cake love

Yesterday was my 35th birthday! Hard to believe... especially since I still feel - in most social situations - like I'm in my early twenties (if not teens). 

Mr. Beeton and I had a terrific birthday weekend. It started on Friday with dinner at the Greek Festival at the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Church on Massachusetts Avenue. Delicious gyros and baklava. Mr. Beeton and The Chemist even managed to sneak away to put a candle on the baklava. A rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" followed, and I made the first of three birthday wishes.

Saturday, we headed to Tysons for a free birthday entree at Gordon Biersch. I was hoping to spend some money on self-selected birthday gifts but came home empty handed. Mr. Beeton, however, had one more birthday gift to obtain, and he found what he was looking for. He also carried the gift around, tauntingly, for the entire evening... I wouldn't find out what exactly he purchased until Sunday night - the night of my actual birthday, May 17th.

Mr. Beeton had planned a birthday dinner at an undisclosed location for the day of. I had guessed we were going to Founding Farmers since I've become more than a little obsessed with Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Mr. Beeton likes to tease me about it, so I figured he'd opt for this restaurant. Instead, he chose Sei - which Washington Post writer Tom Sietsema reviewed this past April:

"Unlike a lot of places, Sei rewards those who bite at the invitation. It won't be cheap, but a drink from the bar of this bold Asian statement in Penn Quarter demonstrates how far Washington has come from the days of chocolate martinis and cosmopolitans. The cocktails here taste as if they were whipped up in the kitchen, with the flavors of the food in mind. Fresh and spiriting, the libations also perfectly capture the mood and style of Sei (pronounced 'say'), a sibling to nearby Oya." - http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/sei,1155087.html 

The ambiance was fantastic, and the place was nearly empty - probably because it was a Sunday night. Mr. Beeton and I absolutely love sushi, and we had the most delicious meal. Here's what we ordered for those who are interested:

• To start, Asian Pear Sangria for me and a Liquid Wasabi for Mr. Beeton (he also had a Silver Samurai later in honor of a particularly funny encounter with shochu we had had as graduate students in Delaware).
  
• We then had wasabi guacamole for an appetizer with wonton chips.
  
• We gorged ourselves on sushi, ordering a spicy tuna roll, a crispy shrimp roll, a toro aburi nigiri, a hamachi olive nigiri, a drunken shrimp nigiri, two orders of salmon sashimi, and an order of tuna sashimi.
  
• And, I almost forgot - Miso Orange Bread Pudding for desert, with a candle.

But the icing on the actual cake was the cake. Turns out Mr. Beeton went to Cake Love when we were at Tysons. That's what he was carrying around all night... a chocolate cake with lime frosting - my favorite! In fact, it's almost lunch... I think I'll cut myself another piece.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading Precious by Sandra Novack. Watched Celebrity.