Our 3rd Anniversary: Lobsters, SkinnyGirl & Light Horse Tavern

Yesterday Shaun and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary, after marrying on a beach in Aruba in 2008. Thank you all for your kind words :)

We actually started our anniversary celebration on Saturday evening, since Mondays are not exactly known for being the biggest celebratory night of the week. To make things a bit special, we decided to go a little bit out of the box for our dinner at home. We wanted seafood...so that's what we made. And by we, I mean Shaun prepared everything while I sat on the couch. It was heavenly.

We started the evening with grilled shrimp. Tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, these shrimp were tender with a tiny crispiness on the outside. A little homemade cocktail sauce took these to perfection.

For the main attraction, we wanted lobster. We haven't made lobster in a very long time and we were both so excited for this dinner! This is the part that I especially sat on the couch for - I'm not into doing the deed when it comes to lobster, so Shaun dutifully took over. With a little bit of clarified butter on the side, the lobster were sweet and tender and oh-so-delicious.

It's hard to top such a fantastic, cozy dinner at home (my favorite kind), but when Monday rolled around, we realized that we did not want to cook at home. Shaun first greeted me with a SkinnyGirl Margarita as soon as I arrived home from work. I'm pretty sure he's a keeper, that one :) He made them fancy by shaking it over ice first, adding a lime slice and coating the top in salt. Happiness.

We enjoyed these out on our terrace while we exchanged gifts. I gave Shaun a framed vintage map of the world (circa 1922) since he is a history buff and we are both big travelers. I thought it would be a great addition to our gallery wall, or even the beginning of a new wall in our office. Since the 3rd anniversary is leather, Shaun thoughtfully gifted me with a leather journal, complete with handmade pages - the perfect gift for me since I always carry around a notebook for blog ideas, to-do lists and any other ideas that I want to record. Now I can do that in style :)

As for our dinner, we chose Light Horse Tavern in Jersey City, one of our all time favorite restaurants. You may also see our delicious Valentine's brunch at Light Horse Tavern post from a few months ago. Yum.

We started our meal with a glass of wine for me and a beer for Shaun. To kick off the goods, we ordered a raw bar platter, complete with oysters, 2 types of clams and mussels. I've never seen Shaun so happy - he adores seafood!

We also ordered a cheese plate, which I absolutely adore. Manchego, Blue and Talleggio graced the plate, topped with fig chutney (swoon), carmelized nuts and lavendar honey.

For my main course, I chose the barbecued skirt steak with grilled onions and jalapeno polenta. This meal was really so wonderful. The steak was sweet and savory while the polenta added a bit of spice. I want this everyday.

Shaun chose a roasted duck breast. Now, I'm typically not a big fan of duck since I find it a bit greasy. But Oh.My.Word. This duck was amazing! It had a crispy layer of fat over the breast which just melted in the mouth. It was truly fantastic.

If you can believe it, we chose to skip dessert. I was SO stuffed after this dinner! Not to worry. Since my birthday is quickly approaching, I've already informed Shaun that clearly cupcakes will be necessary.

So there you have it. Our multi-day anniversary celebration. So what do you think? Are you a seafood eater? Of the raw variety? What's your favorite special meal?

Brunch at Lighthorse Tavern

As I mentioned yesterday, Shaun and I had a Sunday Funday Valentine's Day. A full day of hanging out and having fun. It's what any holiday should be, right? A few of you asked about The King's Speech, and I just want to say that for the record, we really liked this movie. It was just so fun. I've always been a Colin Firth fan and it was fun to see him in a different kind of role where he could really show his talent! We didn't know what to expect from this movie (and admittedly we both felt a little daunted by it before the movie) but we were really glad we picked this as our date day film :)

Before the moooovie, we decided that it would be fun to go out for brunch, rather than dinner. It's one of my favorite past times, after all. And that way, we could enjoy the night at home with a candlelit dinner. We picked Lighthorse Tavern, my absolute favorite restaurant in Jersey City. Though it's called a Tavern, don't be fooled by its moniker. Though it is casual, the food is upscale and absolutely out of this world. We've gone for a few dinners (their skirt steak is uh-mazing!) and always sit in the upstairs, overlooking this cuteness:

Though we hadn't ever gone for brunch, after spotting oysters, bourbon vanilla French toast, eggs Benedict and other delectables, we were pretty sure we were in for a whole lotta delicious. We started out our meal with some cocktails; mimosa for me, bloody mary for Shaun.

And since we share a love of oysters, these were a must. We ordered 6 oysters to share. They were cool, crisp, fresh and sweet. A bit of cocktail sauce made these pure seafood perfection. Oh and in case I wasn't already missing summer like it's my job, these little bits of summertime just solidified it.

You know there was no way I could pass up my ultimate favorite breakfast...pancakes! These were ricotta pancakes with a bit of blueberry compote and lemon ricotta. They were fluffy and super moist. And perhaps the best pancakes of all time. Just sayin'.

Shaun, always the savory man, ordered the special...eggs benedict over duck, rather than ham. A bit of truffle oil finished off the dish. Though it was rich, it was entirely fantastic.

Which made my non-pork eating Valentine pretty psyched.

I kinda liked it too.

It's no surprise that by the end, our plates looked like this.

Don't tell anyone.

So there it is. The tale of our favorite brunch to date and a couple of pancakes that I've been dreaming about for the last couple of days. Oh and the oysters weren't bad either. So what I want to know is: Do you like to go out for brunch or stay in? And bonus question: What good movies have you seen lately?

Restaurant Roundup: Skinner's Loft

Last weekend, Shaun and I ditched our plans of heading into Manhattan and instead opted for some exploring in Jersey City. Since we rarely venture into the JC outside of our small neighborhood, it was really a treat. The place? Skinner's Loft, a small two story bar and restaurant featuring exposed brick and stained glass. With eclectic dishware and pillows, it kind of felt like dining in an Anthropologie catalog-esque bar. The menu featured an array of American-style dishes with a special Small Plates menu. Well, they must've known I was coming. After all, small plates are the perfect solution for a sampler (read: one who isn't content with one big meal, but must have small bites of lots of different things), such as myself. And oh did we sample.

Dinner started out with some brioche bread and olive oil for dipping. Served on super sweet Alice in Wonderland toile bread plates, it was impossible not to enjoy.

Post bread, we ordered a handful of mouth-watering eats, albeit extremely unhealthy. Filet Mignon sliders with the most delectable shoestring fries I've ever laid eyes on...

Creamy macaroni and cheese, the single-handed culprit who made me fall asleep earlier than planned (causing an unfortunate snoozefest during a viewing of Inglorious Basterds) that night...

House cured olives...the only thing missing were the marcona almonds...See those white things? Yeah, that's whole cloves of roasted garlic, not almonds as I had hoped...

And the surprise star, cheese dip with potatoes and apples...

The small plates made Skinner's just my kind of place. A table full of eats to sample? Okay by me...But what I really want to know is, how do you like to eat? Do you like a huge plate full of the goods? Do you like to sample? Are you an appetizer-only eater?