Good Friday evening to you! Our weekend started early with a Thursday date night. First stop: Three Notch’d for our good friend Jeff’s Jazzfest debut!
Not only does Jeff play the trumpet, but he’s great a brewing beer too. Jeff lives next door to Three Notch’d’s brewmaster Dave, and they dreamed up this New Orleans’s inspired beer over-the-fence one afternoon. Jeff developed the recipe, and Dave and his team brewed it to perfection.
This Jazzfest Sugarcane Pecan Ale is one of the best beers I’ve ever had!! It totally captures the essence of a toasted pecan, and you’ll just have to go try it to believe it!
We met our old neighbors John and Christine there for a little double date action.
And for munching – Jeff made spiced pecans to share with the whole brewery! So delish!
On our rainy evening, we headed to West Main Street towards Oakhart Social, a new restaurant we’ve been dying to try but can never get in. When we arrived we were initially turned away, but a reservation cancelled literally as we were a block away and the host called us back in. Such lucky timing because we had a great dinner!
The menu is full of small plates – or what I’d rather describe as “large appetizers.” We chose 4 dishes to share along with half a carafe of wine (LOVE wine in carafes!)
First the shaved salad, which I LOVED. It had arugula, fennel, carrot, endive, dates, apples, bread crumbs and a creamy garlic dressing.
Next up was the famous pork belly salad – pickled cucumber, citrus, arugula and radish plus juicy fried pork belly.
Next up was the Provoletta, a baked provolone dish with tomatoes and herbs. Loved this over grilled toast points!
And finally the scallops with a chorizo, peas, crispy fingerling potatoes and creama.
We resisted dessert, but the s’mores at the table next to us looked amazing!!! We will be back for pizza next time. All four of our dishes were incredible.
Friday morning breakfast was a simple smoothie made with banana, strawberries, oats, yogurt and milk. Mazen and I had so much fun making this together!
Plus half a toasted roll with butter –
Karen and Mazen played while I went to the gym for a quick workout. My friend and I debated if it should be called “lazy cardio” or “active rest.” We decided active rest sounded best 🙂
Back home we played around for a bit and then put together a great lunch! We made Cook Smarts’ Pesto Portobello Pizzas with Dijon green beans on the side. I was THRILLED when Mazen ate 4 of the beans. A huge step forward! I think we are hitting a turning point when it comes to eating veggies. I just keep on modeling!
We had to take care of a few errands in the afternoon, and I got some work done while Mazen watched The Lion King for the first time with Karen!
Dinner tonight was a party – Uncle Jeff came over, and we popped open some bottles of wine and jazz to celebrate the weekend. Earlier we picked up some sweet Italian sausage and Mona Lisa Pasta and had this dish with peppers, kale and marinara. Delish! Always love fresh pasta.
For dessert we have The Pie Chest’s Chocolate Chip Whiskey Pie – at many recommendations – and can’t wait to dig in!!
Linda @ thefitty says
I’ve never tried endives and I have no idea what they look like!
Angela Gilmore says
Holy Moly! Everything look delicious! The last two pictures have absolute perfect lighting, I just want to dive right in! Have a great weekend!
LY-Otown says
Oakheart sounds yummy! And possibly Argentinean-inspired (provoletta & chorizo)?
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
Sounds like a fun weekend so far! That pecan ale sounds delicious. I’m not normally much of a beer person but I love pecans! 🙂
Cassie says
Portobello pizzas <3_<3
Julia says
Keep going with the veggies with M. When my son was a toddler I just kept putting them on his plate. I remember it took about two months for him to try broccoli. Now he is 11 and loves vegetables. His favorite is Brussels sprouts. Go figure!! He’ll even take a salad to school for lunch and eat it. So don’t give up!
Maggie says
Hope you loved the pie! Ahhh I love Oakhart! My boyfriend plays kickball with the owner (through cville social) so it has a special place in my heart, but also b/c the food is amazingggg. And I love the wine carafes too. Perfect size/price when you want an alternative to getting a full bottle.
PS: You MUST try the brussels + octopus sandwich + smores bread pudding next time! And the pizza!
KathEats says
I hope we can go back soon!
And the Pie Chest Chocolate Chip Whiskey was AMAZING!!
Maggie says
Glad you liked it!!
Also, edit to previous post: meant to say fiance, not boyfriend 🙂 haha!
KathEats says
oooooo congrats!!!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
What a fun date night! I want to eat all that food!!
Christine (The Raw Project) says
What a fun night and the salad sounds amazing!
Ash Diamond says
That dinner sounds delicious – love tapas that you can share!!
Shel@PeachyPalate says
The pork belly salad sounds right up my street! Pecans to nibble on must have been such a treat…FAVOURITE nut hands down!
Cassie says
The skillet dishes look fabulous!!
Paula says
I started a subscription to Cook Smarts because of your blog posts. I tried to find the Dijon green beans and couldn’t. Can you tell me how to find them on the CS website? I love your blog!
KathEats says
These were oit invention! Just steamed beans with a few tsp of Dijon and some dried dill.
lisa @bitesforbabies says
I don’t eat pasta very often, but when I do I love fresh pasta! I make something very similar to the Mona Lisa pasta with sauteed spinach and cherry tomatoes and some homemade pesto 😉
mary @ minutes per mile says
love your safari-like napkins! 🙂
KathEats says
Karen brought them back from South Africa : )
Melissa says
The pesto portobello pizza looks great! I definitely will have to try that sometime.
elizabeth says
Hi there!
Was wondering how you liked the title 9 board shorts? I was thinking of trying a pair.
KathEats says
So far I like them, but I haven’t been swimming in them yet.
Tonya says
Aww how did Mazen like the Lion King? Is he singing any of the songs?
KathEats says
He loved it! But he was a little scared too
Katie says
My 9 1/2 year old daughter is in love with The Lion King after performing it for one of her theatre arts for kids. I felt really guilty that we didn’t own a copy of the movie, so I am glad we found one at the library (along with the CD that she now falls asleep to every night instead of Taylor Swift, and a couple of piano music books). Such a great movie! My 8 1/2 soon was disappointed that he couldn’t have seconds of the green beans last night, so he settled for leftover cold peas. So happy when kids love veggies, especially green ones!
Nina at focusedonfit.com says
Kath, always love your blog as we have a lot in common…love to eat, run/workout and have a young toddler! Given your love of smoothies, would you mind checking out our app, Sinply Smoothies at appsto.re/us/UdPj6.i? It’s a simple app that allows users to choose ingredients on hand, and we create the recipe ensuring a well balanced smoothie. Plus, we provide the nutritional value of the smoothie immediately in case you’re tracking calories! If you like it, we would love for you to share it with your followers! Thanks, Nina (fellow mom, runner, blogger and foodie)
Alissa says
I asked you for restaurant rec’s the other day and instead of staying on the downtown mall we ended up at Oakhart Social! It was an early Sunday dinner so we sat right down on the patio. We had the pork belly salad and the scallop dish, too, along with the crudo and the hanger steak patatas bravas. We loved it…great cocktails and atmosphere, too.
KathEats says
Awesome! I can’t wait to sit on the patio. It will be on my future rec lists!
Lyndsay says
It’s not often I drink beer but this post has me sat here wanting one now!! All that food looks delicious too!