 SF could produce so much CRAP?!  I never considered myself a hoarder until I saw how much JUNK I'd been storing in the tiniest crevices of our old house.  Lol..ok, maybe "hoarder" is a bit much, but you get the idea. 

With all the hub bub happening around us, it's not surprising that date nights with the hubs have fallen by the way side.  With barely enough time in the day to eat a decent meal (or dinner time snack rather), Chad and I haven't really had an opportunity to spend much quality time together. 

Enter my amazing husband, who never ceases to amaze me.  With no real reason at all (other than the fact that it had been too long since we did anything fun together), he took it upon himself to plan a surprise outing for us.  Knowing that whatever we ended up doing would involve a fabulous meal, I let the anticipation build for a fabulous evening with my love. 

First stop on our Sunday night adventure was Spoon Bar & Kitchen.  Named 1 of the 50 best new restaurants nominees of 2013 by Bon Appetit, this modern american seafood restaurant by Chef John Tesar definitely did not disappoint.

As part of the 7+ course tasting menu that both Chad and I enjoyed, here's a look at our offerings, in pictures.   

Amuse Bouche:  Poached Scallops, Cilantro Foam, Blackberry Puree, Caviar

First Course:  Cuttlefish, Jalapeno Oil, Yuzu & Pink Peppercorns

 
Second Course:  Day Boat Sea Scallops, Asian Mushrooms, Dashi & Trout Roe


Third Course:  Lobster Ravioli, Butter Poached Lobster Knuckle 

Fourth Course:  Maya Prawns, Kimchi Pancake and Kimchi Butter

  Fifth Course:  Swordfish, Parsley Puree, Tomato & Picholine Olive Vinaigrette, 
Wild Watercress & Toasted Quinoa 

Sixth Course:  Arctic Char, Pea Puree 

Pre-Dessert Yumminess:  Chocolate Pudding with a Salted Caramel Foam

Dessert YK:  Called "The White Album"
Coconut Tapioca on Mango Cream & Coconut Ice Cream

Dessert CK:  Called "Chocolate Textures"

After Dessert DESSERT!  
Assortment of Tasty Treats
 
Including Madeleine!  

Next Stop:  The recently re-opened Reunion Tower & Observation Deck.  
This stop actually had special meaning because there was an attempt to visit the Tower on our very first date in 2008 (not realizing it had been closed for almost a YEAR at the time).  It just reopened again for the public this past weekend.  :)  Surprisingly though, our Sunday night visit was fairly quiet, having most of the floor to ourselves.  :)  
   

Views from the top :)









Last Stop of the Night:  Klyde Warren Park.  
We'd heard a lot of great things about this park downtown but had yet to actually make it out there.  It was a beautiful fall night for a stroll.  :)




Entrance into the Children's Park.. 

Splash Fountain