birthday fun for me

Thought I'd post a little recap of the birthday fun I had! My day was filled with food and fun, with my favorite person (yes . . . Dan is back, slowly but surely, and we'll just say I'm feeling "cautiously optimistic.")

Our day started at Midtown Global Market, where the first order of business is usually giant burritos:

I love Los Ocampo veggie burritos, although they do tend to be heavy-handed on the rice. Pros? Tons of veggies, excellently-seasoned beans, plenty of cheese and sour cream, and the sauces! Holy hot and spicy, but SOOOOOO good!

After lunch and some browsing around the market, we headed down to Northfield for the afternoon and evening. We started with a long, pleasant, but muddy hike at Nerstrand Woods:











(I told you it was a muddy hike! Still haven't cleaned my shoes . . . sigh. I should probably take care of that tonight!)

After our hike, we spent some time bumming around downtown Northfield -- lots of cute shops, although most weren't open because it was Memorial Day! Boo. Anyhow, we still had fun walking around and exploring the few places that were open!

Before leaving town, we enjoyed dinner at The Tavern. While we're not ones for typical American/bar type food, the Indian restaurant we had planned on visiting was closed, so we came up with a pretty good second choice.

To start, we shared the cheese plate:

Aged cheddar, herbed goat cheese, and feta, with crostini, crackers, apples, and the most amazing rhubarb chutney! I swear, I could have downed a glassful as a beverage! (Or maybe it would make more sense as a soup? Anyhow, you get it!)

For my entree, I chose the Thai Salad:

The salad was packed full of fresh veggies and fried wonton strips, and came with the most delicious, super-spicy Thai dressing! Usually when something is labelled "spicy" on an American-type menu, I'm left disappointed . . . not this time! Yum yum! (The bread and butter on the side was fresh, homemade, and delicious, too!)

Thanks, Dan, for a great birthday!