dinner date at Perle

Usually we do sushi on Thursday evenings, and I promise, we still love our friends at Mama M.  That said, neither of us was in a mood for sushi last night.  I also wasn't in a mood to cook (and what I had taken out of the freezer in the morning hadn't fully thawed by the time I got home from work either).  We hemmed and hawed and tossed around ideas and finally settled on using a gift certificate that Conrad and received and treat ourselves to a dinner date at Perle.

It's been a long while since last we went to Perle.  French food, and fine enough.  We had dinner there with Bridget a little over two years ago, and honestly?  It was a nice night for the company.  We haven't been inclined to go back.  But we had the gift certificate in a generous amount, and it turns out that Perle now has a bar instead of just wine and beer.  So we parked on two stools at one end of the bar and were charmed and delighted by Paula, the bar manager.  Cocktails to start, including Conrad having a very very good Vesper (one of my favourite drinks) and me opting for the Marie Antoinette, a gin sour. 

Then came the Dubonnet Frais with dinner,

and yep, Paula really knows her stuff. 

The food was good, too.  I ordered a large dinner, so I just had some baguette and butter before the meal came out.  Conrad went with two smalls, with escargot (which he loves) to start, then a salad lyonnaise for his meal. 

That was substantial enough for him, very satisfying.

As for me, it was the lamb carbonnade, lamb shoulder braised with beer and served in a reduction of the liquid. 

Peas and fries with mayonnaise, and mmmm.  Good stuff.  A big meal.  I was happy.

We skipped dessert, and while Conrad ordered a second Last Word, I had an amaro as a digestif.  I could happily go back and just sit at the bar with a cocktail and fries, but I will enjoy going there for a meal a little more often than every two years.