Nine Years Later

On April 22nd 9 years ago, Paul and I went on our first date. Since then we have pretty much been happily ever after. We are a great match, with him slowing me down when I need to chill and me giving him a kick in the butt when he needs to get moving. He is the person I most like to talk to at the end of the day and the person I most like to see when I wake up. Together we laugh, we challenge each other and we grow. We both value how our relationship allows us to be our independent selves, yet still feel connected and close to each other. Wherever he is feels like home to me. I feel very fortunate to have found someone that is such a great match.

We have a wedding anniversary too, but our relationship anniversary is what we honor each year. This year we celebrated with a fantastic dinner at Spoonriver. We had eaten at the defunct Cafe Brenda many times in the past and enjoyed the food. We had high expectations of Brenda Langton's newer restaurant and were delighted that our expectations were met and exceeded!

Ever since we attended the CSA fair at Seward Coop last weekend, Paul has been considering ordering meat or a meat CSA from Sunshine Harvest Farm. When he saw that the farm is featured on Spoonriver's menu, he was sold on going there for our dinner out. There were a couple Sunshine Harvest Farm options last night, but the one he could not pass up was the grassfed NY strip steak with rosemary potatoes and vegetables. I can tell he really enjoyed it because he ate it very slowly. He might have even groaned in delight.

I was torn between the Udon noodle salad with mock duck and the vegetarian special. I ended up going with the special. There was so much on the plate that the server's description (given twice) was not enough for me to really understand what I was going to get. I am glad I trusted in the specialness of the special. The flavors were excellent and the risotto and wheatberry croquette was something I had never eaten before. Everything on my plate was prepared perfectly. The asparagus was grilled and dusted with just the right amount of salt. The croquette was on a bed of spiced tomato sauce and topped with pesto ricotta, both of which were plated in exactly perfect portions. The salad was dressed just right with the toppings mixed in evenly. I guess sometimes you get what you pay for! At least, in Spoonriver's case that is the truth. The prices are high but so is the quality, the food sourcing and the technique.

We tried to get a photo of us together at the restaurant but the hostess was really unsure about my camera and took some wacky pictures. We'll have to settle for this arm's length one instead.

Happy Anniversary, Paul!