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
Carrots, green peppers and apples
A mini Artisana jar packed with some PB for the veggies
And some Beemster cheese. MMM!
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.
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.
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!!!!!!!
It’s one of my favorite restaurant atmospheres in CLT. Very modern.
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
And the wines!
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.
Course #1
We split it down the middle. The figs were out of this world!
Course #2
Scallops! Matt handed over 1 of the 4 scallops. But the best part were the ricotta gnocchi!!
My salad. I skipped the dressing because it was shalloty, but the goat cheese was awesome and the salad was just what I wanted.
Course #3
Dessert wine!
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.
Even the guy who claims he doesn’t like desserts made a significant dent!
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!!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
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.
Stef says
what a great date night! so sweet. and you packed some awesome food 🙂 such badasses for sneaking it into the theater haha
Sam (Merit to the Carrot) says
Mmmm…. that panna cotta looks incredible!!!
M says
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.
[email protected] Two Lives, One Lifestyle says
All around delicious looking, yay for a successful date night 🙂
M says
Um…”the dialogue and acting *were*”
Clearly, I am not a screenwriter, either.
Heather @ Side of Sneakers says
Yay for date night!! Looks like an awesome date night meal too 🙂
Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says
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!
Jessica @ The Process of Healing says
Amazing meal. I want to try to re-create the scallop dish, sounds SO good! I love gnocchi.
Jenn says
I’ve read reviews that Avatar is basically just like Pocahontas. Did you think so?
Kath says
I don’t remember the plot to Pocahontas, but I think that is a fair comparison. It was very Disney feeling
Angie says
Also very similar to Dances With Wolves.
Jacqueline says
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!
Ally (Exercise and Pies) says
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
Kori (All Things B.) says
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!
Nicole says
Mmm! That dinner looks fabulous! After those pictures, I think it’s time to pop open a bottle of Chianti 🙂
Jenna says
Great dinner date kath!
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
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
Heather says
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!
Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run] says
Glad you had nice date out. I can see why you love the restaurant so much – great food presentations.
Jessie says
Your movie eats look way better than my huge tub of popcorn.
M5 looks so good!
Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat) says
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.
Ashley says
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!
[email protected] RunningAroundNormal says
Oooh my gosh that restaurant looks amazing! You took some great pictures there, too.
Lauren @ eater not a runner says
I liked Avatar a lot, but I liked the fight scenes! The plot was SUPER predictable though. Dinner looks good!
Emily Eats and Exercises says
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. 🙂
andrea says
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???
Kath says
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.
Diana says
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! 🙂
Lily @ Lily's Health Pad says
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.
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
Individual date nights are so fun. Looks like you had a blast!
La says
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!
Foy Update - Cook. Garden. Write. Repeat. says
I only recently discovered pannacotta. It’s pretty delicious. Your dessert is awesome.
Pam (@ TotalHealthCounseling) says
Looks like a great night out!
Goat cheese in a salad reminds me of Paris 🙂
Hannah says
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 😛
Sara (effortless health) says
Your sandwiches are so cute!
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
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!
Freya @ foodfitnessandfreya.wordpress.com says
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!
tiffany says
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…
Kath says
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?
tiffany says
that does make sense… thank you!
christie @ honoring health says
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!
Simply Life says
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! 🙂
Cait (Cait's Plate) says
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 😉
Kath says
Despite my cons, you should see it in the theater – 3D!
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down) says
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! 😀
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says
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)!
Karla says
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!!
rustique says
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.
Angela (The Lady Loves to Eat) says
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!
klm says
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeah you get to see penny tonight!!
Rose-Anne says
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!
M. Carter @ the Movies says
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.
Sydney says
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.
Kath says
Our server said he was allergic to strawberries and they probably left them off of ours!!
Kristilyn (My 29th Year) says
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
Kelly says
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!
MelanieF says
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!