Tuesday, May 26

Anniversary Dinner.

At long last, I am getting to our anniversary dinner. Of course now that almost 20 days have passed, the old memories are getting rusty and I don't remember some of the fabulous details. But I'll give it my best shot.

First of all, the whole evening was incredibly dreamy. We went out to Encantado last summer for the ribbon cutting and I fell in love with the place. It's so gorgeous out there. We didn't end up spending a night there, although in retrospect, we really wish that we had. Maybe next year. (It is rather pricey.) But we did make to dinner, as I had so hoped we would that lovely August summer evening last year.

So we got gussied up and naturally I had to take numerous photos.



Including one with our Game Day faces. (Our thoughts are never too far from football.)



And then off to Terra we went. It wasn't crowded when we arrived so we had our choice of tables. It was such a lovely evening, we decided to sit out on the patio. That ended up being rather hot with the sun shining directly on us, but in the end, once it cooled off and we watched the sunset, it was the perfect choice.



I love having leisurely dinners, particularly at higher end restaurants. And Terra pretty much let us set the pace which was wonderful. The service was absolutely impeccable. Our waitress was patient with all our questions and desire for chit chat and provided stellar recommendations. We started off with a nice, crisp Chardonnay and if I'd written about this immediately, I'd remember the brand. We decided to start out with salads. I ordered the Arugula and Hydro-Cress Salad (w/ beets, prickly-pear dressing, Cabrales blue and piñon-nut clusters) which was so incredibly good. Will had the Grilled Hearts of Romaine Caesar (w/ masa croutons, white anchovies and shaved Spanish Manchego), also excellent, and the masa croutons were to die for. Yum. And before they brought out the salads, they gave us a lovely complimentary treat of salmon and caviar.



I don't remember exactly what the waitress called it, but it was tasty. For our second course we had the Oxtail Ravioli (w/ tomato marmalade, Parmesan broth and parsley oil) because I can never resist anything with oxtails. It was not disappointing. At all.

We decided not to get a bottle of red wine as we thought that would be too much for us. Instead, we went for a half bottle which limited our choices a great deal. We ended up with a Merlot, and again, I don't remember the brand, but I didn't love it. But no matter, these things happen. It didn't take away from the enjoyment of the meal.

Moving on, for our entrees, Will had the Three Little Pigs which is grilled tenderloin in adobo, crispy belly with edamame purée and braised jowl mole-style.



I sampled the crispy belly and dear lord, it's one of the richest things I have ever tasted. Intense. He loved it, a perfect choice for him.

I have a tendency to order duck when we go out and that's what I chose that evening. Roasted Duck Breast served with wild nettles and oyster mushrooms in a cassis sauce.



Delicious. Although if I remember correctly, my greens were fiddlehead ferns, not the wild nettles.

After our entrees, the Executive Chef came out and introduced himself. We were feeling quite heady at that point and the fact that we met the chef made it all the more dreamy. I figured he said hello to everyone, but no, he did not visit all the tables. I guess these fancy resort places definitely know how to make a couple feel special.

We studied the dessert and after dinner drinks menu for quite some time. I'm not so good with straight alcohol so really can't do single malt scotch or anything like that. I considered getting an amaretto but thought it might be too sweet. The waitress recommended Lillet which I've never had. She offered to bring out a small sample and I accepted. In the meantime, we also ordered dessert and Will ordered a single malt scotch of some sort. Before she made it back with our order, the maitre d came out with two glasses of complimentary champagne.

Uh-oh.

So sweet of them, but I was so conflicted. If you know me at all, you probably know that I generally cannot drink champagne unless it is the very first drink that I have. If I mix it in later, it usually leads to bad hangovers the following day. But how could I refuse their anniversary treat? Not to mention that it was quite good champagne. And we had other drinks on the way. This is when we really started wishing we had reserved a room!

I ended up drinking the champagne and fortunately it did not kill me the next day. I also sampled the Lillet which was almost too much for me, but sipping on it seemed to work. I may try it again sometime.

As for dessert, Will partook of their homemade ice creams.



Rocky Road, Guinness and Hazelnut Mocha. He was in ice cream heaven.

I chose the flan which was served with Mexican chocolate ice cream. I don't recall the other details.



It was fantastic and again, so sweet of them to acknowledge our anniversary celebration. The cookie was some sort of amaretto cookie and quite good.

We were so pleased with our whole experience there. Excellent food and service and amazing atmosphere. Loved it. I am dying to go back to eat at the bar and watch the sunset. (The bar menu is more affordable.) Our experience there also prompted us to recommended Terra as a choice for my mom's 70th birthday party and it looks like that's going to happen. Yum.

Oh, and last of all, on our way out, I had to make a stop in the ladies room and couldn't get out before snapping some "mirror in the bathroom" photos.



It was a helluva nice bathroom.

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