Happy Birthday to Me!

This year for my birthday I wanted to go to a restaurant that I'd never been to before, Brick 29. I'd heard a lot about it and I've eaten catered food from there on several occasions so I've been curious to go there. So, Bruce, Carol, and I made reservations and headed out to Brick 29. It's located in a refurbished Masonic Hall in Nampa, very unassuming, in fact, we completely passed by it first before we realized it was there.

Chef Dustin Bristol is known for being a three time nominee for the James Beard award which is a big deal for Idaho. He was also invited to be on the TV show "Extreme Chef" but declined the offer. Maybe in the future. The food, of course, was exquisite. Dustin Bristol describes it as "comfort food-reinvented." Bruce and Carol had the special salmon with incredibly delicious rice and I had the flat iron steak with delicious mashed potatoes. The desserts were the best, tho. Bruce had the German chocolate cake, the best version I've ever had, Carol had cheesecake with citrus sauce and I had a complimentary creme brulee.

But I also had to go out and celebrate with my girlfriend, Marty, because our birthdays are so close together in July. Her birthday is July 7th and mine is July 11th and she has never been to my favorite restaurant, Barbacoa, so the next evening, Marty and I headed out to Barbacoa.

Every aspect of dinning there is so impressive... to the fabulous decor, the service, the food, just everything. We started out with their signature homemade guacamole made right at your table.

Dig in, Marty! Guacamole is her favorite food on the planet.

We both ordered their special of the evening - halibut wrapped with prosciutto on mushroom risotto - incredibly delicious. We had mentioned to our waitress that we were celebrating our birthdays so when she offered the dessert menu, we naturally accepted. But before she brought us the dessert menu, she surprised us both with a special birthday dessert…

Cotton candy with a birthday candle in the middle glowing with delight.

I can't wait until next year when I get to celebrate my birthday again!!

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