Valentine's Day

My hubby hates Valentine's Day. He's a believer in the school of thought that Valentine's Day is a made up holiday for the sole purpose of boosting chocolate, flower and card sales in a slow time of year. So needless to say, I end up buying myself a heart shaped chocolate box every year. This year, I was determined to get him in a romantical mood about the holiday. I booked us reservations at a local joint called Ama Ama. I knew I could get him excited about the place, as it's an oyster bar and my hubby has been known to throw back 3 dozen of those suckers in under 15 minutes. He's a true champ. We were also super excited for our night out because for the first time in a long time, we were able to find a babysitter! So, armed with our giddy excitement and 3 hours of child-freeness ahead of us (don't you love how I make up words?), we set off for Ama Ama. What we experienced for the next 2 and a half hours (minused out the driving time) was pure, mouth watering, unadulterated decadence. We ordered a five course dinner with wine pairing. A favorite on the menu was the kumamoto oyster with lemon granita paired with a glass of champagne. There was a fish for our second course known as Escolar, it was delicious, white and flaky. I will keep my eye out at the fish market for that in the future! Another first on the menu for both of us was Foie Gras. I'm not going to lie, I was a little freaked out at first (foie gras is duck liver). Plus, the first time I had ever heard of Foie Gras was in San Francisco during a protest against the inhumane treatment of ducks and geese in order to harvest their liver. I could go into the brief moral dilemma I had about eating this, but that's a post for another day. I'll just say I wasn't overly excited to try this dish, but I did. I have to say, it was pretty good. It actually tasted like lamb and had a consistency of a rare steak. We also enjoyed a beef tenderloin as the main course, and a chocolate lava cake for dessert. yum yum yum!! My husband was so impressed and excited about our dinner, he wants to go back next Valentine's Day. See? All I have to do is bribe him with a little food to get him in the Valentine's Day spirit! Mission Accomplished.