And the Birthday Continues...

Saturday night, David took me out for a birthday dinner at a surprise location: The Green Table, inside Chelsea Market.

Surprisingly, I'd never been to Chelsea Market after all these years and with every turn, I was in anticipation of where our final destination would be. We arrived at a quaint, little eatery that looked warm and inviting; I commented, in fact, that it looked like it'd be a nice place to work.

local artisanal cheese plate

After ordering two glasses of Tiamo, organic prosecco, we decided upon sharing the local artisanal cheese plate. Upon the board: port-poached figs, local honey, chef's selection of cheeses and Amy's bread, on the side. The softest, camembert, was the creamiest and "funkiest" camembert that either David or I had ever had. And the local honey was the most "organic" I'd ever had--it seemed "very unfiltered" and natural. I don't know what pollen would taste like, but I imagine it'd taste something like this honey did.

beef bourguignon pot pie, mac & cheese, marinated and warmed olives

For our main course, we decided upon beef bourguignon pot pie (David said they come highly recommended), mac & cheese and warmed and marinated olives. I normally never order "mac & cheese" at any restaurant, but since I'd gotten hooked on Cookshop's, I've been craving it much more ever since...

moo-ooooo!

Our pot pie was quite comforting with its big, meaty pieces of beef as was the mac & cheese with its crunchy, crusty topping. But for me, the highlight of the main course was the unassuming olives! Marinated and warmed (and very fresh-tasting), I never would have known olives could taste so good--"I feel like I'm in Jerusalem!" Following the main course, David suggested we skip dessert--"We have an appointment at 10:40." Thus, he collected the check and led us north to the 34th Street Loews Theater.

"the best in the world" --Katherine Hepburn

Once settled into our seats, David pulled out from his bag a surprise box of chocolates from Mondel--my favorite chocolate store!

a surprise worth waiting for

Nestled within the ribbon-wrapped box were my favorite dark chocolate-covered green marzipan with coconut flakes, dark chocolate champagne truffles and milk chocolate espresso truffles! The chocolates barely lasted through 'act one,' but I'll say it once more: it was my best birthday yet.