Redeemed :)

I think somebody read my post from last night... when they finally got home from work at 1:30 a.m.

Because somebody miraculously got out of bed no later than 10:00 a.m., already talking about brunch places :)  And when I went to check my email, what should I find pulled up on the screen?  My very own blog post from last night, scrolled down to the end.

It was a magical time.  Even Matthew made it through with barely a fuss, which was pretty amazing considering the 20+ minute drive to downtown, the ten minutes of searching for parking, the walk to the restaurant from the parking spot, and the thirty minute wait.  I think he just knew... his mommy needed a special outing.






Looking sharp, ready to take mommy out to Valentine's Day brunch :)








We ended up at Stephi's on Tremont.  I love this place, and wouldn't have dreamed it logistically possible with a 5 month old.  I'd been there once before; Maddie and I treated ourselves to one nice lunch out in downtown Boston when she visited.  We'd been aiming for Aquitaine but a friendly local (I never said none of them were friendly!!  Just that the frequency of budging is craaazy) advised that Stephi's was even better.  That time I had the "French Onion Panini" (shaved prime rib, melted swiss cheese, and sherry-braised onions on sourdough, served with onion soup dip).  It was amazing.  So I was in h-e-a-v-e-n picking and choosing from the brunch menu.

The scene: 

(my photography skills are nonexistent and I don't have one of those awesome cameras my friends all seem to be getting into... maybe someday).

The food did not disappoint.  We ordered a "ruby red grapefruit brulee" (L) which was a grapefruit covered in sugar and torched, like they do with creme brulees, to make the crunchy top layer.  It was awesome and so fancy.  To the right is my "cream of wheat with sour cherry compote and fresh whipped cream."  It was perfect, and definitely inspired what I'll be bringing to our next book club meeting, which is to be a brunch.  Ramekins, get ready!

The sticky roll (towards the back) was just okay.  But once you've tried Mark's mom's "Sticky Pecan Rolls" every other sticky roll is ... just okay.

 I think we'd have had more appreciation for the French toast had we not already satiated our sweet cravings.  It was a brioche bread with cinnamon baked in, and served with a cinnamon honey butter and maple syrup.  It was good... but not out of this world or anything.

What was out of this world was the salty pretzel encrusted crab cake benedict, with whole grain mustard hollandaise and home fries.  We agreed this dish got an A, although I'd reserve my A+ benedict for the "lobster eggs benedict" at Cafe Luna.

Anyway this time together, out of the house, was like a therapy session for my soul.  That Mark actually woke up at 10:00 am to make it happen was so, so sweet.  And now my babes are both in bed, napping together, happy to be reunited.  I couldn't ask for a better Saturday.