A Special Dinner Out

Since my husband had to be at a meeting on our anniversary earlier in the week,

he made it up to me by taking me out to eat on Friday evening.

He even let me choose the restaurant.

That was nice because he would likely have picked Red Lobster.

I, however, chose Chapman's Restaurant and Bar.

We got to sit right next to the fireplace.

And look at that wall of wine.

I think I am in love.

My dear husband chose to start his meal with the Caesar salad.

The Foodie Daughter and I had eaten lunch here last week

and we had each enjoyed this lovely salad.

I decided to go a different direction and ordered the Mixed Greens Salad

with toasted almonds, sun dried cherries, Roma tomatoes,

hearts of palm, basil infused olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

The meal came with rolls and butter.

My husband also decided to order the 6-oz. Grilled New York Strip Steak with

shiitake mushroom butter, spice roasted sweet potatoes

and fresh vegetables.

He did ask to have Yukon Gold potatoes substituted for the roasted sweet potatoes.

The nice people at Chapman's were only too happy to oblige.

The dear husband was a very happy man.

He enjoyed his meal very much even though he generally doesn't like veggies.

I of course had earlier perused the menu online and already had a selection in mind.

I just hoped that they weren't out of it this time.

I was in luck.

I ordered the Sautéed Breast of Indiana Duck

in caramelized berry sauce

with potato lorettes

and fresh vegetables.

I had never had duck breast before and was anxious to try this new dish.

Honestly, if I didn't know it was duck, I wouldn't have guessed it was duck.

But it was tasty, tender and succulent.

The vegetables were good,

with summer squash, mushrooms, onion, cherry tomatoes, and carrots.

And as promised, they were fresh, not frozen.

The potato lorettes were essentially deep-fried potato puffs.

Sorry, Chapman's, but mine are so much better.

I would be willing to sell you my recipe.

Have your people call my people.

All in all, this was a lovely meal.

Truly, Chapman's is a gem in the vast culinary landscape of our town.