San Salvaje & Les Miserables - Date Night with My Chef

In the last couple of months, Chad and I have had the opportunity to make almost every Tuesday evening "date night".  With Everleigh's Dallas "Grandma", (MamaLis...or as Everleigh is now starting to call her.. MamaEEES) spending Tuesday afternoons with our bear, we use those evenings to spend quality time together. Last Tuesday, with tickets to Les Miserables in hand for later that evening, we headed downtown to check out San Salvaje, a new restaurant concept by Steven Pyles.  This fusion of Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Cuba was an explosion of amazing flavors.  Sweet and savory was combined with the perfect amount of tangy acidity to create dishes that certainly had us wanting more.   

Quinoa Salad, Puffed Cherries, Pine Nuts, Dried Apples 

Amberjack Ceviche, Crema de Rocoto 

 Smoked Duck Tacos, Rhubarb Salsa

Pork Belly Tacu Tacu, Fig Compote

Three Cheese Arepa, Salsa Verde

Pork Belly Tacu Tacu, Fig Compote

Escabeche of Sea Bass, Duck Fat Potatoes, 

Chile Pequin Aioli 

After our amazing meal, we headed to the Wyly Theater nearby for the 7:30 musical of Les Miserables.  

Being newbies to this particular theater, we were pleasantly surprised to see that no one seemed to have a bad seat in the whole house.  The stage was RIGHT there.. and we'd later find, as the performance went on, that on several occasions, we became PART of the show itself, with the performers acting in the aisles and among the crowd.  A truly awesome Dallas experience...can't wait to visit the Wyly again.  :)

 

Date Night with My Chef at FT33

In the 19 months since Everleigh was born... (when our overall focus on life seemed to shift towards our tiny little human)... it's been rare that Chad and I get to enjoy date nights.  With his work schedule and our limited time together as a family, we usually just stay home to enjoy our baby bear on his days off.  

At the expense of very LONG consecutive work days, we've had the opportunity to enjoy two very RARE Friday nights together in the past month and a half.  If you know us well at all, you know that date nights always involve eating.  And drinking.  A lot.  At awesome restaurants we've been meaning to try.  :)  

This past Friday we had reservations at FT33 in Dallas.  :)  The chef, Matt McCallister, is the recent winner of Food and Wine's Best New Chef Award in the Southwest, so we were eager to see what his restaurant had to offer.  

Surprisingly, we didn't overdo it this time.  Just one item per course. Per person.  ;)  And an awesome bottle of Chablis to start off the night.  

house made charcuterie board: 

 pickled carrots, pickled butternut squash, lardo, mortadella, mustard, jam

  

beef sugo, wild mushrooms, local kale, tagliardi

hanger tartare, fermented onion, gremolata, egg yolk, turnip

skate, pork belly, confit potatoes, celery, maitake mushrooms

ricotta gnocchi, ramps, celery root, spinach, mushrooms, ham broth

sorrel sponge cake, tarragon, mint, pistachio meringue

  

goat cheese panna cotta, strawberry 3 ways (dried, compressed and whole), 

olive oil / poppy seed & basil cake

AND my love.  :)  My hot date for the night.  #chefchadkelley 

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 

Father's Day Dinner at Restaurant Guy Savoy : Las Vegas Weekend Getaway - Part 3

Ten YEARS later (ok, maybe a TAD dramatic.. but STILL!!) and we FINALLY get to Part 3 of our Vegas weekend getaway.  I swear I've been chasing my tail since we got back.  I can't seem to get caught up with work, Everleigh seems a bit more "clingy" since our return (I think she's afraid we are going to leave her again.. :( and I just haven't had much "down time" to catch up with this blog.

Luckily.. our last full day in Vegas was pretty much centered around our dinner at Guy Savoy as we celebrated Chad's FIRST real Father's Day!  A ridiculous amount of courses... over 2 hours of ACTUAL meal time.  Pretty damn amazing if you ask me!

Guy Savoy, in pictures.. (Unedited Iphone pictures by the way.. yeah, sorry about that)

  

“Concassé” of Oysters, Seaweed, Lemon Granité 

Marc Deschamps, Vinealis, Pouilly Fumé, 2002 

Sea Urchin and Black Rice 

 Domaine Ostertag, Heissenberg, Riesling, Alsace, 2009

 Asparagus, Caviar and “Fresh” Cheese

Henri Giraud, Homage à François Hémart, Aÿ, Brut, MV

  Salmon Iceberg 

 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils, Châteauneuf-Du-Pape, 2010 

Lobster, Vegetable Serpentines and Smoked Butter Sabayon 

Mas de Daumas Gassac, Hérault, 2011 

Foie Gras, Crispy Quinoa, Duck Potato Chip Consommé

 Maison Roche de Bellene, Vieilles Vignes, Gevrey-Chambertin, 2010

 

Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup, Toasted Mushroom Brioche, 

 and Black Truffle Butter 

My chef wanted a picture of the knives... :)

Smoked Roasted Duck, Fresh Lavender and Baby Fennel

 E Guigal, Châteauneuf-Du-Pape, 2007

Japanese Wagyu, Sesame Seed and Tarragon Crust,  Heart of Palm, Sponge Cake 

Château Giscours, Margaux, 2006

 

Chocolate

 Inniskillin, Cabernet Franc Icewine, Niagara Peninsula, 2009

Time for DESSERTS!!

Walking off our food as we made our way back to the hotel...