Anniversary dinner at a French restaurant
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52199)
Staten Island, New York
November 7, 2021 9:53am CST
Saturday was my 5th wedding anniversary. Hubby surprised me with dinner at a French restaurant called Lorena's in Maplewood, New Jersey. We arrived a little earlier than our reservation time and had to wait for our table to be ready. It wasn't a long wait though. Once we were seated I noticed a small vase of fresh small white daisies on the table. They are my favorite flowers.
We started off our meal by ordering some wine. I usually prefer to drink Pinot Noir. There were different options to choose from. I wanted to try the one from France. The bottle we ended up getting, at the suggestion of the waiter, cost $88. That's expensive but it was worth it. The wine was really good. Went down easily and bloomed in my mouth. Hubby drank most of it though, as I am not that much of a drinker. We ended up taking some home, as there was still some left.
When it came to the food there were a lot of options to choose from. I wanted to try a lot of things and so did hubby. We decided to order three appetizers to share and split a main course. For the appetizers we ordered a grilled radicchio and beets salad, seared Hudson Valley foie gras, and butternut squash bisque. For the main course we got arctic char. They gave us some olive bread and fresh butter for the table. It was really good and just what I needed, while waiting for the food to arrive, after not eating since breakfast.
When it was time for dessert we were pretty full but I wanted to try something. We ended up getting a coconut panna cotta with macerated strawberries. It was light and delicious. I really wanted to order a cappuccino to go along with it but didn't. I still had some wine left in the glass and it didn't seem like I had room for it anyway. Oh well. It wasn't that big of a deal.
A waitress asked me if we were celebrating anything and when I told her anniversary she brought us a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the house. It had a candle in it for us to blow out and a piece of chocolate that said Happy Anniversary on it.
I think we spent about two hours at the restaurant. The wine and the food were delicious. Service was top notch and no one rushed us. We also weren't asked many times if everything is okay, which I liked because that can get very annoying. I have no idea how much the bill came out to be but it was well worth it. I love dining at French restaurants.
8 people like this
10 responses
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
Happy future anniversary!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
9 Nov 21
@lovebuglena Thank you, that will be a milestone.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
9 Nov 21
@LadyDuck 50 years is a very long time...
1 person likes this

@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
Everything was really good. I’m still thinking about the fois gras. 

1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
Thank you. Glad we got to go out and celebrate.
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (14787)
• Ireland
7 Nov 21
@lovebuglena Can’t go wrong with a (good) French restaurant. Happy anniversary.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Nov 21
Yes. And the portions were pretty good. It wasn't the kind of thing where you have a huge plate and a tiny piece of something on it.
@xFiacre (14787)
• Ireland
7 Nov 21
@lovebuglena I hate it when that happens , or when everything is hidden behind a tiny lettuce leaf.
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (67089)
• United States
7 Nov 21
Glad you had a wonderful time and meal. Happy anniversary
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
Thank you. It was an awesome surprise.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
Thanks. It was very enjoyable. Would definitely go back there again.
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78833)
• East Tawas, Michigan
8 Nov 21
@lovebuglena I've heard that many French restaurants serves excellent food:)
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
7 Nov 21
Happy Anniversary to the two of you Lena.
You had a lovely time now didnt you?

@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
I really enjoyed dining there. I love French restaurants. None in Staten Island as far as I know. Have to go to Manhattan or Brooklyn for that.
I was glad he made a reservation in NJ. No mandate there so no worries about being able to dine inside.
1 person likes this

@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Nov 21
It really was. Hubby told me he had got the last table available. Everything was booked.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
8 Nov 21
Didn't realize hubs was so romantic. Happy Anniversary...again! I'm glad you enjoyed your meal.
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Nov 21
He got me a beautiful bouquet of white flowers delivered.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
9 Nov 21
@lovebuglena Yeah, I saw that! So nice.
1 person likes this
@nitirrbb7 (4317)
• India
10 Nov 21
So detailed written I imagined myself being there besides you both
Happy Anniversary and wishes that you celebrate many years together like this and each year be more better than the earlier
Happy Anniversary and wishes that you celebrate many years together like this and each year be more better than the earlier
@lovebuglena (52199)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Nov 21
Thank you! I wish I got to dine at French restaurants more often. I love them! It was a dream of mine to go to Paris, France for our honeymoon. That never happened. We actually never went on our honeymoon. Just went away for a few days somewhere. Maybe one day in the future I will get to go to Paris finally.
1 person likes this
@nitirrbb7 (4317)
• India
11 Nov 21
@lovebuglena Sure you will, and may that day come soon and you have the best time of your life

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