Tonight, we had an early celebration of Chris’s dad’s birthday at one of New York’s top rated “romantic” restaurants, One If By Land, Two If By Sea. The food and the service were phenomenal; the portion were actually fairly large for a tasting menu, and although some dishes like the chocolate souffle were quite simple, the comforting flavors did not disappoint, proving that sometimes the best dishes really can be the simplest.

The funny thing about restaurants rated as “romantic” is that even in today’s day and age that welcomes the eclectic and the modern, the term “romantic” still seems to conjure the same images and notions that were thought of decades ago, things like long and lit candles, white or red roses, white linen table clothes, and dimly lit dining rooms. When I sat down at our table and took a look around the dining room, the top-top tables were what was most comical to me; they had long white table cloths topped with a little bouquet of white roses, with long white candles lit and flickering. It was just like an image out of those “romantic” dates that Jack Tripper used to do in the popular 80’s comedy TV series Three’s Company. I felt like we were in a very traditional dining room from the 80s tonight.