A Birthday Celebration!

December is Laurie’s Birthday month…that’s right…month…not just a day!  She receives something north of 25 birthday cards every year, whereas I get about 4.  Hmmm… I must be doing something wrong.

In any case, you all know the saying… “A Happy Wife = A Happy Life”.  To that I say Amen!  Well, one of Laurie’s favorite foods…perhaps her very favorite food…was our dining goal on her actual birthday.

So it was off to Bonefish Grill in Turkey Creek on the west side of Knoxville Tennessee.  As recently as 10 or 15 years ago, many of my former associates and friends would attest that I wouldn’t be caught dead in a national restaurant chain.  Well, time changes everything!  In this case, I must say that Bonefish Grill is one of those national chains that you can count on… The service is competent and consistent and the food is very good as well as being reasonably priced.

Laurie started out her birthday dinner with a luscious cocktail!  She had an Ocean Trust Mango Martini.  It was $7.90 with $1.00 going to the Ocean Trust for their work at preserving the oceans of the world. (Check them out at: www.oceantrust.org) I had a glass of  Mark West Chardonnay. ($7.50)

Then we went for our favorite appetizer…the “Bang Bang Shrimp”. ($8.30) This mound of spicy shrimp went fast!  It’s a great start to any meal…

Then came a side Caesar Salad for each of us. ($2.90 as a side salad) This was a palate cleanser following the spicy shrimp appetizer!

Then on to Laurie’s favorite entrée!  Twin Lobster Tails split and ready to eat…accompanied with potatoes au gratin, spaghetti squash and a nice ramekin full of cream butter with lemon over a flame. ($27.00) It’s a good thing that Laurie doesn’t have a chance to trade me in for a life time supply of lobster tails… If that were possible, I might be at some personal risk!

My entrée was the Spinach Bacon Gorgonzola Atlantic Salmon. ($15.90) I also had the spaghetti squash with the au gratin potatoes!  The combination of flavors was just terrific!!  I would order this entrée again in a flash…very, very good!

Because it was Laurie’s birthday, the waiter brought us a complementary dessert…the Macadamia Nut Brownie. (Normally $5.80) This flourless brownie comes with raspbery sauce, whipped cream and vanilla ice cream on the side.  This is an excellent dessert!

Bonefish Grill in Turkey Creek/Knoxville Tennessee is located at 11395 Parkside Drive.  Phone: 865-966-9777.  Website: www.bonefishgrill.com. 

Well, as I mentioned, Laurie’s birthday goes on for at least a full month… Our friend Karen baked this birthday cake for Laurie just a couple of days after our trip to Bonefish Grill.  Laurie was very surprised and happy!

Here’s the birthday girl with her cake.  We were at Joel and Holly’s home playing Sequence with Karen and her husband Charlie.  As you can see, Laurie didn’t like the attention she was getting! (FYI…If you’re wondering how old she is…forgetaboutit!!)

If you thought that the cake at our friend’s home was the end of Laurie’s birthday celebration, you were wrong!  A few days after that, we had a wine tasting at our house… Dawn Marie sent Mama Laurie a very fine bottle of 2005 Duckhorn ‘Estate Grown’ Cabernet Savignon from Candlestick Vineyards in Napa Valley…along with a beautiful decanter.  That wine was the big hit of the evening! (Note: As usual, she took this photo) Happy Birthday Laurie!

That’s about it for now… Just click on any photo to enlarge it.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave