Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! It's just such a happy holiday. This year was no exception. I bought Barbie valentines with lollipops for all the ladies in our office. They loved it. It made me feel good to make them feel good. It costs next to nothing to bring a smile to someone's face.

I like to plan Valentine's Day for Antonio and I. He's so sweet throughout the year that I like to do something really special for him. This year, I tried to be a little sneaky. He had mentioned that he wanted to go to Spot Dessert Bar a few months ago. I kept that information in my back pocket for a long time. I used Yelp to find a list of restaurants near Spot. Christina, in our office, is a foodie and restaurant expert. She and Martha recommend Gemma at the Bowery Hotel.

Our reservation for was 8:45 and it was a quick cab ride to the East Village from Chelsea. The atmosphere of the restaurant was amazing! It had an old-world feel. It was like a mix between Phantom of the Opera and Pirates of the Caribbean. The candelabras had pounds of waxed caked around the bottom and the mirrors had an charming, aged look. If I could, I would love to live in this restaurant. We started with grape / basil and burrata and prosciutto crostini. They were so good! The bread was toasted perfectly and everything was very fresh. I ordered the veal with mushrooms and Antonio got the short ribs. My food was pretty good, though the veal was a little boring. I'd definitely go back though.



Now for dessert. Like I said, I tried to be sneaky. But Antonio hates surprises so he did a little research and figured out that Spot was just a few blocks away from Gemma. But he said that he liked it better way so he wouldn't be worried that I'd flown in Christina Aguilera to serenade him or organized a flash mob. Spot was packed! I was so surprised that we breezed into dinner and then had to wait for dessert. It was a Japanese-fusion dessert bar. Everything sounded familiar but then had a little twist. We ordered three desserts (one for each and then we split one). I ordered Thai tea creme brulee. It had the same texture and consistency that I'm used to, but had a very unique taste. I liked it. Antonio got a fancy coconut cheesecake. I'm not a fan of coconut, but all the unique flavors and added touches made it good. The best was the white miso semifreddo. It had raspberries, EVOO, almond tuile, and raspberry sorbet. Now I don't know what most of those ingredients are, but they were DELICIOUS. It had a buttery/salty taste that was so unexpected, but so good! I'd order this every time.



It was such a fun evening! It was surprising because we were both somewhat nervous. We go to dinner casually a lot, but rarely a formal date. It was cute. It felt it was our first date all over again. Ah...cloud nine.