The Birthday Boy No Longer Named Karen

Written by on in Dessert, Dinner, Tidbits and Treats

This weekend we are celebrating Bobby’s 24th birthday. He officially turns 24 on Monday, September 13, but we wanted to make the most of the weekend free time and decided to start the party a little early.

If you happened to be reading this blog last year, you may remember the funny story called The Birthday Boy Named Karen. We love McCormick & Schmick’s, so last year I made a reservation way in advance and took special care to denote that it was Bobby’s birthday. They were ready for us when we arrived, but apparently, it was also Karen’s birthday, too, and she must have gotten a real shock when she saw “Happy Birthday Bobby!” on her menu. We were a bit surprised to see her, too!

Of course, I am only giving McCormick & Schmick’s a hard time. It was an easy mix-up and the food and experience is always worth it. We had a good laugh about it and the meal turned out delicious, which still made for a fun birthday celebration.

But this year, I wasn’t quite the advanced planner and made our reservation for Friday night on Thursday. I also didn’t tell them it was Bobby’s birthday until we arrived at the restaurant.

Karen must be dining on Saturday this year because look who made the menu last night!

We were very excited. 😉

Our meal began with the freshly baked sourdough bread, which always comes warmed and in large portions, perfect for two bread-hungry fiends like Bobby and me.

For my entree, I decided to go with an absolutely delectable looking Chef’s Special called the Stuffed Grilled Salmon, which was filled with artichoke, sun dried tomato and goat cheese.

In other words, it looked and tasted like absolute heaven.

The artichoke, tomato and cheese combination melted in my mouth with every bite. The flavor – oh, the flavor! 🙂 The fish itself was grilled to that perfect, flaky consistency, and complemented the rich stuffing as if the two were made to be together. There were roasted vegetables on the side such as red onions, yellow and green squash and tomatoes. As is always true with McCormick & Schmick’s, they had the perfect balance of being marinated without being too oily.

Ah. I can still taste it now.

For Bobby’s part, he went with the Sea Scallops, which also melt in your mouth and are served over a bed of creamy risotto that instantly reminded me of what we will be serving at our wedding. Yum!

Together, we also shared a side of the Autumn Roasted Potatoes. At first, I couldn’t figure out what was on top of these potatoes but knew they tasted good. Eventually, my taste buds figured it out – horseradish! Something I never would have thought to add, but it made the flavor much stronger.

We took turns being goofy by closing our eyes and savoring the bite with a nice, “Mmm…” sound. It was a fantastic dinner that left us feeling pleasantly full – and ready for DESSERT!

Somebody was concentrating pretty hard on that candle.

Wonder what he wished for? Apparently it’s a secret. 😉 Our server brought Bobby a generous slice of blueberry cheesecake, which immediately made me start drooling. I LOVE cheesecake! But I’ve never had blueberry before and that just made it even better. We quickly cleared the plate.

I guess I kind of like taking pictures of that guy. :mrgreen:

A phenomenal meal for the birthday boy. A fantastic night in the city for the two of us!

More birthday fun to come! Today our beloved Northwestern Wildcats are playing and I promised Bobby banana bread at some point this weekend. Perhaps breakfast should be in store as well.

Question: What are you up to this weekend?

Hope you enjoy yourselves and soak up every moment with friends, family and loved ones.

And, just because today is September 11, let’s never forget.

Abrazos,

45 Comments

  2. My birthday is on Monday, too!! So this weekend is about relaxing, baking myself a birthday cake, and maybe celebrating. But relaxing is a great way to celebrate, in my opinion.

  4. my husband manages a mccormicks and I recently had scallops too but mine came with fried green tomatoes and sauteed spinach. it was AMAAAAAAAAAAAZING

    glad u had a good bday there

  6. HAHAHAHA I totally remember when the Karen incident took place 😀 Happy birthday to dear Bobby!

    This weekend = went salsa-dancing until 2:00am again, haha.

  7. awwww Happy Birthday Bobby!!!!! What a great celebration 😉 And hopefully Karen had a good birthday too hehe. The food looks delicious- especially those potatoes- oh yum! This weekend is pretty free on my end and I am excited about it!

  9. Happy Birthday Bobby!!
    I need to try McCormick & Schmicks. All of your food looks amazing. That bread does too! Too funny about the menu mixup last year. That’s really neat though that they are able to customize them, it’s a nice touch.

  13. oh banana bread….tasty tasty!

    glad there was no name mixup this year! and it still baffles me that you and boby are younger than me!!! i guess as of now we’re all the same age…but in 9 days… hahaha 😉

  14. Happy Birthday to Bobby! I’m drooling over that scallop and risotto dish he ordered. He has good taste…obviously, since he’s marrying you 😉

  18. Happy Birthday Bobby!! Looks like an absolutely lovely evening. And such a fun birthday tradition!

    To answer your Q, this weekend I did some working out, some reading and some working. Hope you had a fantastic weekend my dear 🙂

  19. Happy Birthday to Bobby!!

    I just took banana bread out the oven! I had been promising Isaac some as well so I made peanut butter, chocolate chip banana bread. I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing.

    Hope all is well lady! Let’s catch up soon.

  20. Hi Jenn! Thanks for the great post, we at McCormick & Schmick’s really appreciate it. I’d love to share this with the team of the restaurant that you dined at. Could you let me know which Chicago location you visited?

    Thanks again!
    Jenny

  23. […] Eventually I made my way back home and met up with my lovely husband for dinner at one of our favorite places to celebrate special occasions. Many of you know the story of Karen. Or the story of the boy no longer named Karen. […]

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