Sat night: Good Restaurant & the Pats

I've been scolded for not writing about my Saturday night which was actually not a home night watching movies for once. So, here I go.

We had plans to meet up with a good friend of mine from college and his girlfriend for dinner and to watch the Patriots game afterwards. Joe got Pats tickets (good for him) and I didn't want to cancel and waste the babysitter so I went anyway. It was a really fun night. I hadn't seen SV since right before I gave birth to Rory and before that since right before I gave birth to Shelagh. He's only seen me 8+ mos pregnant in the last 4 years and his girfriend had only met me pregnant. He was the first person I met at UVM the first day I got there and we've been friends ever since. An awesome guy and no matter how much time passes between seeing each other, it's like no time has gone by.

We went to the restaurant, Grotto, in Beacon Hill and it was really good. Kind of nouveau Italian/Mediterranean I'd say. Apps were all great...we shared an Arugula salad with prosciutto in a lemony vinagrette, cavatelli with sausage in a light tomato cream sauce (great!), and a shrimp/calamari salad. It was tough to pick an entree...I ended up with tenderloin with risotto and asparagus. SV had gnocchi with short ribs and gorgonzola and B had scallops with a pasta "blanket" over the top. It is my policy to try new things at restaurants and look for the weirdest thing or the item with a combination of ingredients that I wouldn't do at home usually. So, the tenderloin was an out of character choice for me. Further, I am REALLY picky about risotto. The truth is, I make great risotto and I never like it in restaurants...it's either too al dente or not rich enough or watery. I like it heavy and rich and kind of gooey. The waiter recommended it highly though, so I got it and it was pretty good. I was going to get the gnocchi, one of my favorite things, but I can't stand funky cheese and the gorgonzola scared me off. Plus, I'm also really picky about that...it's usually too soft at restaurants and I like it heavy and filling. It was awesome though.

Great chocolate cake thing for dessert to share and then off to the Red Hat to watch the game. I'm not a big bar person, but it wasn't too crowded so we got a table and could still watch the game and hear ourselves talk. Plus, SV was able to do his guy game thing and I could talk more with B and get to know her better. SV and I always chat about college friends, which is usually not as much fun for the person who didn't go. Happens with me and Joes friends from PC all the time, although I know most of the people they are generally talking about anyway. Second time for me drinking my new drink of choice - Raspberry Vodka with sprite and a splash of Cranberry. It's like a pregnancy drink (every ladies fave sprite and cran) with kick. I don't usually drink hard liquor drinks since I'm such a lightweight and get hungover so easily, but I was in the mood for a straw drink. Sidenote: Yeah Pats!! So glad they won again and keeping fingers crossed for a Patriots superbowl. Rory just got a Pats sweatshirt for his birthday and can now say "Go Pats!".

I didn't overdo it by any means, but still felt a little crappy in the morning. Joe was out until 130 or so but was a great sport and got up at 8ish with the kids so I could go to yoga. Good class, but proved that I've not been working very hard at the gym otherwise b/c yoga kicked my ass. I need a new routine. Perfect excuse to buy more magazines and start clipping exercises.