One for the Books

Last night we celebrated the birthday of, who in a short time, is someone I call a dear friend and I am so thankful for her and her family. The evening was contagiously filled with laughter upon laughter. It was one for the books......incredibly relaxing; a night out on the town to put to-do lists away and brush away the anxieties that may have been a part of our week.

To celebrate we dined in one of Louisville's must-try restaurants Mojitos Tapas Restaurant. The decadence of this restaurant is due to the dainty, elegant dishes that are ordered and then shared. For starters we had this incredible, I mean incredible guacamole with the, catch, long curling strips of plantain chips. Shortly following were seasoned, sweet potato fries with thier popular smoked honey sauce for dipping. Then out comes these plump shrimp swimming in this incredible butter and garlic concoction that you layer with a piece of fresh bread, aioli, and pico de gallo-then if your smart you dip it again in the irresistible butter and garlic. Fried calamari is next and accompanied with fried tentacles (my husband's favorite-not really), roasted peppers, and the ingenious invention of fried olives with aioli and sweet chili sauce that I wanted to chug. Now for the meaty goodness of the evening, and what the men were anxiously anticipating.....grilled skirt steak, cooked to perfection with a green chimichurri sauce that I almost had my way with and shredded potato chips. Then out comes lamb chops (not the beloved children's puppet), but grilled and served over piquillo pepper hummus-there are no words. Favorites of this dinner extravaganza for me was the guacamole and plantain chips, the garlic shrimp, and the skirt steak with lamb chops close behind.

We ended the evening in style at The Cheesecake Factory where we practically swam in organic coffee and left on a sugar high. The table was filled with a slices of ridiculously, yummy cheesecake, and what some people may call a sin, Lemoncello Cream Torte which I ordered upon the waiters recommendation, and I am so glad I did. Layers of vanilla cake and lemon marscarpone cream, topped with streusel and served with strawberries and whipped cream. It is my favorite dessert I've had there by far. As we shared bites of our desserts my friend described mine perfectly as strawberry lemonade. To me it was just that, like a strawberry lemonade cream float-airy and creamy with the right amount of richness.

We serenaded the birthday girl when her cheesecake was placed on the table and she blew out her candle; all seemed right. More laughter filled our table as we all continued to grow in friendship and love for one another. Great food, a great evening, and great friends to share it with.