Even though my fiancé and I work together, we still sometimes feel like we don’t spend time with one another… quality time. We work in different departments and will usually see each other just for lunch. Also, by the time we get home, I’m usually in the kitchen while he’s catching up on the latest news, and then I retreat to do homework.
So, we’ve been toying with the idea of a monthly (at least!) date night where either of us plan the evening, and it’s just the two of us. Saturday was my fiancé’s turn, and he decided on dinner and dessert out. Since it’s been nice the past few days, we thought a trip down to Princeton would be a good change of pace; it wasn’t raining, and was around 45-50 degrees, so we were more than okay with having to park and then walk to our destinations. There are a ton of restaurants in the Princeton area, so we had some trouble deciding on where to eat.
After perusing a bunch of menus, we decided on Triumph Brewery, a place we’d been to before (only once), and really enjoyed. We arrived around 7p, and were told there would be an hour wait. It worked out, though, because we decided to head to the bar and get ourselves a beer. I went with the Honey Blonde, and fiancé got an Amber Ale – both were really good. Unfortunately we found ourselves next to a lonely talker, and instead of getting to talk to one another, we fielded questions and comments from him. Thankfully the wait wound up being only about 25 minutes, so we were able to sneak off to our own table.
We started off with their hummus and pita, and it was delicious. Perfectly creamy with a little zing of spice and lemon, and the pita was still warm. I could have eaten just that for my meal and I would have been satisfied.
I decided to get the smokehouse panini, which was a ham, turkey, gouda, roasted tomato, onion, and chipotle honey mustard, served with fries. I am in love with gouda and honey mustard sauce, so this was perfect for me. It actually took me back to my college days, where at The University of Scranton in their old cafeteria they had a “Sandwich of the Day” section during lunch with a delicious panini that had gouda and honey mustard.
My fiancé went with the epic burger. I mean, how could you not get a burger that is apparently epic? It was quite a burger… one where once you pick it up, there’s no stopping until you’re done. It included pork belly, caramelized onions, fried egg, truffle aioli, mornay sauce, and a side of fries. Watching him tackle that was entertaining.
We washed both of our meals down with an Irish Red Ale (for me), and a Roggenbock (for the fiancé). Even though I was stuffed to the gills, we had to press on to our next destination… The Bent Spoon.
I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about The Bent Spoon and it’s unique ice cream flavors, so I just had to check it out. When we arrived, the line was out the door! I had plenty of time to decide on a flavor, and went with a small cup (which is two scoops that you can mix and match) of Hazelnut Streak, which had yummy chunks of hazelnuts with dark chocolate streaks mixed in. My fiancé got the coffee cookie as a shake.
All I can say is yum. As you can see by the above picture, there wasn’t even enough time for me to snap a picture before it was gone. Even though I was full, I ate almost the whole thing. They have really interesting flavors, like garam masala (my favorite spice blend!), coconut, winter squash, lemon poppy seed, etc. I would have tried them all if I had the room in my stomach. They also had adorable looking cupcakes that I just have to go back and try. I’m afraid I might become a frequent visitor this summer.
I think it’s safe to say our date night was a success. It was a nice, laid back night out enjoying yummy food, spent with my favorite guy. What more could I ask for?! I can’t wait until next month!
Foodosaurus Rex 