10 Years of Wedded Bliss … A Recap of Food, Wine, and more

This past Thursday was our 10 year wedding anniversary.

Happy Anniversary to Us!  There, I said it!  Thank you, thank you.

I had started a post on the anniversary day, but got quite sidetracked by all the festivities that I never finished it, and it didn’t quite sound right posting it now, three days later.  So, I started with a fresh post.  Here goes.

I booked our dinner reservation weeks in advance at Weczeria Food + Wine.  It’s a small restaurant just off Broadway in Saskatoon.  It’s cozy and quaint and we’d never been there before Thursday.

So why Weczeria?

Well, here’s a bit of background on why I chose Weczeria and then I’ll tell you all about the meal.

I wanted to go somewhere nice for our 10 year anniversary.  Truth be told, I wanted that “somewhere nice” to also be surrounded by ocean, palm trees, and +40 temperatures.  But … that was not to be.  So, we were going to spend our 10 year anniversary in Saskatoon.  No problem.  Now to find a nice restaurant that would be special and yet still accommodate Levi’s many allergies.

I emailed three different restaurants in Saskatoon that I located after Googling ‘fine restaurants in Saskatoon’.  Yes, that’s how random the search began.  Then, after investigating the menus or sample menus on their respective websites I narrowed the number of restaurants to three.  No point going to a restaurant that wasn’t really our style.  The three I chose were Calories Cafe (I had originally wanted Souleio but they do a family-style menu … that is set for each evening in advance.  No a la carte ordering from what I could tell.), Tusq, and Weczeria Food + Wine.

I emailed all three.

I heard back from all three promising that they’d be able to help me find the perfect menu for Levi and our special day.

I received a menu from Calories within a week with adjustments of their regular current menu that would suit Levi.  Their protein choice was rabbit.  I couldn’t do it.  I am not that much of a carnivore yet … and it was just too soon to adventure on to rabbit.  They offered to do something else, but I thought I’d wait and see what other options we’d get from the other two places.

I still have yet to hear back from Tusq.  Lame.  I would have rather they didn’t even reply to me in the first place instead of replying and then forgetting about me.  I guess they’re just too high class for us.  LOL.

Then Weczeria chef Lindsay called me personally to discuss a menu for Levi.  She was enthused and excited for the challenge and was completely confident that he’d be stunned.

I was just so impressed that the chef called me personally.  At this point, I already really like this Weczeria place.  The fact that I still had no clue how to pronounce it didn’t change how much I was in love with the restaurant – and I hadn’t set foot in the door yet.

So, I booked our dinner reservation and left a note in their online booking system that I spoke with Lindsay.  I didn’t really say much else and just left it in their hands.  I fought the nagging desire to call the day before our anniversary to double check that they really remembered what he could and couldn’t have.  I fought it – and won.  I did not call.  I figured if they screwed up then they’d fix it for me.  They just seemed the type.

Well, believe me when I say there was absolutely no screw ups.  The entire evening was … amazing.

The little restaurant is very much my style.  Simple elegant and cozy.  The only thing missing was a wood fireplace in the corner.  As we sat down to our table, we were near the kitchen and we could smell the foods being prepared and it was … honestly the best seat in the house.

Their menu revolves around as much locally sourced ingredients from the producers around Saskatoon and in Canada.  They design their menu around what is in season and available at the local Farmers’ Market.  I love the market so … when I heard that I got really excited for what lay ahead.

The menu consisted of four choices of appetizer and four choices of mains and about six desserts.  They also have a coffee feature.

Levi had two different options for appetizer, based off the same menu but with modifications.  He also had three options for mains, all with different modifications than the original menu.  He was also made his very own dessert feature – completely different from what was on the dessert menu.

We both ordered basically the same thing, although nothing was the same really.  Levi couldn’t sample my food, but I sampled his and all I can say is OMG.  Amazing.

We both had the scallop appetizer.  Mine had braised oxtail and salsa verde.  Levi’s had bacon and was served over a potato rosti.

We both ordered the halibut main course.  Levi’s had beet puree and all kinds of goodies.  Mine had a curried squash puree.  All amazing.  I sampled the beet puree from Levi’s plate and that was by far my most favorite flavor of the evening.  It had just the right punch of dill and tasted so fresh.

For dessert Levi had rum-raisin braised peaches with a ginger sorbet.  He’s not into ginger.  I should have told the chef that but I totally forgot.  Really, that’s my fault since she did ask what he didn’t like.  He ate part of the sorbet and I finished it.  I am a ginger fiend.

The dessert I chose was the Chocolate Beet Cake.  It was a small piece of thin chocolate cake with a cream foam on top served beside a sweet beet juice reduction/coulis.  So tasty again.

We polished off a nice bottle of white with the meal too.

I had to try the featured coffee which if I remember correctly was Guatemalan roast.  I didn’t pay all that much attention to the name but it was amazing.

Lindsay, the Chef, came out after the meal was over to meet and chat.  I was pleased to be able to actually talk to her face-to-face to express how thankful I was that they did such a beautiful job of accommodating Levi’s allergies without it being such a big production which usually embarrasses him.  The night went out without a single hitch.

Perfect!

Oh did I mention the giant vase of flowers Levi had delivered to me at work?  Yeah, they were huge.  I can’t even lift them.  I left them at work so that our pets don’t have their way with them.  I took Friday off work and stopped in on Friday afternoon to grab something from the office and saw that they smelled so strong that my co-workers had to move them to another office, away from them.  LOL.

Oh and guess what I got as an anniversary present???

I got it about a month ago … Levi couldn’t wait.  But, for a foodie like me, it’s basically the best thing ever.

He got me a gift bag full of foodtastic things from Cava Secreta.  Things like truffle oil, lemon oil, lavender vinegar, whole grain mustard, raspberry balsamic vinegar, truffle salt, truffle in acacia honey, truffle in oil.  You know … all that gourmet stuff.  Oh yeah, and chocolate covered orange peel.  YUM!

I haven’t even done anything with most of it yet.  I hate to admit I am a tad intimidated now that I’ve got all the things I’ve been drooling over each time I go to Cava at the Farmers’ Market!  Now to try experimenting!!

So like usual I have pics … but yes, they are held hostage on my camera for the time being.  Bear with me.