There are very few opportunities that Doug and I have to spend time alone without the kids. God bless our neighbor and friend S for taking both of them in exchange for me driving her daughter to soccer practice. They only needed to be there for two hours or so... but it was enough for me and hubby to have time to ourselves and enjoy a meal in a restaurant that caters to grown ups and not the "family" crowd. I'm not against dining with kids, but once in a while, it's nice to just go out with us... no kiddies, and no one elses' kiddies there either.
And last night was perfect.
We were going to go to Newburyport to the Black Cow. Not sure if it is related to the Black Cow in S. Hamilton, MA ... but 14 years ago on the 31st we sat at the Black Cow with our entire wedding party sucking down beers and having a ton of fun. Some of you reading this were there. Cheers to you!
Before getting hitched the following morning (not sure if I ever blogged about it, but I got married barefoot because I lost my shoes ... nice!)
We ditched that plan because Doug got home at six, and it would be late and yadda yadda. So he suggested we go to Haverhill to Bistro 45.
That table there in the corner by the windows? That's where we sat (yes, I lifted the pic from their website... but it was lovely and I loved being there and wanted to show you exactly where we sat). We went there last year when the kids were staying with my folks down in NY, and figured it would be a good time to go without them again. The menu has no chicken fingers or hotdogs or other kid things, and it is definately "haute" cuisine for the area... and we love it.
The salad was field greens, bartlett pears, goat cheese and a strawberry dressing. Ummmy yummy yes! We had crostini for two -- six pieces with different toppings ranging from melted goat cheese and red pepper to roasted garlic and brie. Very nicely done. For the entree, I had the beef tenderloin in pan sauce with potatoes and carmelized onions, the sauce was to die for. Doug had the pan seared tuna on couscous with roasted red peppers and green beans. Dessert was for me -- a chocolate mousse, for Doug the orange cheesecake with creme fraische (sp?) in an oreo crust. With a chocolate martini.
They have crazy beers from weird far-away places, and we had some of those. All told, no better way to mark 14 years than this meal, in this lovely restaurant, by ourselves, early in the evening.
This is the kind of place I'd want to bring my swanky city-acquainted friends to show them how wonderful and well the Merrimack Valley does haute cuisine. Any takers? Let me know when you wanna meet! It is right near the commuter rail stop. You can come up from town easy. Nice!
We were home before the sun set, got the kids, watched some Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry while Jessica finished writing a paper that was due today, and all were asleep by 10pm.
Life is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment