Valentine’s Evening

Last night was a great mid-week date night thanks to Valentine’s Day…oh and my wonderful boyfriend who planned it.  We hit up Distrito, a nice Mexican restaurant, for dinner followed by some active fun skating under the stars at Penn’s Landing afterwards.

For dinner, we had the option to dine off the a la carte menu or to do one of the tastings.  There were two tastings to choose from at $45 or $60.  We thought the best bet was to get a tasting menu because it came with a lot of food.  I’m still pretty new to Mexican (especially anything that isn’t chips and guacamole, tacos, or enchiladas) so a tasting menu was a perfect way to try some new things! 

We were given some spicy peanuts to munch on while we pondered our dinner order.

I was feeling festive so I ordered a frozen margarita which was super delicious. 

DISTRITO (HOUSE) SAUZA HORNITAS PLATA–ORANGE–LIME WITH FRESH FRUIT

SALSA VERDE
TOMATILLO, JALAPEÑO, CILANTRO

GUACAMOLE
MASHED AVOCADO, JALAPEÑO, COTIJA CHEESE, HOUSE-MADE TORTILLA CHIPS

CHILANGO CHOP
ROMAINE, BABY ARUGULA, WATERCRESS, GREEN APPLES, CRANBERRIES,
SPICED PECANS, HONEY-LIME VINAIGRETTE

CEVICHE DE CAMARONES
SHRIMP, SPICY TOMATO, AVOCADO, PLANTAIN CHIP

TACOS DE MAHI MAHI
CHIPOTLE REMOULADE, AVOCADO, RED CABBAGE, LIME

HUARACHE DE HONGOS
FOREST MUSHROOMS, HUITLACOCHE SAUCE, QUESO MIXTO,
BLACK TRUFFLE, CORN SHOOT

LOS CALLOS
DIVER SCALLOPS, PINEAPPLE, GRAPEFRUIT, HABANERO REDUCTION

CARNE ASADA
ADOBO GRILLED 12OZ NY STRIP, CREAMY POBLANO CORN RICE, CRISPY TOMATILLO

(I’m not a huge scallops fan, so Joe got a scallop and I switched mine out for a chicken enchilada)

CHURROS
SPICY VALRHONA CHOCOLATE SAUCE, CAJETA CREMA

It was an awesome meal with great company.  I loved getting the chance to try a ton of food while not paying the a la carte price that Distrito usually charges.  The tasting menu is definitely the way to go! 

After our romantic dinner, we headed downtown to Penn’s Landing to go ice skating at the Blue Cross River Rink.  I’ve been saying to Joe for years that I’ve wanted to go skating at Penn’s Landing, and he surprised me by buying tickets for the Valentine’s Day couples skate.  $20 a person got us 3 hours of skating, but we only went for the last hour since we went to dinner and knew we probably didn’t want to skate longer than that.  It was really fun, and it was so nice to skate around (ok…have Joe pull me since I’m not as good as skating as I remember being), look at the city, bridge, and water.  Definitely a great end to the evening.  It was also great since I hadn’t hit up the gym that day due to trying to get work done before class and our date so I could enjoy the whole evening and not have to go back to my work.  It was great to get a little bit of a calorie burn in after our big meal!

One last shout out to my best friend Joe.  He makes every day great, and lately has been incredibly supportive of me while I’ve been extra stressed with life and school.  You are the best, and I don’t know what I would do without you.

Today’s lunch, while much more boring than last night’s dinner, was very fresh and delicious.  A turkey, turkey bacon, tomato, and light mayo sandwich on an Arnold’s sandwich thin with a side of grapes and half of a grape fruit. 

Wednesday is truly hump day since I have lab in the morning, class all day, gym for a quick elliptical and strength session, and tonight I have lots of practice for my big seminar lined up.  I will be officially presenting two weeks from tomorrow, and I can’t wait to be done.  Until then, seminar is my middle name. 

What did you guys do to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year???