Our anniversary was last week, but because we had family visiting (and I had a slew of foods for New Year’s day), we decided to postpone our celebratory dinner. We picked La Griglia because our love for Italian food has been revived since we ate at North Italia.
This is from their outdoor seating area. I’m seeing more and more of this water and fire feature and I’m loving it!This is the interior. Walls are swathed with murals. I’m glad I was able to take this pic early because the restaurant got packed fast.We started with Barolo and Italian MargaritaPepper crusted AHI TUNA with caramelized fennel for appetizersLavander-crusted Maple Farm Farm Duck with wild riceMedallions of beef with gorgonzola, wild mushroom, shallot-pepper sauce and nonna potatoesChocolate Dome cake for dessert!
This was a quiet celebration, compared to what we had last year at Toulouse (they served our dessert with fireworks!). We initially booked there but it was close for a private function. La Griglia is wonderful restaurant, they just don’t do celebrations well (at all). On any old dinner night, this is still an awesome choice.
I spent my birthday at work then at a high school auditorium, sitting for two hours, waiting for my son’s 20 second marimba solo—because that’s what people my age do. Adulting. I hate that word. I could have gone downtown and drunk myself to a stupor like I did in my 20’s. But I actually looked forward to hearing B’s solo, so I decided to spend it there. I think that’s what being an adult is about—having a host of options and picking the most meaningful one.
It was late as we got home, so we just had the cake i got from Goldbely.
Raspberry Lemon cake-yum!This cake is not big enough for all 46 candles
Nevertheless, D wanted me to have a birthday dinner, so he booked a dinner at Mastro’s for this weekend. It is chain of steakhouses all over the US. I would normally frown on anything “chain” but this is an exception. You would think, that as Houstonians, we need another steakhouse like we need another hole in our head. But this is definitely different. The food and service blows away all competitors. If there is one steakhouse I would recommend to anyone, this is definitely it.
The place is beautiful. We were seated near the water feature which is far from the loud live band.I had the Winter Delight and D had a Saint Emilion 2011.Alaskan King Crab Stuffed MushroomsMy birthday Steak–Japanese A5 Wagyu New York SteakD had his usual Center Cut FiletThis side is tonight’s winner —Alaskan King Crab Black Truffle GnocchiHappy, steak-filled facesMy birthday dessert!
I eat out almost 2-3 times a week, and while it’s true that I still feel a lot of excitement when trying out a new restaurant, a steakhouse rarely does it for me. Well, this one did. The energy was vibrant, food was amazing and the exceptional service really blew me away. I’m really glad that there is more availability of good Japanese steak. There was actually a lot of sushi options on the menu but we already ordered way too much food. We will leave that till next visit because we will surely be back!
