Aloha

My husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary last week and we decided to make a night of it and have a celebratory anniversary dinner at Roy's Restaurant. Roy's is a national fine dining Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine chain. We decided on Roy's because we spent our honeymoon on Maui. We intended to go last year, but decided to go to the Round Rock Express game instead (who is gonna say no to Dollar Dogs night?). So, last Tuesday, we headed out to Roy's downtown.
I had made our reservation for 6:45pm, but once my husband and I got home from work we were kind of ready to go, so he called the restaurant and they graciously moved our reservation up to 6pm. We headed into town and once we got down to 2nd street our GPS gave up and we promptly got lost. We headed west while the restaurant was east (right across the street from the Convention Center). Did you know that 2nd Street is numbered both up and down? We did not. After traipsing up and down 2nd Street we finally called the restaurant and they directed us there. The host met us at the door, wished us Happy Anniversary and whisked us to our table (not a moment too soon as I still have blisters on the bottom of my feet from all of the traipsing in heels). They had a card at the table for us, as well as a full page congratulating us in our menus. The ambiance of the restaurant was nice and felt private although the dining room was very open. We ordered Mai-Tai's to start (not as good as the free ones in our hotel in Maui...) and some calamari. They also brought us edamame. The calamari was good, but I did not like the asian-inspired dipping sauce. We probably should have gotten some sushi or a signature appetizer - but we just kind of love calamari. Our waitress was excellent and very knowledgable about the menu, plus she gave recommendations which I love at a restaurant I have not dined at before.
For entrees I ordered scallops over cous-cous and assorted vegetables and calamari (not fried, I had to give the animal-looking ones to the husband so they wouldn't look at me) and my husband ordered swordfish over quinoa and greens. His was better, although I didn't love the quinoa. My scallops were good, but a little meaty and the cous-cous was almost pea-sized (my husband thought it was baby corn). I've never seen cous-cous that big! It was best when I got a bite of sundried tomato with it. I didn't love the presentation of either of our plates, because the plates were 3 times the size of the food - so the portions did not look very generous. We also each had a glass of white wine (I think it was a pinot grigio).
For dessert we ordered the signature dessert - a flourless, molten chocolate cake with a raspberry coulis. It was delicious - and they wrote "Happy Anniversary" in chocoloate on our plate. Another nice touch was the complimentary champagne for celebration.
All in all, we left the restaurant full and had a nice evening. The food was not really anything I would go back for, but I did love the service. Every employee that walked by our table wished us a Happy Anniversary and we were not rushed at all. I felt like a valued patron, I just wish the food had been that good.

Puppets and wild game

This Saturday found my husband and I observing our 3rd of 5 shows in our Broadway Across Austin package graciously provided by my in-laws. This month's musical was "Avenue Q." "Avenue Q" opened earlier this decade and I remember hearing about it on the Tony's and whatnot - it is unique in that it involves puppets interacting with humans (a la "Sesame Street") - but is firmly not for children. My in-laws saw it when they were in NYC this summer and LOVED it - so they have eagerly been awaiting seeing it again, and for us to get a chance to see it as well. The premise is a puppet named Princeton, a newly-minted college graduate, turns up on Avenue Q because he can't afford any avenues closer into town (his opening song is "What Do You Do with a BA in English?" - hit a little close to home for me...). He rents in an apartment building managed by Gary Coleman and occupied by an odd assortment of down-on-their-luck humans, monsters, and puppets. Part of the intent of the show is too shock you and catch you off guard, so I don't want to reveal too much more. Regardless, the show is a lot of fun and something interesting and different to catch if you have a chance.

The show was good, but the real star of the night was...Hudson's on the Bend!!! We went there for dinner after the show and while it is price-y (thank you again, in-laws!) it was SO SO SO SO SO SO delicious!!!! We started out with an amuse-bouche - a wild boar tartlet topped with crumbled cheese in a white chocolate tomatillo sauce - REALLY REALLY GOOD. Then my starter was their creamy chipotle lobster bisque - if you can imagine the best soup you have ever tasted, then you know how good my soup was. My husband got a mixed greens salad with tomatillos that they did something to that were phenomenal. For my entree I ordered Grilled Pheasant Breast stuffed with a cilantro pesto in a mole sauce, served with a pheasant tamale with the aforementioned white chocolate tomatillo sauce, Shiner Bock ancho mashed potatoes, and some seasonal veggies. I made a happy plate!!! My husband ordered chicken fried antelope that was fried in masa flour. It was light and tender and delicious. My mother-in-law ordered a steak and my father-in-law ordered their wild game sampler plate that included - quail, venison, venison sausage, buffalo, and rabbit. I tried a few - all good. We had not saved room for dessert, but never fear! We were sent home with samples of the pecan pie. I can't wait to go back and I can't say enough good things about our experience. It was high end without being stuffy, fine dining with a very accessible menu, and a very polite and knowledgable waitstaff, not to mention they have a sommelier on staff that served us our wine! I recommend it for any special occasion. I'm telling you, I did not put one bad bite of food in my mouth.

Next up - my husband and I are having dinner at Roy's tonight for our anniversary, so I can't wait to tell you about that. And from there - just more of my thoughts on television and movies. Although, I am in the middle of a couple of books, so I may just flesh the ol' blog on out to include those reviews. So exciting.

Paul Rudd - one way or another

After the busy-ness of two weekends ago, my husband and I made the realization that we had no plans for this past weekend. We had some dinner and hang-out time with friends on Friday night, but Saturday was pretty much wide open. After doing some damage on the DVR and some clarinet serenades (now do you understand how little we had to do?), we decided to go to the movies. We haven't actually been to a movie theatre the entire month of March - since the Oscars. We set out to our local Alamo Drafthouse (Lake Creek, the red-headed step-child of the Austin Alamos) to see "I Love You, Man." An important caveat to this story - while I LOVE the concept of the Drafthouse (food and drink/booze while watching a movie), I don't really love their food - especially not any of their (in my mind) healthier fare. HOWEVER, since Lake Creek doesn't really share a menu with the others, they carry a delicious salad known as the Buffalo Chicken Salad. This was my compromise - no guilt about popcorn and sangria if I have a salad. Anyways, we arrive at Lake Creek ONE HOUR BEFORE the movie and it is sold out. There is nothing else there that we want to see, so we head back to the car. Upon calling two of the three other Drafthouses, we discover one is not showing said film and the other one is, but, you guessed, it's sold out. If this was a review about the Alamo, I would be PISSED. Next time, buy online, is all I have to say.
So...since we were in town, we decided to get some take-out and rent a movie. Predictably we grabbed Banzai - our favorite local sushi place. The food was delicious even at home, but since they drizzled some sort of sauce on my shrimp tempura roll, it was a little mushy. But not the end of the world. The miso soup was still hot and I felt satiated and pleased.
Since we couldn't view "I Love You, Man" in the environment we intended, we opted to rent "Role Models," featuring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott and McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Here's the thing - it goes just like you expect it to, so don't think they're out to fool you. But it is funny. The real stars were their mentees from Sturdy Wings - C M-P and Bobb'e J. Thompson. They play their roles well and end up being very endearing. Plus, the little one curses a lot, which my husband finds hilarious (don't we all?). Once it was over, I enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't watch it again. I don't think it's worth a buy either, although my husband does.
We may try to venture to see "I Love You, Man" this weekend, but if not, maybe we'll just rent "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"...

Week in Review Wrap-Up

As my husband and I have been busy busy - I haven't been blogging! Shame! Never fear - I'll share with you all that we've been up to.

The most exciting thing of the last week or so was our outing last Saturday. My in-laws took us to see "Spamalot" at the Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus. It was a very fun and silly show. I was glad they brought in the most memorable lines and situations from the movie (killer rabbit, French insults, "the curtains?!," and the flesh wound) and twisted all that in with great musical numbers. I really loved the Lady of the Lake - what a great role to ham up! One other treat of the afternoon was that Richard Chamberlain (yes, the one who was naked in "The Thorn Birds") played King Arthur. His acting and timing were right on, but ol' Richie looks like his aging a little bit in the ol' body. I wouldn't really say he danced, but he moved around some, so that was kind of sad. Another fun thing were the references to other Monty Python works - John Cleese was the voice of God, one song made reference to "suspenders and a bra" and the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was used. In fact, during the bows at the end, the cast led the audience in a sing-along to that song. They also slipped in a location-wise song - during the Knights Who Say Ni bit, when the knights change their name, the end of the name was the entire "Eyes of Texas" (followed by a Patriot Act joke). I was pretty impressed that he sang the whole thing - and audiences love that crap. My one main criticism was that the second act seemed really unfocused and disjointed and then it just kind of ended with a bow on top. It was still a ton of fun, but I was kind of like, "what?" and then it was over. Next month we're seeing "Avenue Q."

After the show we drove out to Steiner Ranch Steakhouse for an early dinner. The unfortunate thing about the Steakhouse is that in Austin people only know of it because a disgruntled employee shot and killed a manager at the restaurant last year. Please, people, don't let this deter you. The food is excellent and reasonably priced (for a high-end steakhouse). We also had dinner at the Steakhouse after we saw "Legally Blonde:The Musical" last month, but I wasn't feeling well. This time, I felt better. The main drawback of this dining experience was our waiter. He was this squeaky guy in his 20's who was just kind of doing his job - no banter or anything like that. Our waiter the previous time was very distinguished, knowledgeable about the menu and wine list, and was very friendly and personable and let us take our time. Daniel - I miss you. Let me tell you about what we ate! Our appetizer was a special of asian lettuce wraps with ground sirloin. Pretty good. Last time we ordered 2 appetizers, one of them involving elk and the other was a spinach-artichoke-sort of hot dish served in a bread bowl. All good. I have ordered the same entree both times - the Pasta Light, grilled shrimp on fettucine in a garlic butter sauce. I really am more of an adventurous eater than that, but I ordered this last time because my stomach hurt, but it was so good I ordered it again. My husband and in-laws have all ordered steak something or others each time and really seemed to be pleased with those. I finished my husband's mashed potatoes and they were delicious. This time we saved room for dessert! I had an apple tart in a fried philo shell with a butter and pomegranate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream - all very very good. The only drawback was that the tart was deconstructed so it was hard to build that perfect bite of all of the flavors. My mother-in-law ordered white chocolate mousse, smartly served in a martini glass. She let me have a bite and I really liked it. It had the consistency of a good mousse, but with the lightness of flavor that white chocolate provides. My father-in-law ordered the cheesecake and it had a blueberry-Grand Marnier sauce. The portion was huge, but it was gone quickly - I didn't get to try it. My mother-in-law pointed out that the sauce was balanced perfectly between the two flavors. No booze this time, but some good iced tea. I'm sure we'll go back.

Quick thought on "House" this week - this portion will be all about spoilers. House's patient, a nurse at a nursing home, fakes all these symptoms and ailments to be his patient because a cat sat on her desk. This cat is a pet of the nursing home (named Debbie) and if Debbie sleeps on your bed - you die. This had happened with 10 patients - and actually, this story is straight out of the news. The nurse turns out to actually have cancer, so good thing House treated her, right?! This episode addressed a little bit of my frustration from last week, as well as a divine aspect. At one point later in the episode (right around the time House should be making some realization and solving the case), Debbie the cat meanders into House's office and lies down on his laptop. He realizes that the cat is just looking for something warm. The patients all had heating pads - she's not a harbinger of death. The nurse had cancer (apparently cancer heats you). The nurse is glad for the diagnosis and House kind of comes in to gloat, I suppose. The nurse maintains that all of this has happened for a reason, and of course, House is incredulous and dismissive. She states something along the lines of, "don't you find it interesting that Debbie chose to lie on your computer at that exact moment?" That is how I feel each episode - isn't it fortunate that Wilson said something while they were in the city visiting Wilson's mentally ill brother? and so on and so forth. Is the show implying that God has a hand in House's work? Probably not. BUT it was interesting to me!

That's it for now. There may not be a new post until next week - it's going to be a great and busy weekend!