Date Night with Bryan

Bryan and I don’t go out for date nights too often. After a long week of work, the last thing I feel like doing is getting all dolled up and going out for dinner. If given a choice, I generally prefer to make food and watch a movie at home. However…. when Ann, the owner of The Gables at Chadds Ford, invited Bryan and me to visit again, I couldn’t say no. The Gables is one of our all-time favorite restaurants. It has such a great atmosphere and delicious and innovative dishes. Whenever we come in, Ann always stops by to chat and gives me a huge hug. She’s super attentive to restaurant guests and makes sure everyone is having a wonderful meal. 

Here’s what we ordered during date night a few weekends ago. 

Drinks & Appetizers

First up was alcohol {obviously}, so I ordered a lemon drop martini and Bryan got a dirty martini. Both were very well made! I’ve never been much of a cocktail person. In college, I only drank Smirnoff raspberry vodka. Recently however, I’ve been loving martinis. 

Before we ordered apps, our server Phillip went over the specials of the day. He was so knowledgeable about the menu and took the time to explain everything to us. He was so sweet! Ann told us that Phillip has been with the restaurant for a while and is a crowd favorite. 

First, we ordered the large cheese plate, because we had it last time we were at The Gables and it’s so incredibly delicious. It’s probably big enough for a party of four, but I have an obsession with cheese (cold cheese only - hot, melted cheese is gross). The plate had a variety of hard and soft cheeses, figs, olives, baked diced apples, nuts, bread, jam, and an Australian fruit whose name I can’t remember. 

After eating my weight in cheese, I had a cup of roasted butternut squash and pumpkin soup. It was topped with creme fraiche and toasted pumpkin seeds. I need to figure out the recipe for this, because I need to make this at home as soon as humanly possible. Hey Ann, want to share the secret recipe with me?!

Bryan ordered the kale salad, but you have to know something. He rarely orders salad when we go out, so I was shocked! The salad had bacon, grape tomatoes, feta cheese, avocado and bacon vinaigrette. If it has bacon, he’s all for it. 

Entrees

Last time we ate at The Gables, I ordered the blackened salmon, so I knew I wanted to get something different this time around. I got the pan seared scallops of the day, which also had fettuccine, asparagus, mushrooms, shrimp, and Brussels sprouts in a blush sauce. It was so incredibly amazing. I only ate half and had the leftovers for lunch the next day. If you know me personally, you know that I don’t do leftovers. I made an exception in this case. 

Bryan picked the grilled mako shark, since he never tried shark before. It had a simple lemon marinade, Carolina red rice, and roasted broccolini. It honestly wasn’t Bryan’s favorite dish. He said it was a bit dry and could use more marinade or a sauce on top. 

Dessert

Holy moley. I’m not sure how we saved room for dessert, but we did. We ordered the owner Ann’s Chocolate Banana Cake to split. It was a chocolate banana cake with bananas foster mousse, chocolate ganache, caramelized bananas and topped with warm chocolate sauce. Heaven on a plate. 

Our waiter also brought us a cup of salted caramel ice cream, made nearby at Woodside Farm Creamery. This is what dreams are made of, my friends. I can’t wait to check out the creamery this summer and pick up pints of ice cream to keep in our freezer. 

As always, our night out at The Gables was amazing. If you’re near Chadds Ford, PA, I highly recommend you stop in for a meal. 

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