Early Valentine's

Robert and I always jump the gun and celebrate V-Day early because it's tough to find baby-sitters and the crowds sometimes make it hard to enjoy the night and take your time with each other. We love to go new places for dinner and Robert found this great little place called Bar Gernika in the Basque district in Downtown Boise. Robert served his mission in Spain so it was really exciting for him to find a place that had authentic Spanish food on the menu. Spanish food is really good (although sometimes it can be bland, they don't use salt and pepper like we do) so we were both really anticipating a great meal. It really is just a bar with a few tables in the back. The place really reminded us of some of the places we visited in Chicago. Really small, cramped and totally busy which made for a really fun atmosphere.

We decided to get a tortilla de patata with chorizo and some basque cheese as an appetizer. Robert makes tortillas for us at home often and he really is kinda picky about how they look and taste. When it was served Robert's face totally lit up and he said, "This is a real tortilla!" It was delicious and it came with really good crusty bread. The menu itself wasn't very big but everything sounded delicious and Robert had a hard time choosing. For our entrees, Robert ordered the chicken and sausage paella and I got a lamb sandwich. You have a few choices for sides, but you have to get the croquetas. They are these balls made with chicken and butter and flour that form a dough. They coat them with bread crumbs and then fry them. I didn't order them cause they sounded iffy to me (I don't love fried food) but I regretted it once Robert shared one with me. They were fun and different from the ordinary french fries. The food was great and Robert is still raving about the paella. I think I'll get that next time we visit. By the time we'd left we'd had an appetizer and two entrees for only $27 including tip.

We are telling all our friends and family about Bar Gernika because we really liked our experience there. It was small so it felt intimate, the food was great, the prices were fabulous (the most expensive thing on the menu was $9.50) and we knew it was going to be fun based on how crazy the place got. It was busy when we got there at 6:15, but by 7:30 when we left, there were lines of people waiting for the next open table. That's when you know the place is good!

After dinner we went and caught the movie Taken. It was really fast paced. It made me sad though because the story is based on trafficking women. Yuck! I hate knowing that kind of thing really exists. It was a great movie for Robert though because there was fighting, guns and major explosions, not to mention a few parts that just made you jump. Totally a guy movie. I was hoping to go to He's Just Not That Into You, but Robert couldn't quite convince himself it would be okay once he saw all the women and tweens in the theatre lobby and heard all the conversations about relationships. I started to laugh when I saw his reaction and knew that I would be going to see that movie with my mom and sister or some girlfriends. Can't blame a girl for being hopeful.

After the movie we stopped at Outback and just ordered dessert. They have this thing call the Chocolate Tower (I think). It's this ginormous piece of rich chocolate cake served with raspberry sauce and ice-cream. Um, YUM! So good! After that we had to face reality and go pick up Nate from my sister who graciously babysat. It was a great night and I wish we got to do that sort of thing more often. The only thing about the night that I would change is finding Nate wet in his pj's when I woke him up to go home. My favorite. Just when they've been potty trained for a while they slip one in on ya! Oh well, being a mom is great!

I hope everyone has a terrific Valentine's Day!