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You are here: Home / Restaurants / Share + Savor

February 6, 2010

Share + Savor

After cleaning up the house this afternoon, Matt and I set out on DATE NIGHT! We don’t go out on solo dates very often because we always have fun friends to play with, but we decided when we went out for my birthday that we would try to do one fun dinner out together per month (although I’m not sure we’ve been out together solo since!?!). We are in our element at a restaurant ooging over the food!

Let’s go to the movies!! We just started to get hungry before it was time to leave for our movie so we packed up a lunch to eat in the theater:

Brie + Crofter’s Spread mini sandwiches on High Five Fiber

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Carrots, green peppers and apples

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A mini Artisana jar packed with some PB for the veggies

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And some Beemster cheese. MMM!

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It was a little hard to fumble through in the dark, but we started eating during the previews so it was gone soon enough to concentrate on the movie.

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After reading so much good feedback about AVATAR we wanted to see it 3D in the theaters. We both agreed that we were a little disappointed.

Good:

  • The 3D was really cool – and guessing by the previews it’s now the mainstream way to watch movies!
  • I LOVE fantastical lands and I thought they did a FABULOUS job with the land of Pandora. So many clever and intrigue details.
  • Similarly, the special effects, computer effects and basically all effects were awesome

Bad:

  • The plot was soooo predictable and rather dull. I don’t to spoil the ending or anything, but the fighting scenes really dragged on towards the end just as all movies with fighting scenes do (the reason I hate most fighting and sports movies)
  • I dislike movies with machine guns in them. I do not like watching violence at all!
  • The characters were pretty flat (IMO) and the dialogue wasn’t very clever

So that’s my feedback!!

We actually conveniently watched the movie next to Caitlin + Jason, who were going to see the same show!!

3D glasses are the new style.  Obviously.

Photo

After the movie we made our way to M5, one of my favorite Charlotte establishments! We had a GIFT CARD that Larbs + Matt gave us for Christmas!!!!!!!

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It’s one of my favorite restaurant atmospheres in CLT. Very modern.

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Both of us didn’t feel like going all out tonight (= alcohol on both sides, entrees, etc) We just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner prepared by someone else that would still be the amount we would eat at home. So we decided to order lightly and share most of the meal and it turned out to be one fabulous dinner!

M5 was still having their restaurant week menu (prolonged due to last weekend’s snow) so we decided to order the 3 courses for $30 for Matt and a wine pairing (three 2-oz pours) and I ordered a simple Spinach + Goat Cheese salad.

I found the menus online! How convenient 🙂

We chose the Fig + Prosciutto Flatbread, the Scallops and the Marshmallow

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And the wines!

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The first course was the bread basket 🙂 M5 has great doughy lightly herby crusty crust bread. We each enjoyed slices dipped in a really fruity olive oil.

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Course #1

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We split it down the middle. The figs were out of this world!

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Course #2

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Scallops! Matt handed over 1 of the 4 scallops. But the best part were the ricotta gnocchi!!

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My salad. I skipped the dressing because it was shalloty, but the goat cheese was awesome and the salad was just what I wanted.

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Course #3

Dessert wine!

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I do not really care for panna cotta but this was AWESOME. The texture was indeed slightly marshmallowy – thicker than usual slimy panna cotta. And the vanilla flavor was spot on fresh.

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Even the guy who claims he doesn’t like desserts made a significant dent!

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We loved our cozy booth and sat side by side and I had plenty of room for my camera bag and we could see the restaurant. So what I’m trying to say was that not only was the food great, but our whole experience was great 🙂

Looking forward to a lovely hour of bedtime reading. And excited about tomorrow’s run and Super Bowl festivities!!

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Comments

  1. Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says

    February 6, 2010 at 8:56 pm

    Avatar in 3D made me nauseas with the giant glasses on! I thought it was good, but I am not really a fan of all the violence either.

    Reply
  2. Stef says

    February 6, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    what a great date night! so sweet. and you packed some awesome food 🙂 such badasses for sneaking it into the theater haha

    Reply
  3. Sam (Merit to the Carrot) says

    February 6, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    Mmmm…. that panna cotta looks incredible!!!

    Reply
  4. M says

    February 6, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    I agree with your Avatar review 100%! We were laughing at parts that clearly weren’t intended to be funny, but the dialogue and acting was just so unbelievably bad. It was gorgeous, though, i’ll say that for sure.

    Reply
  5. [email protected] Two Lives, One Lifestyle says

    February 6, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    All around delicious looking, yay for a successful date night 🙂

    Reply
  6. M says

    February 6, 2010 at 8:59 pm

    Um…”the dialogue and acting *were*”

    Clearly, I am not a screenwriter, either.

    Reply
  7. Heather @ Side of Sneakers says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    Yay for date night!! Looks like an awesome date night meal too 🙂

    Reply
  8. Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    I love sharing din dins! A taste of everything is the way to go. Isn’t 3D crazy? I saw it in IMAX so it was EVEN crazier!

    Reply
  9. Jessica @ The Process of Healing says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    Amazing meal. I want to try to re-create the scallop dish, sounds SO good! I love gnocchi.

    Reply
  10. Jenn says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    I’ve read reviews that Avatar is basically just like Pocahontas. Did you think so?

    Reply
    • Kath says

      February 6, 2010 at 9:20 pm

      I don’t remember the plot to Pocahontas, but I think that is a fair comparison. It was very Disney feeling

      Reply
    • Angie says

      February 6, 2010 at 11:36 pm

      Also very similar to Dances With Wolves.

      Reply
  11. Jacqueline says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:32 pm

    I have the “go on a date twice a month with my husband” on my vision board for this year and we have not had one date yet! Were gonna have to change that very soon. Glad you guys had a great date!

    Reply
  12. Ally (Exercise and Pies) says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:35 pm

    Avatar was a really pretty movie but I agree that it really lacked substance. It was cool to watch in 3D but it was way too long and boring once you got over the awe of the pretty scenes

    Reply
  13. Kori (All Things B.) says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    That goat cheese looks amazing! I love that you and Matt split things. It’s a trick I employ as well ’cause it’s great for the waistline, but even better for the wallet!

    Reply
  14. Nicole says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    Mmm! That dinner looks fabulous! After those pictures, I think it’s time to pop open a bottle of Chianti 🙂

    Reply
  15. Jenna says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:55 pm

    Great dinner date kath!

    Reply
  16. Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says

    February 6, 2010 at 9:55 pm

    Dinner looks great! I’m intrigued by the marshmallow flavored panna cotta!

    I haven’t seen Avatar, the plot didn’t seem that interesting to me. 😕

    Jenn

    Reply
  17. Heather says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    Your review of Avatar is interesting – thanks for the honest opinions!

    Dinner looks amazing. My husband and I also try to have a “nice dinner out” once a month in order to spend the time catching up and enjoy eachother’s company as opposed to rushing around prepping and cleaning up.

    Those shallots look great – I love shallots!

    Reply
  18. Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run] says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    Glad you had nice date out. I can see why you love the restaurant so much – great food presentations.

    Reply
  19. Jessie says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:07 pm

    Your movie eats look way better than my huge tub of popcorn.

    M5 looks so good!

    Reply
  20. Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat) says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:11 pm

    Everything looks delicious! I think date night is so important, whether you’re married or whatever the situation, that one-on-one time is necessary.

    Reply
  21. Ashley says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:13 pm

    I never made it to M5! Jealous! 😉 Chris doesn’t really like desserts either but every once in awhile he helps me make them disappear!

    Reply
  22. [email protected] RunningAroundNormal says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Oooh my gosh that restaurant looks amazing! You took some great pictures there, too.

    Reply
  23. Lauren @ eater not a runner says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    I liked Avatar a lot, but I liked the fight scenes! The plot was SUPER predictable though. Dinner looks good!

    Reply
  24. Emily Eats and Exercises says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    I love that you guys brought a whole feast to the movies! I might have to take some inspiration for my next movie excursion. The restaurant looks like fun – I always like date night. 🙂

    Reply
  25. andrea says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:41 pm

    Im so curious as to the focus on nut butters on all of the blogs, it seems like all the bloggers eat lots and lots of various nut spreads??? please let me know what the scoop is with that???

    Reply
    • Kath says

      February 7, 2010 at 9:26 am

      I think it’s just the trend these days because there are so many cool new kinds popping up. Last year was all about bars, this year it’s nut butters.

      Reply
  26. Diana says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:43 pm

    oh i wanted to go there for restaurant week! i really wanted to try the beet salad. those scallops look amazing, as does the panna cotta! I’m a big fan of panna cotta…it’s easy to make at home too! 🙂

    Reply
  27. Lily @ Lily's Health Pad says

    February 6, 2010 at 10:59 pm

    I couldn’t agree more with your Avatar pros and cons. Besides the two main characters, the others were totally undeveloped, and the plot was very predictable. I still liked the movie, but it just wasn’t as amazing to me as it seems to have been for others.

    Reply
  28. Cynthia (It All Changes) says

    February 6, 2010 at 11:00 pm

    Individual date nights are so fun. Looks like you had a blast!

    Reply
  29. La says

    February 6, 2010 at 11:19 pm

    I felt the same way about Avatar – the characters lacked any serious development. Oh well, can’t get it ALL.

    That panna cotta looks gorgeous!

    Reply
  30. Foy Update - Cook. Garden. Write. Repeat. says

    February 7, 2010 at 12:08 am

    I only recently discovered pannacotta. It’s pretty delicious. Your dessert is awesome.

    Reply
  31. Pam (@ TotalHealthCounseling) says

    February 7, 2010 at 12:41 am

    Looks like a great night out!
    Goat cheese in a salad reminds me of Paris 🙂

    Reply
  32. Hannah says

    February 7, 2010 at 12:42 am

    I felt exactly the same about Avatar… honestly, why does the bad guy always have to have a “final stand”?!

    Give me a plate of fige faltbread over an overhyped simplistic movie anyday 😛

    Reply
  33. Sara (effortless health) says

    February 7, 2010 at 12:55 am

    Your sandwiches are so cute!

    Reply
  34. lynn (The Actors Diet) says

    February 7, 2010 at 1:34 am

    i’m always disappointed with a movie when it’s been hyped up. luckily, i saw “avatar” opening weekend with zero expectations so i was pleasantly surprised!

    Reply
  35. Freya @ foodfitnessandfreya.wordpress.com says

    February 7, 2010 at 2:48 am

    Haha I’m glad you ate in the previews – I can imagine such a crunchy lunch with all those veggie sticks would be difficult to eat quietly :p
    Those scallops look SO GOOD…I love scallops, butternut and gnocchi, so what adish!
    Glad you had a good time 🙂 and thanks for the review – I was in 2 minds about Avatar but I think I’ll save my butt and give it a miss!

    Reply
  36. tiffany says

    February 7, 2010 at 5:49 am

    hi kath…
    I am curious as it is hard to tell from pix. I know you love good food (as do I) so how is it you can eat so much yummy stuff and stay small? I excercise as well, but is it that your portions are really that small? It is hard to tell from pix as i said above. I know you have a tiny spoon and cup thing going on which i love, but amd wondering if all meals are that small? What exactly is your philosophy? I am coming off of this cleanse, 2shake a day thing and want to get back to normal yummy food, but am afraid that I will gain weight again…

    Reply
    • Kath says

      February 7, 2010 at 9:28 am

      Tiffany,
      I’m not really sure how to answer your question to be honest. I am pretty active and excise almost daily, and I also tend to eat pretty healthy real foods, which I think does have a big impact. I probably also don’t eat as much as it seems. Sometimes when you see photo after photo it seems like a lot more than if you imagine eating it? If that makes sense?

      Reply
      • tiffany says

        February 7, 2010 at 11:54 am

        that does make sense… thank you!

        Reply
  37. christie @ honoring health says

    February 7, 2010 at 7:14 am

    My husband and i are trying to instill date night around here, too. It is so easy to just get so busy that you let that part slide. Your date looks lovely and I hope my husband and I go on one soon. I next planned date is in March to see Wicked which I can’t wait!

    Reply
  38. Simply Life says

    February 7, 2010 at 7:56 am

    Looks like a great meal! My husband and I do a date night every week – it often includes staying in a making a great dinner together or even going to a coffee shop or exploring a new neighborhood – I always look forward to it! 🙂

    Reply
  39. Cait (Cait's Plate) says

    February 7, 2010 at 8:10 am

    My boyfriend is dying to see that movie and I’m really resisting it. It just doesn’t look like it’s going to hold my attention very well. But good to know what you thought! 🙂

    I myself enjoyed an amazing dessert last night – apple crisp with cinnamon ice cream! My post-plate looked pretty much exactly like yours 😉

    Reply
    • Kath says

      February 7, 2010 at 9:28 am

      Despite my cons, you should see it in the theater – 3D!

      Reply
  40. Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down) says

    February 7, 2010 at 8:46 am

    I haven’t seen AVATAR yet, but I’ve heard so many mixed reviews. Some people said it was amazing and others said it just seemed cheap. Not sure, but I guess it’s probably worth seeing at least once.

    Your dinner looks lovely! 😀

    Reply
  41. Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says

    February 7, 2010 at 9:11 am

    What a fun date night!! I think I’m one of five people in the country who hasn’t seen Avatar– it just doesn’t appeal to me (for all of the reasons you listed as cons)!

    Reply
  42. Karla says

    February 7, 2010 at 9:14 am

    I still haven’t seen Avatar! Doesn’t really seem like my kind of movie but I’ve heard it’s one of those movies you should see in theatres not really elsewhere.
    What a fun date night!!

    Reply
  43. rustique says

    February 7, 2010 at 9:18 am

    Aw, hooray for date night. I haven’t seen Avatar yet but will probably end up in your camp–violence + scifi doesn’t really do it for me because of the lack of good dialogue usually.

    Reply
  44. Angela (The Lady Loves to Eat) says

    February 7, 2010 at 9:29 am

    I still haven’t seen Avatar I’m not sure I really want to but everyone keeps saying it so amazing and I kinda feel like I have to haha.
    Looks like you and Matt had a fun date night!

    Reply
  45. klm says

    February 7, 2010 at 10:13 am

    yeeeeeeeeeeeeeah you get to see penny tonight!!

    Reply
  46. Rose-Anne says

    February 7, 2010 at 10:47 am

    That’s so cute that you packed a lunch for the movie! I am very often motivated to bring my own food to activities outside the house, but I feel like a big dork when I do it. 😛 It’s almost like it’s not “cool” to care that much about what you are putting in your body, but it’s so important!

    Reply
  47. M. Carter @ the Movies says

    February 8, 2010 at 8:59 am

    M5 looks fantastic — you might have convinced me to give it a go when my birthday rolls around again. The fig and prosciutto flat bread sounds out of this world.

    Well said about “Avatar.” I felt the same way about the plot.

    Reply
  48. Sydney says

    February 8, 2010 at 10:22 am

    I ate at M5 for Charlotte Restaurant week as well and was duly impressed, except did you notice the low health dept score on the wall? only like 91%! I had the scallops as well and they were sooooo good! we split the marshmallow pannecotta but ours had strawberries on it–I think you missed out! Also, we tried the pumpkin cannoli which was pretty awesome too.

    Reply
    • Kath says

      February 8, 2010 at 8:01 pm

      Our server said he was allergic to strawberries and they probably left them off of ours!!

      Reply
  49. Kristilyn (My 29th Year) says

    February 8, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    Dinner looks lovely! I really liked Avatar, but I didn’t think it was spectacular or anything. The dialogue was pretty cheesy and I would rather see it without having to wear 3D glasses, but it was an okay movie.

    That’s awesome that you guys bring your own food … we sometimes succumb to popcorn and candy, but we’ve been getting better. 🙂

    K

    Reply
  50. Kelly says

    February 9, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    Wow those dishes look sooo good! Quite a bit of food doing the 3 course thing, you guys were smart to split it. Love when you can enjoy restaurant food without that stuffed, pants too tight feeling!

    Reply
  51. MelanieF says

    February 9, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    My husband and I do date night at least once a week. It’s important for us to spend quality time together at least one day every week. We usually never plan anything on Sundays as we stay in, cook and watch some movies or television. We go for a long walk. We sometimes go out to the movies. It just depends on how we feel.

    Great date night!

    Reply

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    hi! Im Kath.

    I'm a Registered Dietitian, healthy eater, and mom of two from Charlottesville, Virginia. Here you’ll find a healthy mix of real-life meals made from whole ingredients balanced with the pleasures of life, including buttercream frosting and good wine. Plus a sprinkle of nutrition, home life, beauty, parenting, and travel.
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