Valentine’s Day for Many Days

Valentine’s Day this year has been split into 3 parts.  February 14th started with a fun delivery to work!

Tulips & Irises!

Every Tuesday for 8 weeks, Tebow has puppy preschool where he is learning:

A) Commands like sit & heel

B) To trust other people by participating in ‘Pass the Puppy.’  This is to prep the puppies for future visits to the vet, groomer, etc.  We want Tebow to be a pleasure to work with, not a dog that people are scared will bite them if he gets his ears checked or his teeth cleaned.

C) To conquer fears so he is not scared, and therefore less likely to get aggressive.  Walking a balance beam and climbing over an incline is helping with this.

Tebow is a very social puppy and is so far loving the class and his classmates.  He has made friends like Ramsey the chocolate lab and Josie the Golden Retriever, lol!  I love watching the wiggly little puppies play and have fun.  Melts my heart!

So because of Tebow’s class, our Valentine’s Day dinner was postponed to Wednesday.  However, the celebration started again at work, this time with a little something sweet!

Shari’s Berries!  Gourmet chocolate covered strawberries!  Sent with a note ‘I can’t wait for dinner tonight.’

I don’t know what I did to be so spoiled this year, but let me tell you, I’m not complaining!

My husband was right though, he couldn’t wait for dinner and I couldn’t either when he told me where we were going.

Carlo & Johnny is located in Montgomery, Ohio and was recommended by my friend Meghan and her boyfriend Josh.  Here is a summary:

“Following the Jeff Ruby tradition of fine dining in unique settings is Carlo & Johnny. This beautiful mansion has a storied history as a casino and Mafia hangout, adorned with antiques and unique appointments, including the doorknobs from Al Capone’s winter home.”

Pretty cool right?

The restaurant was different than we expected!  It was a lot more casual and the after-work, cocktail drinking people were out in full force.  The restaurant had a great, laid back atmosphere.  Not what you’d think from a restaurant with a menu as expensive as it is, but it was a great place to relax and enjoy a delicious meal.

You can tell from the pictures above that the restaurant was dimly lit, but it added to the aura of being in an old mansion.  I liked that it didn’t feel so much like a restaurant, but more like being in someone’s huge home for a dinner party!

Dinner started with a half bottle of Three Vineyards Row Eleven.  It was a nice and light pinot without the bite.

The fresh bread that was served consisted of hot, fresh out of the oven sourdough and a pretzel rye bread with a salted crust.  It was served with butter and a mushroom butter.

The sourdough was amazing!  I am not a huge fan of rye, but the salted crust won me over.  Both were thick, chewy, and freshly baked.

The mushroom butter was a fun surprise.  The flavor was heavy and filled with herbs.  The JR on the butter stands for Jeff Ruby, who owns multiple fine dining restaurants.

Tim and I split the Grilled Cheese Salad – Crispy Haloumi Cheese, Baby Arugula, Pinenuts, Pomegranate & Sherry Vinaigrette.

This was so good!  The cheese was smoky and gooey and the Pinenuts added a nice crunch.

For dinner, we split two sides, the Baked Macaroni and Cheese & the Steakhouse Steamed Asparagus.  They were served family style and we dipped out our own servings.  I had mine along with the Queen Filet Mignon – Our Petite Filet, 9 oz.

I wish that these pictures were clearer, because man oh man was this delicious!  The asparagus was perfectly cooked with still a little bite.  The macaroni and cheese was creamy and had the perfect crispy cheese crust on baked on top.  My filet was cooked medium-rare and literally melted in my mouth.  It was amazing!

Let’s just say we were both stuffed.  My husband actually ordered the Cowboy Steak – U.S.D.A. Prime Bone-In Ribeye, 24 oz.  Holy moly!  It was massive, but he said it was delicious too.  Dessert was skipped, except for the free jelly beans that were in a bowl by the exit door.

For a to-go bag?  A reusable carrier to hold our massive amount of leftovers.  They even boxed up more fresh bread and new butter to go as well!

Overall, Tim and I had a great time.  We enjoyed soaking up the restaurant ambiance as well as each other’s company.  Our third Valentine’s Day event is coming this weekend so this has been such a fun and exciting week for me! 

After all the indulgences this week, I want to get back on track with exercise and healthy eating.  I wanted to work out this morning, because that is the best way for me to recover from a meal as delicious as the one last night.  However, sleep won this morning.  I didn’t want to be a grouch all day, which I can become without adequate sleep!  I have a fun exercise planned tonight though so stay tuned!

Questions:

What did you get for Valentine’s Day?

How do you get back on track after an indulgent meal, day, or week?!

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