DON'T read this if you're really trying hard to stay on your diet!!!
OK, we cheated in a BIG way, but not as big as we used to, honestly, and I have to tell you guys about the BEST dining experience I've had in a really long time.
Phil and I decided to try to make up our date night since the last one we had ended up with Phil in the hotel bed with shaking chills and a fever of 102. We farmed the kids off to willing victims, I mean friends, (thanks guys!) and headed to Morgantown.
The evening started with a hitch, as we had wanted to get a shuttle or cab to high street so we could go clubbing afterwards, but the taxi never showed up, so we ended up late for our dinner reservations.
No problem! The hostess at Madeleine's on High Street was amazing. She sat us with no issues and our waitress, Melissa, was very patient with us while we were kind of awed by the menu. As you guys know, we've been medifasting for two months with only the very occasional diversions. None have been whole hog diversions (excuse the pun), so we were kind of overwhelmed. The menu was truly amazing, but as many foodies that read this blog know, often, the more flowery the description, the less likely the food is good. Melissa was very informative, and led us to good decisions about our meals. I was really leaning toward this huge pasta dish, but she told me (very astutely) that given that I'd been on a very limited diet for 2 months, the pasta dish might be too heavy and I wouldn't enjoy it as much as some of the other items on the menu. Awesome. I was impressed.
So, here goes...
Starters:
Phil ordered buttermilk battered fried oysters served with traditional tartar and cocktail sauce. They were amazing, delicate, not greasy. You could really taste the oyster. So good, but NOTHING compared to what I ordered...
I had an organic (local grown) rabbit turine. (sp?) This is how it goes - bits of the rabbit meat are mixed with onions, peppers, celery, and some binding agents. It's laid in a base of a gelled tomato base (sounds weird, but so good) then wrapped around a tenderloin of the rabbit and set. It was served with marmalade-d shallots, a creamy sauce, and a salad of greens with white beans and bits of bacon. The salad tasted like bean with bacon soup with greens in it. Believe me - that's good. I can't think of another dish that I've ever had that was that good.
For mid-course, Phil had broccoli cheese soup. Sounds plebeian, right? Not a chance. He started with a bacon base and it only got better. Most of us are used to thick, cheesy, goopy broccoli cheese soup. Not that I dislike that, I'm a big fan of the goopy stuff, but this was exquisite. It was light, flavorful, smoky goodness.
I had a salad of mixed greens, herbed goat cheese, crispy fried onions, and truffle dressing. OMG - so freakin good. I can't even tell you.
For dinner, Phil ordered the 18 oz bone in rib eye with asparagus and mashed potatoes. It was seasoned (gasp!) and cooked to perfection. He didn't eat the potatoes, because instead, we ordered fresh cut fries with pumpkin aioli, smoked ketchup, and a mayonnaise dip. I didn't know that smoked ketchup and pumpkin aioli would be a good combination, but I couldn't stop eating it. It was smoky, tangy, and sweet, and the fries were perfectly cooked.
I got a potato and goat cheese roulade. I know, no meat - WTF??? It was amazing. It was thinly sliced potatoes wrapped around goat cheese, zucchini, artichoke hearts, arugula, and quinoa with a tangy tomato type sauce on the side. It was heavenly. I am not a huge fan of non meat dishes, but the waitress told me it was good and would sit better than the amazing looking pasta. She was absolutely right.
We were planning on going to BW3s for trivia afterwards, but by this time, we'd decided that we were not going to make it because we were starting to feel really full and sleepy. When Melissa came by and told us the desserts, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. My FAVORITE dessert in the world is a flourless chocolate tort (sp?). I LOVE them. I search them out. Well, guess what? That was the first dessert listed. Honestly, I think it had a mocha sauce and home made whipped cream, but I'm not sure. It was amazing!! Honestly, the best I've ever had. Dense, but not too dense. Rich, but with a tiny bitterness to take the edge off. The mocha sauce was divine.
Phil had crepes with lemon creme and chocolate sauce. I don't know about those - I was lost in mine.
Topped off with some excellent wine and decaf coffee - couldn't have been a better dinner if we'd planned it ourselves.
We were honored to have the chef, Brian Wallace, came out to make sure we enjoyed dinner. He told us he'd trained at Fairmont State and then at the Greenbrier. He was very personable and proud of his work.
If anyone is in Morgantown and looking for a place to eat - check it out - it's across the street from the Hotel Morgan on High Street.
As for the diet, tomorrow is another day. We're starting back on medifast in the AM. We're also planning to do some vigorous exercise tomorrow to try to make up for the meal tonight. Everything has it's price, and that's the price we've got to pay for this meal. Bring it on, I'll pay it over and over. I told the chef and the waitress to look for us again - just not for a couple of months. We can only do this once in a great while and still stick with our eating (and financial) program. Hopefully, they'll remember the goofy couple who just about had a forgasm (food orgasm) in the front window of the restaurant!
As for the rest of our date, lets just say that we usually plan on the fact that we won't be able to do anything AFTER dinner, so we plan accordingly... :-)
Have a great night, friends, and tune in Sunday for our lean and green rendition of tuna oscar ala Phil and Mindy. We're having some friends over for dinner, and are planning this plus asparagus and green salad with fig balsamic for dinner. Back to the program, but still living the foodie lifestyle!
Dr. Mindy
OK, we cheated in a BIG way, but not as big as we used to, honestly, and I have to tell you guys about the BEST dining experience I've had in a really long time.
Phil and I decided to try to make up our date night since the last one we had ended up with Phil in the hotel bed with shaking chills and a fever of 102. We farmed the kids off to willing victims, I mean friends, (thanks guys!) and headed to Morgantown.
The evening started with a hitch, as we had wanted to get a shuttle or cab to high street so we could go clubbing afterwards, but the taxi never showed up, so we ended up late for our dinner reservations.
No problem! The hostess at Madeleine's on High Street was amazing. She sat us with no issues and our waitress, Melissa, was very patient with us while we were kind of awed by the menu. As you guys know, we've been medifasting for two months with only the very occasional diversions. None have been whole hog diversions (excuse the pun), so we were kind of overwhelmed. The menu was truly amazing, but as many foodies that read this blog know, often, the more flowery the description, the less likely the food is good. Melissa was very informative, and led us to good decisions about our meals. I was really leaning toward this huge pasta dish, but she told me (very astutely) that given that I'd been on a very limited diet for 2 months, the pasta dish might be too heavy and I wouldn't enjoy it as much as some of the other items on the menu. Awesome. I was impressed.
So, here goes...
Starters:
Phil ordered buttermilk battered fried oysters served with traditional tartar and cocktail sauce. They were amazing, delicate, not greasy. You could really taste the oyster. So good, but NOTHING compared to what I ordered...
I had an organic (local grown) rabbit turine. (sp?) This is how it goes - bits of the rabbit meat are mixed with onions, peppers, celery, and some binding agents. It's laid in a base of a gelled tomato base (sounds weird, but so good) then wrapped around a tenderloin of the rabbit and set. It was served with marmalade-d shallots, a creamy sauce, and a salad of greens with white beans and bits of bacon. The salad tasted like bean with bacon soup with greens in it. Believe me - that's good. I can't think of another dish that I've ever had that was that good.
For mid-course, Phil had broccoli cheese soup. Sounds plebeian, right? Not a chance. He started with a bacon base and it only got better. Most of us are used to thick, cheesy, goopy broccoli cheese soup. Not that I dislike that, I'm a big fan of the goopy stuff, but this was exquisite. It was light, flavorful, smoky goodness.
I had a salad of mixed greens, herbed goat cheese, crispy fried onions, and truffle dressing. OMG - so freakin good. I can't even tell you.
For dinner, Phil ordered the 18 oz bone in rib eye with asparagus and mashed potatoes. It was seasoned (gasp!) and cooked to perfection. He didn't eat the potatoes, because instead, we ordered fresh cut fries with pumpkin aioli, smoked ketchup, and a mayonnaise dip. I didn't know that smoked ketchup and pumpkin aioli would be a good combination, but I couldn't stop eating it. It was smoky, tangy, and sweet, and the fries were perfectly cooked.
I got a potato and goat cheese roulade. I know, no meat - WTF??? It was amazing. It was thinly sliced potatoes wrapped around goat cheese, zucchini, artichoke hearts, arugula, and quinoa with a tangy tomato type sauce on the side. It was heavenly. I am not a huge fan of non meat dishes, but the waitress told me it was good and would sit better than the amazing looking pasta. She was absolutely right.
We were planning on going to BW3s for trivia afterwards, but by this time, we'd decided that we were not going to make it because we were starting to feel really full and sleepy. When Melissa came by and told us the desserts, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. My FAVORITE dessert in the world is a flourless chocolate tort (sp?). I LOVE them. I search them out. Well, guess what? That was the first dessert listed. Honestly, I think it had a mocha sauce and home made whipped cream, but I'm not sure. It was amazing!! Honestly, the best I've ever had. Dense, but not too dense. Rich, but with a tiny bitterness to take the edge off. The mocha sauce was divine.
Phil had crepes with lemon creme and chocolate sauce. I don't know about those - I was lost in mine.
Topped off with some excellent wine and decaf coffee - couldn't have been a better dinner if we'd planned it ourselves.
We were honored to have the chef, Brian Wallace, came out to make sure we enjoyed dinner. He told us he'd trained at Fairmont State and then at the Greenbrier. He was very personable and proud of his work.
If anyone is in Morgantown and looking for a place to eat - check it out - it's across the street from the Hotel Morgan on High Street.
As for the diet, tomorrow is another day. We're starting back on medifast in the AM. We're also planning to do some vigorous exercise tomorrow to try to make up for the meal tonight. Everything has it's price, and that's the price we've got to pay for this meal. Bring it on, I'll pay it over and over. I told the chef and the waitress to look for us again - just not for a couple of months. We can only do this once in a great while and still stick with our eating (and financial) program. Hopefully, they'll remember the goofy couple who just about had a forgasm (food orgasm) in the front window of the restaurant!
As for the rest of our date, lets just say that we usually plan on the fact that we won't be able to do anything AFTER dinner, so we plan accordingly... :-)
Have a great night, friends, and tune in Sunday for our lean and green rendition of tuna oscar ala Phil and Mindy. We're having some friends over for dinner, and are planning this plus asparagus and green salad with fig balsamic for dinner. Back to the program, but still living the foodie lifestyle!
Dr. Mindy
Sounds Oh so scrumptious!!!
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