Becoming a Foodie

I love eating out...but not just casually. What I mean by that, is that I don't like stopping for fast food on a weeknight, ordering takeout for lunch, or going through a drive thru. We eat out usually no more than once a week, and when we do, we like to make it count. It might be a more expensive dinner, but considering that it's our one meal out for the week, we spend a lot less than if we were going to grab Chikfila or Moe's a few nights a week, that can really add up! I hope this doesn't come off as snobby, because trust me, I love junk food and I love cheap food, but eating out is something that I think I put a lot of consideration into, which I'm sure drives Nathan crazy. So, this will sort of serve as the preface of this blog series on my favorite restaurants - some of these places represent an experience that was had, a memorable vacation, or just a great time, but all are wonderful and come highly recommended...by me!

Best Overall Dining Experience: Scalini Fideli, Tribeca, NYC

Scalini Fedili was one of the first times that I truly experienced "fine dining" and it was magnificent. Part of the ambience of this whole experience was that I was alone with Nathan on our first trip together. He had surprised me and whisked me away to NYC for the weekend with plans to propose. The proposal didn't end up happening this weekend (thanks for being unavailable for the permission-seeking chat dad) but the trip was one of the best experiences of my life. Nathan presented me with three gifts the night before we left and told me in which order to open them. In the first box was a beautiful black dress from White House Black Market, in the second box was a Guess peacoat that I had fallen in love with while window shopping, and the third was a card that said "The dress is for dinner tomorrow night. The coat is because it's cold in NYC this time of year" - and we left the following morning. Ok, ok back to Scalini Fideli - we were greeted with complimentary champagne while they took our coats for us, it was their way of apologizing for making us wait a mere five minutes for our table. The waitstaff treated us like we were VIP's (as they do everyone in a place like this) and we decided to order off of the chef's tasting menu. We started out with an amuse bouche that was presented to us compliments of the chef and then were subsequently brought course after course of wonderful appetizers, entrees, and desserts, followed up by "palate cleansers" - i.e. sorbet. The dinner took about three hours, but we could have stayed all night as we were both pleasantly absorbed in the atmosphere of the restaurant and the excitement of New York City at Christmastime. Next time you visit NYC, this would definitely be my recommendation for the perfect date spot. Scalini Fideli has won the coveted award of my favorite dining experience.