New favorite restaurant

A few weeks ago, my parents came down to spend the evening with Isla so Graham and I could go out on a date.  This was a birthday gift--$$ for a fancy dinner and free babysitting--- "given" back in August, but not redeemed until now.  I'd been eyeing the menu at Cafe Juanita for months.  I kept reading about it in magazines; it's been rated one of the best restaurants in the area.  The chef  owner, Holly, was recently a contestant on the popular show, Top Chef.  We'd driven by the restaurant (which is a house-converted-to-restaurant) a number of times and it's nothing special from the outside. In fact, quite honestly, I think it would benefit from a makeover to improve its curb appeal (the beaded curtain hiding the ice chests outside the kitchen entrance didn't do anything for me).  We probably never would have visited had our only exposure been our "drive-bys".  But we heard SO MANY good things about it.  So we went. And it was incredible!  The ambiance on the inside with a fireplace and candlelight made up for the boring exterior. 

We were given $100 to spend on our meal.  This may seem like a lot but in the world of fancy meals, two entrees could cost this much. Easily.  We decided to order a few different courses to split between the 2 of us and were very pleasantly surprised by how we were able to stretch our dollar.  Our waiter was wonderful and actually encouraged us to split items.  And they split each of our courses onto seperate plates at no extra charge!  We enjoyed:

-Seared Foie Gras with Apple, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs
-Creme Fraiche Soup with Shallots and Spot Prawns
-Sweet Grass Farms Wagyu Beef Bolognese with Tagliatelle
-Blackmore Wagyu Flat Iron with Cipollini Agro Dolce and Gorgonzola Piccante

Each course was amazing!  I was a big fan of the foie gras---TO DIE FOR!!---and Graham's favorite was the soup.  The beef (blackmore wagyu) literally melted in your mouth.  And surprisingly, the courses were good-sized and so we left full and agreed we probably could have done without the pasta and still been full.  The best part about it is that, although it is a high end place, it is certainly not out of reach for a semi-regular date night if you just order an entree or pasta dish per person or a salad and entree to share.

We will be going back and I highly recommend you pay them a visit too.  I can officially cross my first item off my bucket list!