My birthday :: Part 3

cotogna! my much anticipated dinner date with my extraordinary husband finally was here and it was just perfect.  hours leading up to our 7:30 pm reservation, john, being the always prepared/conscientious driver that he is, was plotting a plan to bypass critical mass.  so we left a little earlier just in case we hit (not literally) those bicyclists in the city.  luckily, we completely missed the pack and got to cotogna a little early.  since our table was not quite ready, and there was no point in us sitting at the bar...you know,  since i can't drink (i did, however, have the tiniest sip of john's chianti during dinner to remind my taste buds how good wine is)...we decided to walk the hills of san francisco.

quince is right next to cotogna and this is their kitchen.  isn't it cool how we can see their glorious work space and all the work that needs to be done to run a restaurant?  i had to stand there and watch all the action.  it was sort of like part getting food at in-n-out and being in line at the drive thru where you can see them preparing the french fries by slamming the potatoes into the french fry cutter and part watching the food network/cooking channel on HD.  if you are obsessed with watching cooking shows like i am, then you will be able to appreciate my fascination for this detail of quince. and now onto cotogna!

 

here we have my handsome husband.
he is good lookin' but i'll admit, i was eyeing
that wine glass while i was taking
this picture ;-)

and here i am smiling at the menu.  in case you don't know me,
food gets me VERY excited.  i really enjoy reading menus.  i told you already...
i'm a big dork and a little weird at times.

this is what we ordered:

antipasti: pork belly, frisee and acorn squash

primi: tagliatelle with duck ragu

pizze (and no, i did not spell it wrong): genovese basil, fior di 

latte mozzarella & sweet 100 tomatoes

la griglia: mixed grill of lamb leg & shoulder

and now for some photos of the restaurant.

the grill.

the wood fire pizza oven

the bar.

there you have it dear friends, my birthday dinner with the husband.  oh my goodness, i almost forgot dessert!  sooooooo not like me.

here i am making my birthday wish.  and btw, this was the most
delicious apple crostini i've ever had.
i wanted more...

...so we stopped at mitchell's ice cream to get a tub of mexican
chocolate.  i would've bought grasshopper too,
but they were all out =(

the end.

My birthday kick off :: Part 2

when my brother got home he surprised me with a sweet birthday card and baby gabriella's first gift.

of course he had to get her 49er's gear.
btw, i'm sot so sure about stripes anymore...

then we headed to san mateo with my parents to celebrate my birthday at himawari.  so far ramen dojo takes the cake.  but himawari was good too.  overall, this has got to be one of the best birthday kick offs for me.  i really have to count my blessings!  34 ain't too shabby ;-)

i am stuffed!  the birthday marathon takes a break tomorrow (gotta work), but then friday is cotogna and sat is dinner with my cousins.  life is good.

My birthday kick off :: Part 1

ok, ok. so it's not quite my birthday yet.  but john and i just received the best news we could ever have hoped for.  are you ready?

by the way, john is just being silly by making that face.  he really wanted a girl.  GABRIELLA ANTONIO ADONA it is, and we couldn't feel anymore blessed.  next up, himawari for dinner!


PS

dear baby,
last night i had a dream about you and i dreamt i was having a baby girl, but we had named you emily.  it was so ironic because it was the very first time i had ever dreamed about you and up until that moment i thought i was having a boy.  after that dream, i was certain i was having a girl.  so when the doctor told us the news, i just smiled, because i already knew ;-)

Dude Group.

is this what john has to look forward too??  going from this...

cool, childless, buff dude who can
workout whenever he wants to, go where ever he
wants to, and do whatever he wants to...

to this...

or this?

or this?

or even this?

i know i'm a big dork, and corny at times, but writing this post made me chuckle =)