Iron Bridge

E and i met our friends M and R at the iron bridge wine company in columbia, md. we had never been there before but we were not disappointed. the wine was good and the food was fantastic. E and i got there a little early and had some drinks and a mini pizza while we waited. E had a glass of honig sauvignon blanc and i had a glass of prosecco, my favorite:)

it's always hard to eat clean while dining out. so, i just tried to get as many veggies in that i could to maybe counter act the wine. E and i shard this portabello and caramelized shallot pizza. it was beyond amazing. the best thing i had that night. very simple too. mushrooms, shallots, gruyère cheese, arugula, and a balsamic reduction drizzled on top. i cannot wait to re-create this at home!

oops, we took bites before i remembered to photograph it. this is a reoccurring problem of mine. i get too excited about the food and my stomach takes over.

for dinner i had the soup de jour (roasted cauliflower and garlic soup). it was so good. seriously, i love cauliflower, so i know i am biased but i forced encouraged M, R, and E to taste it (all cauliflower haters). they were good sports about it and they claimed all liked it. said it didn't even taste like cauliflower. yum! E and i also shared the lobster mash - mashed potatoes with huge chunks of lobster and a lobster cream sauce. like i said, it wasn't a clean eating night.

i even finished off the meal with the vanilla bean crème brûlée. this is my weakness. however, it is my birthday weekend. bad news for my stomach but good news for my taste buds. i allow myself to eat whatever i want on my birthday weekend (of course i have strectched it into an entire weekend instead of just one day:). life is too short and i am reminded of this fact when i realize, gulp, i am almost a year older. i eat well 90% of the time in the hope that it will enable me to have more years of quality. but, i must indulge occassionally. my birthday is one of those times.

so, back to the dessert. it was one of the best crème brûlées i have ever had. the crust was prefect and i could really taste the vanilla bean. plus, super bonus, there was a layer of dark chocolate at the bottom. close to perfection!

M and R - thanks for a great night!