Surprise Dinner Date

Well, I should have waited another couple days before posting about our anniversary, because I was in for one more surprise last night! Throughout the day, Ryan and I had our typical conversations about dinner:
"Do you want pancakes and eggs or spaghetti?"
"Um, pancakes sound good."
"What time do you want to eat?"
"How about we eat around 6:00pm. I want to go for a run before dinner."

But around 4:30, he skyped me and sent me a link to an article about Gary Rhodes. Apparently, he's a famous chef from Britain. I skimmed the article, and noticed at the bottom of the page that he owns a restaurant at the Calabash Hotel in Grenada. Ryan told me that was a hint, and to be dressed to go out around 7pm.

A few minutes before 7:00, we walked towards the bus stop on campus. I commented on the fact that it would be nice to have a car for nights like this so we don't have to wait for a bus and ride it while we're all dressed up. As we passed a parking lot, Ryan said he needed to check something, and proceeded to unlock the car closest to us! I was completely surprised, and told him he didn't have a Grenadian license and he can't drive without one. So of course, he pulled a Grenadian license out of his pocket. He had arranged to borrow a friend's car for the evening, and another friend drove him to the police station earlier that afternoon to get his license (a simple process that involves filling out a form and paying $30). I guess great minds think alike! And what a wonderful treat that was to be able to drive ourselves to dinner. We felt like normal people again.

The restaurant was fantastic - very classy and in the most beautiful setting. The dining area was under an ivy-covered roof and the room opened up into a lovely little garden.


Whenever we eat at nice restaurants, we try to order something that either we've never had before, or something we are not likely to eat at home. And last night was no exception. As an appetizer, we enjoyed a beetroot, fig, and onion tart topped with creamy goat cheese. It was so flavorful and unique, and it left me wondering if I could indeed recreate it at home one of these days.


For the main course, I ordered a buttery lobster with tangy lemon mayonnaise, and Ryan tried the mahi mahi with tiger prawns in a sweet pineapple sauce. Both were fantastic choices!


The best part of the evening was having a couple quiet hours to ourselves. We ended the evening by watching a movie and going to bed early - a true luxury these days. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary celebration.