Sometimes You Gotta Take It Slow

Good Morning (or afternoon for my East Coaster/overseas friends!).

I was very thankful for my late start this morning as I was moving a little slow thanks to an amazing evening last night.  Let’s get the business out of the way before we get to the more fun stuff.

Workout Of The Day: 4 easssssssy miles + light weights

Thanks to a later than normal evening, a few drinks, and late night ice cream and icing, my body wasn’t moving at 100% when I got up.   I knew an easy sweat fest was exactly what I needed to move be back into feeling like myself.  So I made the trip down to the treadmill for an easy 4 miles.

• 20 minutes @ 6.4 pace
• 6.5 pace until 4 miles after

Mindless, and fairly easy for me this AM.  Exactly what I needed.   I followed that up with a quick session of incline sit ups and a few arm work outs with 10 lb weights.  Nothing too serious, but enough to feel somewhat accomplished.

Sometimes You Gotta Take It Slow

Zach and I received a very thoughtful gift card to one of our favorite, nicer Denver spots, Linger, from some friends for our wedding.  Because it takes some time to get reservations, we were excited when our time finally came up last night!

We started the evening at our favorite watering hole,  Denver Brew Co.  Something about that place (maybe it’s the awesome beer and board games) just makes us happy.

 

The YATZEE luck was unfortunately in Zach’s favor last night, but that’s OK because I kicked his but pretty hard last time we were there.

Our reservation was for 7 PM, so we walked over there about 645 and when we got to Linger, we were seated immediately.

Service was awesome last night and we were brought complementary homemade popcorn and a drink menu right away.

 

There was a resiling on special last night so I, of course, went with that for my drink choice.  I don’t know what they put in the popcorn last night, but let me tell you there wasn’t a morsel left in that bowl.  Num num!

Linger is tapas style dinner, so we went with 4 plates that we shared for the evening.  The star of the night was the Kobe tacos, but everything was GREAT.  The fallefel was very unique and not heavy like it can be.  The butternut squash salad had a perfect balance of creamy goat cheese and bitter arugula to complement the squash.  And come on, bacon wrapped dates?  Hello!

 

If you’re looking for a fun atmosphere with high quality food, you’d love Linger.  Especially in the Summer, their outdoor bar has some of the absolute best views of the city.  It’s not the cheapest spot in town, but it’s not overpriced for the product!

 

We wrapped up our perfect evening with Tin Man ice cream.  Perfect, sweet ending to a sweet date night!

Question of the Morning:  Are you good about balancing out easy and tough work outs?

Ummm…I’m working on that one.

St Louis Grub

What an amazing week of fun eats!  St Louis (actually Edwardsville, IL, but who’s keeping track?) will always be my home.  So many friends, family, and fond memories are tied to that city that it will never stop having that special place in my heart.

With that said, one of my favorite things about going home to St Louis?  My parents treat us to some GREAT meals!  That was absolutely true this last week!  I know I posted random pictures, but I thought I might add a few details for you all in case you’re ever in the area!

Bristol Seafood Grill

My parents took us out to Bristol for lunch the day after Christmas.  They had spoken very highly of it, but little did I know what a treat I was in for!

 

The meal started with that delicious looking cheddar buscuit for everyone.  My kind of bread service!  They were served to us fresh out of the oven still on their tray.  Yes, please!  And of course, we were offered seconds 🙂

 

For my meal, I went with a Power Lunch option of Caesar salad and spicy tuna sushi roll.

 

The Caesar had the PERFECT dressing (my favorite) that wasn’t too sweet but also not too fishy.  It included a Parmesan crisp on the side that I ate silently because I didn’t want anyone else to know just how delicious it was!

 

And of course, the sushi…which is what I was craving.  The roll was small, but packed of flavor (SPICY!).  You can kind of see the yellow sauce on the roll to the far left, yum!

Overall

It could have been the fact that I drank wine with lunch, never do.  But I LOVED this meal!  The food was all perfect, and while the service was a little slow/odd, but nothing that majorly affected the meal.

Charley Gitto’s

For my Dad’s birthday dinner, they took Zach and I out to Charlie Gitto’s in the Hollywood casino in St Charles, MO.   My family and I have been here multiple times for nice meals, and like always, we were not dissapointed :).

 

We started the meal with a great bottle of red wine

 

That stuff goes fast between 4 people!

And then Zach and I split a small chopped salad to start our meal.

 

Oh my lord I’d go back just for this salad.  It was amazing.  I wish it wasn’t so dark, this salad was beautiful AND flavorful.  We went with a Parmesan dressing, and let me tell you.  Yum.

I went off my norm for my entree and got a seafood ravioli with a lobster sauce.   I don’t normally order seafood pasta because the flavor of the fish can be overwhelming for me — but this was a perfect balance of flavors and fresh pasta.

As always, the services was impecible, minus some bad coffee, really it was a perfect night.

 

Ahhh I miss home already 🙂

Question of the Afternoon: What’s your favorite hometown fancy dinner spots?

 

Acorn

Last night, Zach and I went out to celebrate his 29th birthday.

 

And boy did we go out well!

When Zach was planning where he wanted to go for his birthday, he kept coming back to Acorn  new-to-us restaurant in an up and coming area of Denver.  We’d actually tried to go before, but were unable to get reservations.

Thankfully, we were able to get reservations for Zach’s birthday, but not until 815.  Way past our normal dinner time.

Since this girl can’t wait until 815 to eat, we decided to start the night early at Epic, the brewery we visited Friday.  The nice thing about Epic, they allow you to bring snacks.

 

Parmesan crisp chips, new-to-me crackers from Whole foods, and hummus.

Along with some amazing beer, these snacks were the perfect way to hold us over until our 815 reservation.

I thought I’d be watching the clock, ready for dinner, but Zach and I chatted the night away and before we new it we were in a hurry to get to dinner.

 

Acorn is in a new, industrial building along with another restaurant, bank, art gallery, and a few other offices. We automatically fell in love with the vibe of the place and new it was going to be a great night.

 

While we looked over the menu, we started out dinner with cocktails.  An Old Fashion for Zach and Monks Garden for me

MONK’S GARDEN

death’s door basil & tarragon infused vodka, green chartreuse, cucumber, lavender, lime

Acorn knows what they’re doing with the drinks folks.  I saw this drink on many other tables, and heard multiple people talking about how good it was.  Super fresh, sweet, and dangerous. 

Acorn is known for shared, small plates, so we decided on four different dishes to share.

 

COAL ROASTED BABY BEETS

feta panna cotta, toasted pistachios, tarragon

The feta panna cotta was PERFECT with these beats.  It was super creamy, not at all sour, and bright.

 

AHI TUNA “TATAKI”

basil & honey vinaigrette, cucumber, celery

The tuna was perfectly prepared and the crisp veggies served with it were the perfect compliment

 

LAMB “SHAWARMA”

shishito peppers, feta cheese, chickpea panisse, tzatziki sauce

My favorite of the evening.  Every single thing about it.

 

OAK GRILLED PORK BELLY

crooked stave beer & gruyere fondue, brussels sprouts, chestnuts

By the time we got to this dish we were pretty full, but it was super tasty. 

Overall 

We LOVED the food and drinks, and will absolutely be back as soon as possible.  Every dish was creative, unique, and perfectly prepared. 

The menu does ask that you order everything at once, but will stagger the dishes themselves so you get to enjoy them slowly.  My favorite way to do family style.

The service was knowledgable, well balanced, and polite.  

Honestly, is there any downside to Acorn?  No…so we should probably go back this weekend. 😉 Ok, Zach?

Question of the Night:  Do you like tapas style food?

Love it – I’m al about trying different dishes.