Friday, November 19, 2010

Date Night and Distractions

Hello! Hope you are having a wonderful week before all the Holiday craziness sets in. Anyone still send out Christmas Cards?


This is my family photo from last year: (I am on the top right)
Haha, no that is actually from awkwardfamilyphotos.com ... that website is amazing!


But yeah, this is my picture last year with my girlfriends. Dont you love our sweaters?! We found them at a thrift store for a buck each.


Last night, Andrew took me on a nice little date to the Olive Cafe on Commercial Street in Portland.


I have been here once before and had a good experience.

I should have taken a picture of the sign outside because it truly paints an ugly picture. The font they use for their sign is this really kid-like, curly stupid font that completely throws you off. I thought I was going to walk into some totally tacky restaurant with bright curtains, plastic chairs..you know the deal---very Macdonalds-esque.





I actually LOVE the interior of the cafe. It is very quaint and simple. You can tell they were so thoughtful putting it all together. The tables are all matching dark wood with creamy white chairs. Just change that sign. Please :)

 There are candles lit everywhere which just adds a nice ambiance and truly makes you feel relaxed.



Andrew and I started off the meal with the:
 MEDITERRANEAN BRUCHETTA
TOMATOES, FRESH MINT AND CILANTRO WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
SERVED ON TOASTED ORGANIC RUSTIC BREAD WITH MELTED PARMESAN
This was soo good. I always just use basil for bruchetta but the mint was such a refreshing addition. We were both very impressed with this-- the tomatoes were perfectly ripe. It was a perfect serving for two people as well.


The Olive Cafe also serves pita chips with tzatziki sauce to every table in place of a bread basket.


For my entree, I decided to go with:
GREEK SALAD
GREENS, TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, KALAMATA OLIVES, RED ONIONS, FRESH MINT, AND FETA CHEESE WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
Mmm, this salad was amazing! Andrew thought I was weird for saying my favorite part about it was that everything was chopped up so small. However, it is a small gripe of mine when salads have huge chunks of vegetables and cheese. This salad was delicious and a perfect dinner portion. I am not sure if there was any balsamic dressing on it but that was okay since the olives and feta cheese add so much it doesnt really need dressing.


Andrew decided to go with the:
FISH TACOS
FRESH HADDOCK BLACKENED OR PAN-SEARED SERVED IN FLOUR TORTILLAS WITH FIELD GREENS AND CILANTRO LIME CREMA,
WITH A SIDE OF COLESLAW AND ROASTED VEGETABLE SALSA



Andrew chose to get the fish pan-seared. It is nice to have that choice. I have never seen that on a menu for fish tacos.
These were amazing as well. The fish was perfectly cooked- not dry at all. This came alongside some of the best sweet potato fries I have ever had. I dont think they were fried either-- which is obviously great. They were perfect. I am so happy sweet potatoes are good for you because they are definitely in my diet every week it seems.


All in all, you should GO to the Olive Cafe for a great meal and great ambiance!


~~~~

Before I went out to dinner, I went to the gym for a lovely workout. Sometimes, all it takes to get myself there is a few mental distractions. As soon as I decided I wanted to go the gym I turned on some music and zoned out while I got ready to go. I look up an interesting treadmill workout from my favorite blogger. Trust me, changing up things on the dreadmill makes it go by so much faster. Play with the speed and the incline so its always a little bit challenging and a whole lot more interesting!
Finally, once I got there, I decided I was going to have a great workout and I did. I think I may have to give some credit to these guys:



WAYNES WORLD! Definitely one of my top 10 favorite movies ever. It was on TV while I ran and I may look like an idiot running and laughing my butt off--but atleast I am getting through my workout!
~~~


Have a great weekend!

2 comments:

  1. That's funny, when I went to Olive Cafe, I had the salad, my boyfriend had the fish tacos, and his mom had the bruschetta pizza. I really liked the mint in the salad- it was an unexpected taste. And I was also pleasantly surprised by the decor inside!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhh, I am LOVING that Christmas picture. Great sweaters :-)

    ReplyDelete