Another Year Older

Yesterday was my birthday. All in all, it wasn't a great day. The baby was really cranky and I was very tired with a lot of stuff that I needed to get done. It did end on a nice note, however.
My wife took me out to Balthazar on Spring Street in NYC. This is one of the places I've wanted to go since I moved back here seven years ago, and I finally made it. I have to say, it didn't disappoint (well... except for the dessert, which is kind of tragic in a dinner/dessert sort of way). I've always been a little wary because this place is labeled a tourist trap, but it's well regarded anyway.
For starters, my wife had the Onion Soup Gratinee and I had the Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse. They were both fantastic, but I think I liked the soup better - it was the best Onion Soup I've had outside of France. We paired our appetizers with a "carafe" of one of the 2 house whites - Pinot Blanc "Reserve" A Seltz, 2005 (by "carafe" they mean a full 750mL bottle). Our main courses consisted of Pan Roasted Chicken "A La Creme" for my wife and Duck Confit for myself (which I paired with a glass of Cote De Beaune Villages "Combottes" d'Ardhuy 2005).
Finally, we rounded out the dinner with some Warm Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Ice Cream. Unfortunately, this was basically a brownie with a scoop of ice cream. There were other choices that would probably have been better. The cafe au'lait was good though.
Forget about the dessert and I had a great meal. It was a very nice birthday.

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