I Found Your Next Date Night Spot
If you were watching my Insta stories you'll know Ryan and I went on our first date, totally kid-free, in six months. Bah! That's a fail! So a few of my thoughts from our date...
1.) It felt really good to wear something other than yoga pants and a messy bun. I even curled my hair for the first time ever!
2.) Talking without children interrupting is basically my new favourite thing.
3.) Having to feed only myself at a meal...yeah, I kinda forgot what that's like. It's delicious!
4.) Six months without a date is not okay. Our marriage needs to be a priority, always.
5.) We still are young and in love!
As promised, my review of the restaurant we went to is below. In case the title of this post didn't totally give it away, we loved it! Keep reading for all the details.
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Upon recommendation, we spent our evening at Carve on Lot 5. We both appreciated the historical aspect of the building and the nods to Brampton in the decor. The restaurant is simple, clean and has a wonderful big window at the front with a view of Garden Square. I understand there is an upstairs room for special events however, we didn't see that space during our visit.
Our waiter, Kevin, was wonderfully personable and attentive! He knew all about the menu and their specials for the night.
With drinks in hand, we started our meal off with apps! Ryan felt like trying something out of his comfort zone and chose the Carve Calamari. To date neither of us have liked calamari anywhere. This calamari though, was absolutely amazing! The batter was light and crisp and topping each bite with a little bit of bruschetta was the perfect combination of flavours. Ryan almost didn't order this dish because the menu description lists an olive bruschetta. There were small olives in the bruschetta, it's true. BUT it was mostly tomatoes. My olive despising hubby gobbled it up!
I went for the Korean Barbecue Beef Short Ribs. Kevin informed us that they were out of the cut of ribs they would usually use for the dish but had a substitute available. We appreciated his honesty and ordered the dish anyways. Thank goodness because the ribs were SO GOOD! Extremely tender with a mild flavour on their own. Scoop up some of the Sriracha mayo and kimchi and it's a flavour explosion! Oh my word, I need to get these again ASAP!
For our mains we both opted for more classic dishes. Steak Frites for my man and Mushroom Penne Alfredo for me. The penne was good, creamy and garlicky. It did the trick but was a little basic for me. Unfortunately we were underwhelmed by the Steak Frites as well. The steak was cooked to the doneness that was requested but lacked flavour and finesse. The peppercorn sauce it was served with did help it's case but overall the dish didn't meet our expectations. In fairness, it may have been hard to compete with our epic appetizers!
And then there was dessert. I almost don't have words for how drool worthy our dessert was. You guys, I have been dreaming about both of them since our date. Ryan ordered their brand new, made in house, you seriously need to try it Turtles inspired cheesecake. It was ridiculous in the good way! Impeccably smooth cheesecake with caramel, chocolate and nuts. Just delish!
Being a creme brûlée lover, when I saw it on the menu there was no question what I would choose. The owner, Pauline, claimed it was the best creme brûlée in the world. Let me tell you. WINNER! Delicately flavoured with vanilla, the custard was velvety goodness and the caramelized sugar topping was just right. I had to resist the urge to order a second!
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience at Carve and will be back for sure! They also have a beautiful roof top patio (I only saw pics on Instagram but it looks fantastic!) which we hope to frequent this summer! Enjoying a cold beer and some calamari on a hot summer day, overlooking downtown Brampton sounds phenomenal. Can't wait for that!
Until then we'll stay indoors and try out some of their other exciting dishes. First on my list, the Butter Chicken flatbread and the Jerk Chicken Sandwich! If you are in the Brampton area and haven't been to Carve yet, you need to go. Like now!
Any suggestions of where our next date night should be?? Leave it in the comments for me!