Before I begin, I should mention that writing a post about food when one is hungry is quite the challenge - and this one was absolutely painful! Nick and I had the pleasure of going to Chowgirls for their Summer Solstice Dinner.
The gallery was decorated beautifully, with fancy tables set up for the guests. The artwork all around made everything seem that much more intimate. Instead of artwork hastily thrown up on the wall of a restaurant, we dined in the center of a great exhibition.
We were served a many-course meal - and I can't tell you how excited I was about this dinner. I suppose all I can say is... there were a few courses I failed to snap pictures of because I dove in to eat before remembering to capture- and by then it was too late. But can you blame me?
The picture above shows an incredible split-pea pate. But if you look in the upper right corner of the photo, you'll see something really amazing.
This dish of awesome was the butter that came with the bread. Whipped to an incredibly light, creamy consistency with fresh chives and spices, I could have eaten a ginormous bowl of this stuff.
Alas, I had to settle for this cheesy plate instead of a second bowl of butter - prolly for the best, right? Life is hard. Here you see a variety of beautiful cheeses, served with sugared nuts and a rhubarb marmalade. (Note to self: rhubarb marmalade on soft brie: amazing.)
The soup and the salad came next - a lovely light Green Goddess salad a very unique Sunchoke bisque. No pictures, because both of those things were in my tummy far too quickly. :)
We each selected a different entree so that we could sample and share. I ordered the honey glazed and skewered chicken - which was cooked to perfection and perfectly sweet and salty. The red potato was ribboned before cooked, and super tasty.
Nick ordered the barbeque beef brisket. Admittedly, his was a better choice than my chicken - mainly because his dinner came with those cheesy grits you see on the right. Talk about comfort food... So good.
And last but not least - freshly made pound cake. To the right, a chocolate porter pound cake drizzled with chocolate sauce.
All in all it was an amazing night and an amazing dinner. Many thanks to Heidi and everybody at Chowgirls for the experience. Can't wait until the next one!