Best Birthday Week! Or Why I Will Need Bigger Pants In the Near Future

This week I celebrated one of the best birthday weeks on record (and certainly a Foodie's dream birthday week).  Sunday, I met up with Elizabeth a la The Waspy Redhead for brunch at Olivia.  She had the the corned beef hash and eggs, you can see below her photographing her meal, which I stole a bite of, it was fantastic.  We both had blood orange mimosas.





I had the south Austin croque senora.  Basically a sandwich filled with slow roasted chicken, prosciutto, and cheese, served with a fried egg and gravy and a boatload of fries.  I can't believe I ate the whole thing.  Then we shared a bread pudding for dessert.  The best friends are the ones that are already full to their eyeballs, but then agree to share bread pudding with you anyways.  Could not have had a more delightful meal with a dear old friend.  I can't believe we've known each other for 10 years!




Monday was fairly uneventful, I made shrimp masala and D and I went to the gym.  Tuesday I went to dinner with Christine at Gloria's and had their trio of ceviches.  Wednesday was my actual birthday and my parents sent me these pretty flowers at work and D had his own waiting for me at home.  We didn't get to go out to celebrate because I had a client in town, but my client is extremely pleasant, as are my coworkers, so it was hardly "work" to go out with them.  And I was able to convince them to go to Fonda San Miguel where I had my favorite margarita in all of Austin, the Silvercoin Margarita made with watermelon infused Patron Silver, Cointreau, and lime juice.  For dinner I had zucchini stuffed with corn and cheese and smothered in red sauce and for dinner we all shared some of their amazing Tres Leches.





Thursday we had dinner with some of Darryl's coworkers and their wives.  We grilled steaks and had shells and cheese and a spinach kiwi salad and lots of good wine and conversation.  I really enjoy hanging out with this group of people, they're all really smart and funny and the food is always GREAT!  Friday night I picked up something on the way home, but we ended up meeting 2 other couples (including Christine) at the Daily Grill  for late night happy hour in honor of my birthday.  These 2 couples are definitely 4 of my favorite people, I was so glad the 6 of us were able to spend time together.  I specifically only invited them because I wanted to make sure to have lots of time with them.

So, Saturday rolled around.  Note that I have only been to the gym once this week.  Yes, it's time to ring the fatty alert again because Saturday night we had dinner at Vespaio.  Darryl had the filet mingon with pancetta mashed potatoes and broccoli and I had the seafood mixed grill which included grilled shrimp on cheesey polenta, a crab cake with an arugula garnish, and a grilled fish on a broccoli cheese casserole.  For dessert I had espresso and tiramisu.




Darryl had a molten chocolate cake with chocolate gelatto.  Everything was absolutely amazing! 



A bit of advice if you want to have a fabulous date with your honey at Vespaio on a Saturday night.  Get there EARLY!  They don't take reservations, so we got there at 6:30 and were told we'd have a 45 minute wait.  Even though we arrived so early, we snagged the last 2 seats at the bar.  Their food really lived up to the hype.  Often times we go to these fancy pants restaurants and Darryl moans and groans because he claims he could get just as good of a meal at the Outback Steakhouse and can't see paying that much for food.  Vespaio was totally worth it, I heard nothing but good things from his side of the table.  By the time we left at 8:30, the wait for a table was over 2 hours long. 

And thus, I ended my birthday week un-freaking-believable food binge.  Now, with my friend Janet's wedding in 2 months (and me in a bridesmaid dress) it's time for major healthy eating and exercise.  It's okay, I had a GREAT week of last meals!