June 4th was our anniversary. Five years! Yep, seems like just yesterday we were getting hitched on the beach. To celebrate our five years of wedded bliss, we went to Veritas Wine & Bistro. I have to hand it to my hubby. He came up with the idea, and I have to say, I loved every minute of it. We reserved the Chef’s table and did their 6 Course Omakase tasting menu (chef’s choice on all courses…we picked nothing!). At the suggestion of the chef, I did the wine paring with mine, as well. If I said I wasn’t the least bit apprehensive about relinquishing total control of my food and drink choices, I’d be lying. But, my goodness, everything, every course, every paring was nothing short of AMAZING.
Chef Tai prepared our first course. Being able to watch the chef as he prepared our food was awe inspiring. It’s like the plate was his canvas and each course was a work of art. I mean, seriously, look at the pictures.
Our first course was hamachi crudo topped with micro greens and paired with champagne. While this was probably the dish furthest outside my comfort zone, I cannot even begin to tell you how much I LOVED it! Looking at a menu there’s no way I would have even considered ordering this. CJ, yes. This is so up his alley. Me, no! So glad I didn’t have a choice but to try it! 
Chef Tai’s sous chef prepared the rest of our dishes. Here he is finishing course number two.
Second course, diver scallops with a pea puree, served over arugula corn and chickpeas, paired with chardonnay. We love scallops. This was scallops elevated to a new level.
I’m telling you, plating was an art form. The time, attention, and detail that went into each plate was unbelievable. Check out that concentration.
Third course was monk fish served on a bed of potato chips and topped with crispy leeks. This course was paired with a pinot grigio blend. Monk fish was something CJ and I had always wanted to try and it didn’t disappoint. It had a texture that was quite similar to lobster.
Our fourth course was lamb, fingerling potatoes, arugula, and sundried tomatoes which was paired with a prohibition syrah. Red wine, red meat…how could you go wrong!?!
Our fifth course was the showstopper, wagyu beef with a bacon and potato lyonnaise. They paired it with a zinfandel and together they made our tastebuds sing! Sounds super cheesy…singing taste buds…but you didn’t try this…I did…you would have said the same thing. If you have never tried wagyu, try is as soon as you can. Trust me, you’ll thank me. It’s that good.
Last but not least was our sixth course, dessert, which was paired with a port wine. Our dessert plate consisted of strawberry ice cream, chocolate truffles, Basque cake, and a flourless chocolate cake. All of which were amazing but our favorite was definitely the Basque cake.
We returned home to the sweetest, most thoughtful anniversary gift ever. You see, while we were getting ready to go out, Haylen was busy running around the house putting a special present together for us. She found a gift bag, got her Daddy to get a bow for it, and filled it on up. She was so proud, she even took a picture of what she had put together. Check out those cute little toes in her picture!
Opening our present was a fun surprise! It was quite eclectic! We got a picture that she got Hollyn to help color, a leopard ear headband, a Halloween board book, animal crackers, a blanket, a sleep mask, chocolate candy, and last but not least, my two favorites from our goodie bag…my bracelet (the one I was planning on wearing to dinner…I thought I had forgotten it at my in-laws when I couldn’t find it…nope it was all wrapped up for me as part of our anniversary gift!) and a wallflower air freshener refill (the one that was missing when CJ replaced them all before we left and was one short. Ha!!!)
And finally a special thanks to these two girls. Haylen and Hollyn were in such good hands while we were gone. Heck, Haylen was so excited they were watching her, she spent the entire day trying to convince me it was time to get ready for our date!
We had an amazing evening celebrating our anniversary.
Here’s to many more!
