Date Night

Last Friday, Karen and I got to go on our first real date in a good while. Our gym dates continue, in fact we went on another one of those today. Friday one the other hand, was a date of the more old-fashioned variety. Since I was responsible for planning the evening, I picked a place that is now my new favorite restaurant, Johnny's Italian Steakhouse. Dinner was pricey, but well worth it, especially considering the fact that we hadn't had a date alone since before we moved to Chilli.

Our menu that night consisted of the following (Steve B., if you are reading, this part is for you!):

• Salad: Karen had the house salad with balsamic vinaigrette. I had the field greens salad with gorgonzola and balsamic topped with a piece of freshly fried goat cheese. (Which sounds gross, but was actually tasty).
  
• Appetizer: Maryland style fried crab cakes with remoulade
• Entree: Karen had the crab & spinach lasagna and I had the filet oscar (i.e., topped with crab, steamed asparagus spears, and bearnaise). While Karen's lasagna was delicious, my steak was superb.

Altogether, I think this ranked as one of our top 5 dining experiences ever. We followed dinner with some casual shopping (both New York & Co. and Dick's Sporting Goods) and coffee at Gloria Jean's, then some serious shopping for barstools for our counter at Target and Wal-Mart (The children are no longer allowed to sit at our new table for snacks or meals other than dinner).

It was a great evening, one that reminded me why Karen and I have been happily married for so long. We really enjoy each other's company and doing even mundane things (like stool shopping) together. I am a blessed man.