Europe 2024

First of all, today was the anniversary of Jeff and my first date 35 years ago! Who knew that April 11th, 1998 (also my parent’s wedding anniversary),
was going to change our lives and bring both of us more joy and excitement than imaginable. We are so fortunate.

Okay, back to the food. I warned you. Tonight’s dining experience could not have been more different from last night. The drama of going into this restaurant was overwhelming as we passed greenhouses, test kitchens and gardens that were lovely even in their early spring apparel. The dining experience here was themed “Ocean” and that became evident in many creative and subtle way through the decor as we were led to our table. Beautiful drapings of seaweed and beams that were covered in hundreds of oyster shells set the rustic scene that included candlelight and servers and chefs that moved seamlessly through the space as though they too were moving through the ocean.

Any subtlety ended there. There were about 14 courses. I can’t tell you for sure because my head is still whirling from the spectacularly created presentations of boldly prepared food that all related to the ocean. The presentations were based around rustic plates/bowls with different combinations of rocks, rattan trays, shells and seaweed. Each dish was a piece of art to be enjoyed aesthetically before diving into the experience of eating. The imagination that went into each course was overwhelming.

Again, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

We are forever grateful to be able to share both these dining experiences with our two friends.

By the way, there were two of us that couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn’t eat the fish eye. They brought us beets instead.Read more