Wonderful night out

Yesterday was E's birthday, he turned 28. As tradition clearly states, the birthday person gets to pick a lunch and dinner location of their choice. This is such a fun tradition because E and I rarely go out to dinner and spend a lot of money, but two times a year (my birthday and his) we really really treat ourselves.

E chose a sushi restaurant for lunch, and although I brought my camera along, I totally forgot to snap any photos. I got the sushi lunch box combo (don't worry, no raw fish) with tempura veggies and shrimp, california rolls, rice, miso, and salad. I was in heaven. It also made me really miss Japan. E devoured his lunch of tempura veggies and chicken over rice. Yum yum!

For dinner, E thought and thought about his restaurant choice. He finally decided on a Log Haven. Log Haven is a very fancy restaurant in the Utah mountains that serves contemporary American food. They've won tons of awards over the years, but sadly, before last night, E and I had only dined there once.

We arrived at 7:00 and were a little early for our reservation. E and I walked around the grounds and took in the beauty of the extremely green hillsides. Soon it was time to be seated. We were asked if we would like to sit inside, near one of the windows, or on the beautiful patio. We decided to sit inside, because neither of us brought a jacket. This meant that we were almost alone in the dining room, which was kind of fun. The host scooted up two tables next to each other so we could each face the windows and look at the waterfall across the canyon.

Because we got there a few minutes early I had time to take a few photos, including this one with the self timer.

First our waitress brought us a pallet cleanser, watermelon with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. It was such a wonderful pairing of flavors! E and I ordered drinks, he got wine, I got a juice thing without alcohol. We chatted, listened to the waterfall and watched the canyon. Soon our appetizer came out, we had ordered the antipasti which included cheese, salami, herb roasted almonds and olives. It was fantastic, just divine.

Our salads, bread and dinner followed. Each course was wonderful, simply perfect. E and I agreed that we hadn't had this quality of a meal in ages. Maybe two or three years. The heirloom baby lettuce salad with white truffle vinaigrette blew us away. Our filet mignons were cooked to a perfect perfect medium. And the gruyere potatoes complimented the meal perfectly. The pacing was nice and slow, meaning the dinner lasted all night. Soft music played and at one point it started raining. We listened to the rain through the open window and just smiled. These nights you never forget.

Finally it was time for dessert. We barely had room, but E decided on a lemon rosemary mousse and I got a bowl of house made ice cream. My three scoops of ice cream, hazelnut, cinnamon and chocolate, were easily the best tastes of ice cream I have ever ever had in my entire life. And they brought out a special little chocolate Happy Birthday message, which we somehow found room for in our tummys as well. As you can imagine, Log Haven might be a top choice for birthday dinners next year.