Chocolate Avenue Grill

This is my last post about meals I ate to celebrate my birthday. I need to stop for 3 reasons:

1. My birthday was 8 days ago.

2. You're going to think all I do is eat huge amounts of food for every meal. (This may or may not be true...) :-)

3. I'm getting very full.

That said, I've been loving every minute of these celebrations. Last night, my in-laws took us to the Chocolate Avenue Grill. I'd been there once before for my bachelorette party dinner, & I remembered it being great. When I was still a Concierge, I'd recommend the place a lot & everyone came back pleased with their meal.

To start, I had the Strawberry Poppyseed Salad. I was a little skeptical about the dressing when I saw it, but once I tasted it I couldn't get enough. It was lightly sweet with poppyseeds & sesame seeds in it. The toasted almond slivers really complimented the juicy strawberries, too.

On the side, I had their fresh rolls. They were melt in your mouth delicious & I would go back just for more of them!

For my meal, I got the Mediterranean Risotto, described as "Fresh zucchini, asparagus, Roma tomatoes, red onions, black olives and basil folded into a creamy Parmesan risotto with a hint of lemon." The veggies were super fresh & the flavors blended very well. I was surprised by how much sauce was on it, as usually a risotto is creamy & thick, but it was still quite good. Bonus: It was a large serving, so I have leftovers for lunch!

I'm a member of their e-club, so they sent me a free dessert coupon as a birthday treat. I should've had it boxed up, because I was beyond full already, but of course I didn't. :-)

Their pastry chef came out & visited us - she knew my in-laws from church. She recommended the housemade Peanut Butter Melt Away Pie. I usually don't order pb pie because I'm often disappointed & it doesn't sit well in my stomach (not sure why not, this only happens with pb pie), but I tried it. It was a little different than usual, with a brownie crust & ganache topping. I liked the added chocolate!

Thanks for a wonderful birthday dinner, Mom & Dad K.!