Birthdays Are My Favorite

Another year, another birthday, and for those of you who know me, my birthday is typically a few days of celebrating and most of it involves food.

Usually there’s a lot of pressure on me to impress with restaurant choices and whatnot surrounding my birthday, but this year I decided to keep it simple and visit some of the places I love the most. Here’s a summary:

My celebration started on Wednesday, when Tim and I visited the patio at 15 Church for dinner.

I have to say, I’ve grown to be a little obsessed with tuna lately. By obsessed, I mean I want it pretty much all the time, and 99.9% of that time I want it raw. That’s why when we heard the Tuna Crudo was a special at 15 Church on Wednesday, we ordered it immediately.

If you’re ever at 15 Church and this is on the special list, you’d be doing yourself a serious disservice if you didn’t get it. This dish brought me to my happy place, like eating sashimi at a sushi restaurant – but way way WAY better.

We were also told that there was only one order of their French Asparagus special left, and if we wanted it, it could be ours. How can you turn that down?

Look at those delicate stalks in comparison to traditional asparagus! They were sauteed in a little olive oil and garlic, and topped with freshly shaved parmesan cheese and toasted breadcrumbs. That yellow thing is a lemon, which DUH I also squeezed on top.

These were super fresh, and a solid appetizer choice.

For my entree, I ordered the Halibut.

I just really love seafood, and when it comes down to it, I love to order seafood when I go out to eat. It’s really the one type of protein I struggle with when I cook, so it’s one of those things I need to take advantage of when I’m dining out, especially at a restaurant like this.

This halibut comes perfectly seared on the outside, atop a broth with zucchini, artichokes, tomatoes, gaeta olives, gigante beans, and andouille sausage with a romesco sauce on top.

It’s just a really well executed dish. Something I was reminded this time while eating halibut is that it’s one of the types of fish that are typically on the dryer side compared to a medium-rare salmon or a seabass. That’s a-okay with me though, because when it’s paired with a delicious broth like this, it’s the perfect contrast.

Alright so that was Wednesday night.

Thursday night, I had pizza from Publik House, and I didn’t take any pictures because I legit cannot get myself to take a picture fast enough before I start eating it. I know, it’s a problem.

Friday (my birthday!!) started out in the morning for breakfast.

Sweet Mimi’s was my breakfast spot of choice, and I enjoyed a special on the menu – the Caprese Omelet with fresh mozzarella, pesto, and tomatoes, finished off with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Heyyyooooo. Listen, I love me some caprese, and it’s no different when it’s in omelet form. It just has more protein. And more protein means a fuller version of Ashley. The only thing that would have made this omelet better was if I could have added sausage to the omelet, but unfortunately they were out of sausage on Friday.

It’s okay, I survived.

I didn’t really eat lunch because we ate breakfast at like 11am, so I had a liquid lunch instead at Cantina before dinner.

Yes – my first birthday drink was a margarita. And then I had a second. And then I had a shot.

After that, it was on to Sushi Thai for dinner, where I could indulge in MORE seafood (and take a break from drinking.)

For dinner, it wasn’t really even a question for me. I didn’t just want, but I needed a boat, a love boat to be exact.

We ordered the Love Boat For Two.

Sushi, sashimi and sushi rolls galore, I ate more than 50% of this boat and I’m not even a little bit ashamed.

After dinner, I may have indulged a little more in some adult beverages, and stayed out way past my bedtime, but that’s what you’re supposed to do in your 20’s, right? Although, the closer I get to 30, the more it hurts to do that. Just saying.

As always, food was kind of the focal point of my birthday, but I’m so blessed to have been surrounded by loving family and friends this year as well. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday this past weekend, and I have to say that I cannot wait to see what my 27th year has in store for me! Xoxo