Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Congratulations Dinner

Our plan of eating out at Emilio's was squashed when someone from the restaurant called - the day of our reservation - to say they were remodeling and wouldn't be offering dinner. Was this a recent plan we wondered? Oh well, we quickly regrouped and made a reservation at the last place Casey worked as a buser; Chandler's Steakhouse. None of us had eaten there so we were looking forward to a change of scenery.



We started our dinner off with two appetizers; Shrimp Scampi and Mediterranean Mussels.
Both were delicious.































Chandler's wine list includes over 300 wines. We went with Bodegas Trapiche, Broquel '05 and followed that with Magari, Ca'Marcanda, Gaja '05.








Vanessa, Chris and I ordered the Prix Fixe Menu which at $27 includes soup or salad, entrée and dessert. Seemed like a bargain, and it was. Chris and Vanessa both went with the Pork Tenderloin (Herb encrusted tenderloin of pork with roasted garlic mashed potatoes finished with a peppercorn sauce).

I chose the one vegetarian option, the Vegetarian Torte (Phyllo-filled with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper, mushrooms, ricotta cheese, wild rice and basil on a bed of fresh spinach with roasted garlic sage butter and fresh chanterelles).

Kim ordered the Alaskan King Salmon (Pan-seared filet of fresh wild king salmon set on garlic mashed potatoes with roasted shallots, wild mushrooms and a pinot-noir sauce).

We were all thrilled with our choices. Definitely delicious.




























































Dessert was Fresh Fruit Cobbler, Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse and Butterscotch Crème brûlée.
































Kim, probably trying to explain some esoteric financial philosophy.




The "graduate" (Bachelor's degree in accounting), with boyfriend Chris.



And with Mom.




Kim and I.





And the whole group.
We were only missing Casey who is out on a fire in Utah.





So proud of our graduate.




Oh, and the bill; not bad.





We'll be happy to return to Chandler's. Great food, good service, nice atmosphere, and the live music was also appreciated.

12 comments:

Pat said...

Do you take your camera everywhere?

Yummy... Butterscotch Creme brulee.

Rosemary said...

my mouth is watering ,everything looks delicious.

Genie said...

Oh, man, I can still taste my just eaten lunch in my mouth but I'm starving again. I haven't eaten at a fine restaurant in 20 years. And I don't think I have ever tasted a truly fine wine. le Sigh. You'll have to drink on my behalf.

The waiter seemed quite happy to have his photo taken as he served more wine, that's nice!

Anonymous said...

Bonsoir, quel plaisir de vous voir réunis autour d'un bon repas, bien que je sois un bon cuisinier, je n'ai pas encore le plaisir de vous faire goûter à ma cuisine, un jour peut être... Ce qui me fait rappeler le "sketch" entre Vanessa et Thibeault, Vanessa qui essayait de manger avec un couteau et Thibeault sans !! Je repense souvent à cette soirée quand nous étions au restaurant à Toulon... Rafraîchis moi la mémoire, Chris ??? j'ai un doute ??? qui est-il ??
Bisous !!
François

Daisy said...

It's amazing that you got good shots in a restaurant. I'm always worried the "mood" lighting will be troublesome for this amateur.

Bek said...

Congratulations to your daughter's graduation! Big milestones need to be celebrated in a big way:)

The Hunky Gardener said...

Link away! I live for links!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am not to far away form Idaho living and gardening like mad in Alberta.

Have a great weekend!

Connie said...

That salmon looks wonderful....I would so choose that! So nice you could celebrate with your daughter.

Wurzerl said...

Congrats to your daughter' s graduation!!! Good news!!!
Yummy...what a wonderful lunch...now I' m so hungry!
Can you hear my stomach rumbles?
Have a great time Wurzerl

Anonymous said...

It all looks so delicious! Always great to share a good meal for a special occasion with loved-ones.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful occassion to celebrate. Good thing I ate dinner before reading this, it looks yummy.

Pat said...

Awfully quiet lately...
May I ask... what "zone" are your in?

Patsi