With my MIL here, Jerry and I got out to enjoy a date night last night. We figured we may as well take advantage of a free babysitter and what may be our last remaining days before Caleb arrives to enjoy a night together. So, Jerry went to all this effort to seek out a restaurant he thought would be great and secure us reservations. It was in downtown Miami, overlooking Biscayne Bay, the menu online looked fabulous, yet affordable, and we figured a splurge on a fancier place was worthwhile since we don't often do it. It was called Amuse.
We get there for our 8:15 pm reservation and we are the ONLY people in the place. Uh-oh... Granted, it was a small, intimate place with only 7 tables, so we thought, "Well, it's Miami, maybe the place won't start filling until 9." It never filled. We were the ONLY table the entire time! That was our first sign.
Secondly, the moment we stepped in there, I thought the whole atmosphere was just trying too hard -- everything about the decor and the music, etc were just a strange combination of pretention and tacky-trendiness. I mean, techno background music in a place that's billed as "the perfect place for couples"? No. Wrong. And the "view of Biscayne Bay"? Yes, the bay was out there, but you were gazing across the road at it.
The server was friendly and greeted us promptly (really, what else did she have to do?) and gave us a serving of fried plantains with salsa and guacamole, but...I quickly determined that the salsa had to be Pace Picante. I don't eat that shit at home, why would a restaurant of supposedly high caliber serve it? Another warning sign. We ordered our meals, and after the server left, we made light of the Pace Picante and did our best to enjoy ourselves and chat over the annoying techno music in the background.
Our appetizers were awesome -- I had this "inside out BLT" that was truly one of the most innovative and tasty things I've ever had -- so it seemed to be looking up. But then that was the highlight of the meal; from there, it was downhill. Our entrees were disappointing, at best (I had a risotto that I could have made better), and I actually would have preferred to bypass the dessert entirely rather than struggle through the few bites of it that I did ingest.
So, in short, the place sucked. And it was not cheap.
But, as we drove home laughing and criticizing the place, we reasoned that at least it made for a good story.
Ah well, you never know what a place is really like until you try it, but friends, if you travel to Miami, I do NOT recommend Amuse!
As for today, Jerry took the day off work, and he and his mom took Norah to the beach, so I have most of the day in front of me without child, husband or MIL. Whatever shall I do with myself? Is it weird that I think I'm gonna clean the bathrooms?
13 comments:
Oh no, sorry about the disappointing dinner! You just never know what you are going to get. Glad you were able to make the most of it and at least had a nice evening out with Jer.
Sounds like your about to have a great and quiet day! ENJOY! In a few weeks you will be reminiscing to yourself about this day and how lucky you were to have it! :)
I think that sometimes it's those shared "disasters" that make the best bonding time for couples. Nothing beats being able to share a private laugh about it years from now.
My husband and I went to dinner and our waitress kept saying Awesome! in this peppy cheerleader-y way. That was over 10 years ago and we still laugh about it.
Hey at least you got to have a nice date night before the whole world gets turned upside down again. And isn't laughing the point of a good date night? some places stink, that happens. but if you and Jerry got to spend some good time together that makes it all worthwhile.
Congrats again on the newbie's impending arrival. I always said the date night we had right before both of our kids were born was the best night out of the whole pregnancy.
Ugh, I hate when that happens. We have some truly special eateries in the area, but I think that has spawned some poor imitators that try to hard and deliver shit but call it pate.
even on date night you can't escape the kids! ha! A 7 table restaurant, eh? nope, not good....
Dinner disaster stories do live on. Jon and I still laugh about the night we had to eat a second dinner at Burger King because our first dinner at Tuttu Benne (sp?) was inedible!
Shannon
Well that's a bummer but I'm glad you guys were able to joke about it... Enjoy your bathroom-cleaning extravaganza :)
oh bummer. seems like my hubby and I get into those situations A LOT...but at least you were able to laugh it off later :)
ALl I did the last 2-4 weeks of pregnancy with kara was clean. It was INSANE. My house was immaculate.Hope you found something relaxing to do! That place sounded like it lived up to the name, that's for sure. THat stinks! But will be a good story.
Getting all caught up!
Sorry about that crappy dinner! I HATE when that happens! I swear, we always say, 'we could do this so much better at home!'
Glad the pregnancy is going well! Crossing my fingers your little peanut comes soon!
Oh, an I laughed my head off at your Mother's day poop story - sorry! :p
as you said, at least you got a good story out of it
I have had my share of disappointing dinners. I hope you enjoyed the date night otherwise. I hope you enjoy some time alone. I loved getting a pedicure right before Eva arrived. It was awesome to have some pamper my toes especially because I couldn't reach them.
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