La Grenouille May 20, 2008

Today I celebrated my 13th wedding anniversary at La Grenouille, the venerable New York French restaurant, with my wonderful wife. We had a Kir Royale as an apéritif. For the first course, I had Les Asperges Tièdes à l’Oeuf Poché (Warm Asparagus with Poached Egg) and my wife had two small, lightly fried, soft-shell crabs. For the second course we had Le Cabillaud aux Pommes de Terre et Anchois (Cod with Anchovies, Olives, Capers, Shallot Crust with Lemon Zest) and the La Sole Grillée, Sauce Moutarde (Grilled Dover Sole, Mustard Sauce). Finally we had La Tourte Chaude au Chocolat Amer (Warm Bitter Chocolate Tort) and a warm apple tart. The restaurant offered us a glass of Crémant, the sparkling Alsace wine of France, to enjoy with the desserts.
It started to rain lightly just as we arrived but by the time our lunch was over, a steady rain was falling, looking a lot like this illustration. It might have been a bit dreary outside, but inside, there was a special celebration, so fitting for the person sitting next to me. Je t’aime.