My stomach is full.
My mouth had a party.
But my mind is unsatisfied.
Tonight was a whirlwind!
We decided to go to The Grape a order small plates from their bistro menu. The bistro menu items turned out to be waaaay smaller than we thought and VERY overpriced.
Wine Flight #1 + Antipasto
Since we always try to taste as many wines as possible, we ordered a flight to start. 2.5 oz per glass. All three were absolutely fantastic. I wrote them down:
Falchetto Chardonnay
Anapamu Chardonnay
Oriel Setena Red
I can’t WAIT to order them again!
With the first flight, we ordered the antipasto. It was quite small compared to others we’ve ordered, but ended up being just right! Meats, provolone, olives, caper berries (love those!), sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella. I requested the olive oil on the side because these usually come drenched in it. I’m so glad I thought to ask!
I had 3 meat slices, 1.5 mozzarella balls, 4 olives, 3 capers and 1/2 the provolone. And all the basil!
And a piece of cold boring bread that was totally not worth it but worked as a palate cleanser between wines:
Wine Flight #2 + Fig “Pisa”
Flight #2 was 3 reds. They weren’t nearly as impressive. I guess I just chose poorly! I think they were just too heavy for our appetizers and would have been better with a rich entree. So all in all, we both had about 6.5 oz of wine – about 1 glass – but we got to try 6 kinds. That’s how you learn about wine!
Course two was a prosciutto, fig and brie “pisa,” a pita pizza. I would have helped to let us know this was only about 5″ in diameter! It was AMAZING in flavor, but quite small and rather decadent.
So that was supposed to be dinner! But we were obviously not that full at all. There was nothing else on the menu that really jumped out at us though, so we were torn with what to do. All the items were so expensive and we didn’t want to pay $10 more for a piece of smoked salmon or hummus that might not be good. We almost ordered a wrap, but I really don’t like restaurant wraps (just because they are gone quickly and high in calorie) so we made the executive decision to turn the night into a progressive dinner and go down the street to Dean and Deluca for salads for our fullness factor.
Dean and Deluca
On to course #3! While we were ordering, I sample a few dips + crackers around the store. Mindless eating!!!
The husband got a prime rib sandwich. I had a big bite. It was amazing. I got a big vegetable salad with goat cheese. I had some help eating the salad, but I ate most of it – no wonder I’m stuffed – it was a ton of veggies!
At the bottom I found a red onion šæ that snuck in!! I’m SO glad I found this with my eyes and not my tongue!
If you’ve ever been to Dean + Deluca, you know the kind of desserts they have. We decided to get something small – a caramel crunch layer thing and a peanut butter buckeye for the husband. I ate about 1/3 of the mousse and one tiny bite of the buckeye.
So while I ate a lot of variety tonight, I didn’t really eat that much. But I did!!! I think I’m so full because of my salad and the 12 oz of hot water I drank with it. But regardless of the healthy contributions, I definitely had my share of rich foods tonight. I also feel like I drank a ton of wine, but I really only had 1 large glass. So my brain is just confused.
Hope you guys had fun Saturdays!
Wow, The Grape looks like a great restaurant – such gorgeous presentations of the dishes!!
Oh no!! A red onion!! Haha, uh oh!! At least you caught it ;0)
Wow, that peanut butter buckeye looks deeelish – buckeyes are my state’s “official” treat :0)
You definitely had a wonderful Saturday – hope your Sunday is just as great!
Sounds like you has a bit of an adventure in getting your meal! I still think it’s a great idea to get a few small things to share and call it a meal š So much more fun that way!
Goodness, that small pizza looks delicious!
Looks like a fantastic spread! I can’t believe you found one tiny onion!
Dessert looks great, I love looking at Dean and Deluca’s Desserts… they always look fantastic.
Have a great night Kath!
Sounds fun!! you’re too funnny about onions š glad it didn’t spoil the meal, ha! have a great night~
haha, what’s so bad about red onions? they are incredible with meats, especially BBQ meats. That Italian food looks scrumptious, especially with those red wines! I’m gonna go have me a glass right now!
– The Peanut Butter Boy
I always laugh at your onion comments because I am exactly the same way about those little buggers – I can’t stand them! Glad your eyes found that little piece instead of your tongue (especially because at least in my opinion, even a tiny piece of onion leaves a gross aftertaste for the longest time!)
You and the husband are too cute with your wine tastings! I love how you guys find so much enjoyment in shared meals.
Have a wonderful night! š
wow! sounds like you still had a nice evening and got to sample a bit of everything tonight! š
by the way, i was wondering if you know of any websites that can calculate your recipes for you?
have a good evening!
You said:
“I think Iām so full because of my salad and the 12 oz of hot water I drank with it.”
I think you’re right. I’ve been eating lots of fresh salads recently, especially spinach and chicken salads with balsamic vinaigrette. Also, I’ve been ordering iced tea, without the ice. Sometimes the tea is room temperature, sometimes it’s still warm. Either way, I think warm drinks are more filling than cold drinks, and these salads with warm tea have been very filling.
oh i forgot to add—
The Dean & Deluca we have here doesn’t serve salads- only ready-made ones. Does yours have self-serve salad bars? Your salad looks delicious- I usually go to whole foods and gather up a big salad there.
I’m so jealous! With all the good eats in San Francisco there is not a Dean + Deluca.
Hi Kath,
I’m not sure if you’ve talked about this before, but I have a question about your eating patterns/habits before you slimmed down. How did your diet back than differ from your diet now? Thanks, and I LOVE your blog! š
Mmmm, I’ll eat your onions for you!
Just a quick question, are you going to update your recipe list? I can totally tell you are super busy – so understand if I don’t want to – I just wasn’t sure.
looks like a fun date night! I can’t believe that you don’t like onions–they can give so much flavor to a dish!!
Kristin ,
I use my CalorieKing food diary, but it costs an annual fee to use. I know others have recommended some they use in the past. A quick Google search led me to SparkPeople’s:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
And this one:
http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/Recipes/scale/recipeconversions.php
Yes, our D&D does salads made-to-order. I think these are standard now because all 3 of the Charlotte ones have this. Maybe it’s on the way for yours?
Lauren ,
I address this in the FAQs – question #13. The first few questions might help as well to understand my approach to maintenance.
Jill ,
I have been updating it- do you mean the list on the right sidebar? I don’t put all recipes on there, but ones I think are worthy and generally ones that I come up with myself vs. find from a website or cookbook and don’t modify. Did you have one in particular you were looking for?
Kath
Everything looks delicious! I love wine tasting. Dean and Deluca is a must stop for me every time we visit NYC. I love it there!
Happy Sunday,
Amanda
VeggieGirl.
We love our buckeyes!!! yay ohio! maybe we should get kath some real ohio buckeyes š
The antipasto looks interesting! I’ve never seen that before. Is that red stuff ham or something? I can’t stop staring at it :p
But yeah wow, those servings are tiny! I always hate how the food at some restaurants would LOOK really pretty and fancy, but they sacrifice the quantity š I’d rather be full!
And yikes, red onions :s I dislike them as well! They burn š
Because I literally cannot stop myself:
Go Blue!
I share the aversion to onions and I really wish I would get over it. If I would have bitten into that onion, I probably would have spit out the entire mouthful of food, even in public. I have a hard time even swallowing the things (TWSS), especially raw. Gross!
Hi Kath and everyone! I read this blog every night and I just wanted to share something funny with you all. Last night my Fiance, his Name is Matt also, looked over to the screen and said “I don’t know how you find reading about food and looking at food pics so interesting!” haha I thought this was funny. Really, people, other than us all who love food and living a healthy lifestyle might think it’s weird, but I love it.
Anyway…I do love this blog. Thanks Kath for all your hard work.
This is off topic, but for Kath and anyone else who might live in North or South Carolina. My fiance and I live in NJ, always have and we are thinking of moving South. It is just way too expensive here! The cost of housing is crazy. We have always thought of moving to Florida as we both love the warm climate and go often being Matt has family there. Just recently we have begun searching housing and jobs in NC and SC. Kath, do you enjoy living in Charlotte? Can you tell me a bit about the area, cost of living, job market, etc? We are 25 and 26. We wouldnt move until after we are married, which is May 2009!
THANKS!!!!
wow, that salad looks delish! (i love peanut butter buckeyes too!) i was just wondering, speaking of rich foods, what your all time favorite food is. (nutritional information aside) š thanks
Andrea, I lived in NC for about 13 years, including college and 7 years after. Housing, job market, etc will be very different according to where you live. For most of my 13 years I was in the western part of the state – near the mountains – and the economy is sort of struggling there. Then we moved east, toward Chapel Hill and Raleigh, and found a different picture. There are certainly more jobs (depending on your field) but it’s competitive in many areas, and the cost of living is also slightly higher. That said, it is probably still cheaper than NJ and the weather is DEFINITELY better. I highly suggest going for a few days to visit, and drive to different parts of the state. You can get to many of the major metro areas (Charlotte, Winston Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham) within a few hours and really get a sense of what each area is like. Good luck!
Hey Kath,
Just thought I’d let you know I tried out your cajun shrimp dinner (with a few modifications) and it was absolutely delicious! I really loved Jenna’s Mom’s cabbage!
I’m so glad to know there are others out there with an onion aversion!! Sometimes my friends and family make me feel like I have some kind of strange mutation.
Andrea ,
What’s NOT interesting about pictures of food!?
I’d be happy to tell you all about Charlotte on the phone if you’re interested – there’s too much to say to type other than I’ve lived in North Carolina my whole life but have traveled to over half of the other 50 states and think NC is one of the best (close behind is CA and AZ š ) It’s very all-American. Trees, neighborhoods, Target. There’s a good balance here.
Kasidy ,
My all time favorite food is definitely a dessert….I’m not sure which. I LOVE chocolate ganache….our wedding cake was fabulous (French vanilla with chambord raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream). I really love cobblers a la mode. But I’m also a HUGE fan of ice cream with crunchy chunks in it! So I’ll leave you with those favorites š
Hannah ,
Glad you liked the shrimp! We’re doing J’s Mom’s cabbage again tomorrow night š
K