On our 5th wedding anniversary, we decided to make reservations at The Dining Room at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena. It sounded like it would be a really nice dining experience - good food, romantic ambiance, excellent service, etc.
The hotel was beautiful, although in my opinion, there were too many people there, probably because there were two wedding receptions taking place at that time. We were greeted by the hostess, who immediately seated us (she even said, "Happy Anniversary" to us, which was nice). We were promptly served bread with a rather large dish of softened butter... yummy! As expected, service was excellent. I really wanted to try their blind 7-course tasting menu, but due to budget constraints and my present condition, I was not able to. One of these days...
Instead, I ordered probably the only thing I could eat, New York Strip Steak. It was served grilled, with fingerling potatoes, sweet and sour shallots, brussel sprout leaves and a bordelaise sauce. Upon ordering, we were served an amuse bouche, which was a perfectly seared scallop served with microgreens in a citrus vinaigrette. The entrees came and the steak was perfectly cooked to medium-well (I couldn't ask for medium right now). The potatoes and shallots were perfect complements to the steak, but I could not stop raving about the brussel sprout leaves. Everything about it was just so good - texture and seasoning was spot on. Here is a picture of the dish:
For dessert, I ordered a quartet of little goodies that included a nutmeg beignet, a lemon mousse tart, pistachio ice cream and something else I can't remember. I wish I had taken a photo of the menu and my dessert. However, the dessert was delicious overall, but the highlight of the dish was the beignet. There is something to be said for fried dough, in fact, the brussel sprouts and that beignet are the two things that made the entire dinner for me.
Overall it was a very nice evening. Here are pictures of some of the beautiful flower arrangements they had throughout the hotel:
