The Birthday Boy, Take Three

It’s hard to believe, but my husband is officially a quarter of a century old.

Tonight, we celebrated Bobby’s 25th birthday with our third annual trip to McCormick & Schmick’s. You can read about our previous adventures at the links below:

• The Birthday Boy Named Karen
• The Birthday Boy No Longer Named Karen

I recently tweeted that I was considering a trip to M&S for the third year in a row, and was excited when the restaurant’s social media manager, Jen Storer, responded and asked whether she could make the reservation on my behalf. But of course! Within a day, the reservation was confirmed, and we were set for a delicious birthday celebration.

It certainly lived up to our expectations! When we arrived at the restaurant tonight, we found that for the second year in a row, the birthday boy was no longer named Karen. 🙂

As we perused the wine list, our waiter brought us each a complimentary glass of prosecco.

We ultimately decided to share a bottle of Don Miguel Gascon, the same Malbec we had on my birthday! It was just as smooth and delicious as it was four months ago.

Our waiter also informed us that thanks to the birthday boy, we would be receiving a complimentary appetizer. We chose the Lump Blue Crab Cake, which was served atop a bed of orange, fennel and watercress salad. It was rich and flaky – just the way crab cake should be.

While we waited for our main courses, we munched on the ever-scrumptious sourdough bread.

The timing between each course was spaced out perfectly, with ample time for conversation about the previous twenty-five years, as well as what the next twenty-five will bring. 😉 Eventually, our entrées were served – and we entered food bliss.

Bobby chose the Lobster Ravioli, served with roasted tomatoes, spinach and sherry lobster cream sauce. I tried one and let me tell you, this still remains by far the best seafood pasta I have ever had. Lobster ravioli has been a long time favorite of mine. The last time I had it was at a family-owned restaurant in Sarasota with Papa Bender back in the early 2000s. This definitely matched it in flavor.

For my part, I chose the Sea Scallops, served with sweet creamed corn risotto and bacon-shallot jam. I kid you not, I found myself closing my eyes with every bite. I wanted this dish to last forever. Each component was incredible on its own, but when combined, Bobby and I both agreed that they were too good to be true. And yet, there they were. 😉

Between sharing and savoring every bite, we joined the clean plate club. Unfortunately, this left us too full for dessert, but I have no doubt that we’ll be back for the next birthday – likely even sooner.

Big thanks to Jen for arranging an amazing evening! The birthday boy was very happy.

Happy birthday, Bobby! You’ve already done amazing things in your first twenty-five years. I am looking forward to being with you every step of the way for the next quarter century…and beyond. 🙂

Abrazos,