But my absolute favorite came from my husband. I know, I know, don't roll your eyes! I bet you are thinking that I HAVE to say that, but it is honestly the truth. And he almost surprised me with it, almost. And I think the reason I liked it so much, was because it was completely me, in every sense. Because I'm one of those people that would rather go do something rather than receive something as a gift. Not that I don't enjoy physical gifts. I do. I just love creating those memories. So my favorite gift this year? Being treated to lunch at Canoe and then going to see The Nutcracker. Good food, excellent cultural entertainment = one happy girl! Believe it or not, in my almost 5 years of living in Atlanta, I hadn't done either!
My first few apartments in Atlanta were actually about 2 miles away from Canoe. I had always heard amazing reviews about this place, but I knew it was expensive. And at that time, my budgets just didn't allow such an extravagant meal. So finally, five years later I get to try it! And we get a table located near the river to boot. For those of you who aren't familiar, Canoe is located right next to the Chattahoochee river in Vinings. It offers some amazing views and lots of options for special events if you need it. We started out with truffle french fries and I decided to splurge and get a poinsettia, which is basically a mimosa, but its mixed with cranberry juice instead of orange juice.
I have to say, I was really not impressed with these. They were nice, but I guess there just isn't that much that you can really do to jazz up french fries. These were sprinkled with truffle oil, rosemary, and parm. For me, I don't really enjoy biting into rosemary leaves because they are a little tough sometimes. Also, the parm was shaved into such large pieces, that it was hard to get a little of everything on your fork. The flavors work really well, but pretty generic in my humble opinion. I was a little upset actually. My first taste of Canoe, surely this wasn't one of those pretentious places that charged a lot but didn't deliver. Thankfully, when my entree came out, I was proven wrong!
Oh my goodness. The top picture is Lamb Bolognese. This was my husband dish. I'm not sure you can have entree envy if you really enjoy your dish as well, but in a little way I did. Ground lamb with tomato sauce over penne pasta. If I could describe it, I would have to say it was really earthy and hearty. I had actually never seen a dish with ground lamb before. The flavors of the tomato mixed together with the lamb and the soft pasta just melt together in your mouth. The salty parm also gave it a good kick.
But my entree. Looks pretty basic right. Except when you take a bite, you get about 30 different sensory explosions at once. It is warm, cool, bright, citrusy, meaty, light, nutty and crunchy, all wrapped up into one fork. My poor brain took a few minutes to process all of this. My dish was a fillet of salmon, on a bed of baby greens and spaghetti squash with a citrus vinaigrette. I had actually never tried spaghetti squash before. I think it's one of those intimidating gourds that I didn't want to tackle before, because I had never tasted it. I fully intend to add it to my grocery list soon! And you should too. I loved the crunch it added to the soft fillet. Literal mouth watering now just thinking about it.
We were both a little full after this amazing meal and ended up skipping dessert. Next time we go, and yes, there will be a next time, I think we will skip appetizers and save it for dessert! I've been eyeing their chocolate grotto with salted caramel. All in all a great experience.
We ended the night at the Fabulous Fox Theater to watch the Nutcracker. We had crazy good seats. I promise I took this picture before I was told you weren't allowed to. Opps. This was the view from our seats:
Until Next Time.
Guten Appetit!
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