willow!

i've been slowly eating my way through all the area's best restaurants. off the top of my head i can name 30 restaurants i've been to in the last year or so. it's been a lot of delicious food for sure - but last night's dinner at willow really stood out.

honestly the only complaint i have about the place is the awkwardly high chairs. i felt like i was at charm school or something and was being forced to sit with good posture. but other than that minor setback everything else was great!

we had a knowledgeable waiter (at least he thought he was really knowledgeable). he was able to recommend his favorite wine for us to get. and i do have to say it was a good choice. we all picked out our entrees pretty quickly, but again we got stuck on the appetizer choice. and we were all absolutely starving so it was probably the most important (and likewise most difficult) decision. we eventually narrowed it down to two choices (ravioli and a flatbread) and decided to leave it up to the birthday girl to decide. well she sabotaged that plan and just ordered her entree.

but again the waiter came to the rescue! he explained that the ravioli was delicious but would be more of a taste for everyone at the table. the flatbread, on the other hand, would be more of a substantial appetizer for everyone to enjoy. and enjoy it we did! it was pesto with a variety of cheeses and really fresh tomatoes.

we downed three pieces each in less than five minutes. i don't think any of us even paused for a sip of wine. and the waiter definitely took notice with the classic, "oh i don't think you guys enjoyed that." at least he had a sense of humor (unlike my waiter at georgia brown's - but that's a story for another time).

we all ordered different entrees (tuna, halibut, steak and pork). and they all came with different fun sides (hash browns, corn pancakes, potato and cheese tart, onion rings and some sort of tomato tart). needless to say we did a lot of plate swapping and in the end we had all tried (almost) everything and there wasn't much left behind. everything was so fresh and flavorful. and the menu had the date on it, which means they change it daily (seemingly to accommodate for the freshest ingredients). and that also means that if we go back in a few months the menu choices are likely to change!

but i'm getting ahead of myself here. we still hadn't ordered dessert. this decision was on par with the appetizer choice. we again left it up to the birthday girl - but i stepped in a made the choice when she narrowed it down to two. we ended up with the peach and blackberry shortbread. ordinarily i wouldn't eat either of those fruits, but they paired excellently with the fresh shortbread and ice cream. just enough flavor without being overly sweet.

unlike our last outing this time he remembered to charge us for the wine. so in the end it was $60/person. maybe not an every week place, but it's definitely worth it to treat yourself every once in a while. just beware of the slippery (seemingly just waxed) floors. we all almost bit it on our way to the bathroom.

maybe slippery wooden surfaces was the theme of the night? i'll examine that thought later...