Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Our First Date!

Mike's parents visited us in Texas this week and got to meet our little baby girl.  I cannot believe how quickly time flies, she's now over 12 weeks old! Even though they have been watching our baby during the day, they were super nice and watched our baby one night so Mike and I could go on a date sans baby. 
One thing that I read is that is is extremely important to foster your relationship with your spouse and even though you want to spend all your time with your baby/child, you also need to make sure that you making your marriage a top priority.

Mike and I checked out Private Social, a restaurant that opened up last year by Tiffany Derry, a past Top Chef contestant. She did not win the competition that season, but I think that she may have been voted fan favorite.  She seemed like a nice person on the show and did not go on any rants, or sabotage other contestants.
The restaurant serves seasonal local foods and has a theme of "private" and "social."  The restaurants is divided in two sections and you can choose whether you want to have a social time (think drinks and appetizers) or a private time in a more quiet setting.  When I read the review in the local newspaper, it said that this concept was a bit flawed because only some glass hangings separated the two sections.

The chef sent out an olive tapenade amuse bouche.  It was a nice little bite.

Appetizers that we Ordered:

Oysters Rockefeller-Bacon, Spinach, Pernod, Pecorino Romano Cheese
This was the better appetizer of the two that we ordered. Mike has never had Oysters Rockefeller in his life, so we decided to order them at the restaurant. It was a really rich and decadent dish.
Surf ‘n’ Turf Sushi Roll (Spicy Tuna, Torched Beef, Ponzu, Truffle)
Mike's felt that he understood the concept that the chef was trying to achieve, but it failed because sushi is supposed to be clean.  The truffle flavor muddled the true essence of the fish and sushi concept. 

Pan-Seared Scallops with Texas Creamed Corn, Lobster, Basil
I enjoyed my scallops in creamed corn.  Last year, we bought these huge scallops and cooked them at home. Mike kept telling me that I undercooked the scallops and told me to cook it some more. After eating scallops at Private Social and at Nosh, Mike agrees with me and said that I correctly cooked my scallops at home.
I LOVED the creamed corn. I'm sure that the recipe was simple-sweet fresh corn, heavy cream, sugar, and salt. But it was so tasty that I slurped up all of it! The scallops were yummy too!
“Peking Style” Duck Breast Duck Confit, Enoki Mushrooms, Glass Noodles, Bok Choy
Mike had a difficult time deciding between the duck, suckling pig, and the duck fat fried chicken. He settled on the duck after our waiter recommended it. Mike was a little disappointed with his dish, especially when we saw a plate of the fried chicken being delivered to another table.  He thought that I would like the dish since it had an Asian flair, but I thought that the whole dish was too salty. 

Blueberry Almond Cake-Blueberry Sorbet, Lemon Sauce
Yum yum yum. Funny thing is, I think my favorite item of the night would either be the blueberry sorbet or the creamed corn that came with my scallops. The sorbet had an intense fresh blueberry flavor and tasted rich, even though there was no cream.  I also enjoyed the blueberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar.The cake was a bit too heavy for my taste, but Mike enjoyed it.
Warm Chocolate Budino Olive Oil Gelato
What the heck is a budino? I just assumed it was cake, but it's actually a heavy pudding.  Main criticism of this dish, the budino was not warm when it was served. I thought that the whole dish had a savory feel to it.  The budino was a bitter dark chocolate (almost tasted like coffee), and the olive oil gelato (sounded interesting at the time) and was slightly sweet. It was an interesting dessert, but I prefer my desserts to be just a tad bit sweeter. 

Mike and I had a great time, even  though it's been a tiring week with us both back at work.I'll keep you posted on other future dates. 

Private Social
3232 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75204
(214)754-4744

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