I now know what Heaven tastes like

Last night, Nick and I went out for our yearly anniversary dinner. We were married on October 30, 1993 on a cold, crisp and yes, snowy day. A beautiful day. The best day of my life quite frankly. But I'll stop with all the cheese for now and fast forward to 14 years, 4 days, 7 hours and 53 minutes later. With much thanks to Mom and Dad, and their generous anniversary gift, Nick and I were able to enjoy LeFever's River Grille, for the second year in a row. And enjoy we did!

Our reservations were for 7:00 pm. I knew, after last year, that I would be ordering the calamari appetizer once again. I have truly never had any calamari so delicious as this. It's not just your standard breaded and fried calamari. After that part of the process, they then take the fried pieces of calamari deliciousness and toss it with Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and green onions, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. It's incredible. The calamari is tender and succulent, and mixing it with those other ingredients brings to a whole new level. It's the perfect start to a perfect meal.

Nick and I both had trouble deciding what to order for our entrees, but for me, my eyes kept going back to the Dijon crusted lamb rack. That ended up being my choice. It came with Cilantro Couscous, but seeing the other side dishes they had on the menu, I wondered if I could substitute. This was not a problem, so after the run down of all the delicious side dishes I could chose from (Garlic mashed potatoes, lobster mashed potatoes, shrimp au gratin potatoes, risotto, mushroom risotto, goat cheese risotto) my choice was clear... goat cheese risotto! The waitress wasn't sure how it would go with the Dijon crust of the lamb, but said if I wanted it, to go for it. I did! It also came with glazed carrots. After much indecision, Nick asked Carrie (our waitress) if he should get the Chipotle marinated pork tenderloin, or the veal medallions. She recommended the pork, so that's what he went with. It came with black bean salsa and spinach saute. He kept his meal as is. We both got salad with their homemade Romano Peppercorn dressing. This dressing was amazing! Creamy and thick, peppery and delicious. I asked Carrie if there was buttermilk in it, because it tasted like there was to me. She wasn't sure but she said it is made with their homemade Ranch base, so it could very well have had buttermilk in it. Funny thing was, it had no hint of a Ranch flavor (which Nick hates!)

Our dinner plates arrived soon after and were a thing of beauty. I had a very generous helping of goat cheese risotto with thin strips of glazed carrots on top of it, and my gorgeous lamb chops (4!!) with their long bones that had been frenched. Interestingly enough though, Carrie was right and the Dijon didn't go well with the risotto so I ended up scraping it off, even though it was really good (Nick ate the crust pieces with his pork!). Nick's plate was equally as beautiful, with the tenderloin of pork sliced on a bias and arranged over a bed of spinach with black beans scattered all around the plate. I had so much risotto that I gave him some, I ate some and I brought some home (mmmm risotto for later). In fact, we both brought home food... he had two pieces of tenderloin and I had two lamb chops and risotto. Every single thing we ate was incredibly delicious from the lamb down to the spinach. We had a truly amazing dining experience, as Nick pointed out when we were leaving. It wasn't just good food, it was a total experience.

What could top off the evening for us? Carrie, our sweet waitress brought us a glorious dessert on the house to celebrate our anniversary! We got an Ice Cream Ball, which was a generous scoop of homemade peanut butter ice cream with toffee chips on top and chocolate ganache on the bottom! What a topper!!

A beautiful restaurant right on the river, overlooking the falls (even though they are difficult to see at night), delicious food, wonderful service, and great company. All in all, it was one of those nights to remember.

Afterwards, we decided to go out to a local coffee house we discovered not too long ago so as to not let this great night end too quickly. It was cozy, comfortable and we talked for hours. Isn't it wonderful to know, that after 14 years of marriage and being with someone from 20 years, you still have things to talk about for hours? And just to put icing on the cake, Angel Falls Coffee Company has XM radio and on this night, they had on a station that was perfect for us... we heard The Clash, Peter Murphy, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Ramones, New Order and on and on. It was wonderful! So all this and great music too!! What more could anyone ask for?