Birthday Dinner!

What would a birthday be without my favorite things: food and friends. D was sweet to organize a lovely dinner at Gaslight in the South End (www.gaslight560.com), a trendy brasserie du coin with excellent brasserie fare at very affordable prices. We had a reservation for a large group, and unfortunately got seated a whole HOUR later than our reservation time. The general manager was kind enough to bring us complimentary bottles of champagne (too bad I don't drink!) and free apps, so we didn't mind too much! Included in those delicious apps were steak tartare (MY FAVE), and pate with the traditional accoutrement (I love little cornichon!).


After we enjoyed our delicious apps (which, by the way, tasted better because they were free), we had our entrees. I had the rotisserie chicken with garlic herb frites. The chicken was cooked to perfection, moist and tender. The garlic herb frites were a bit TOO garlicky, even for someone like me who thoroughly enjoys garlic. However, the frites were nice and crispy, and the chicken came on a bed of greens which were quite tasty as well.














D had the steak frites, which he also enjoyed. He ordered medium rare, and it indeed arrived medium rare. Nothing is worse than a restaurant that can't cook a steak to order properly, so kudos to Gaslight! We also had the onion soup gratinee with truffled beef short rib, which is to die for! The flavor is beefy and rich, but we couldn't help but ask, "where's the beef?" It seems they neglected to put the "truffled beef short rib" in the soup. Perhaps the recession is hitting us all pretty hard.

Anyways, all in all, it was a lovely dinner, with the people who mean the most to me. At the end, D had a surprise: earlier in the day, he brought cupcakes from my favorite place (Party Favors in Brookline) and arranged for the waitstaff to bring them out as a dessert. Does he know me or what!? I had a special cupcake with a candle. It was very thoughtful, and a sweet ending to a fun and memorable evening.