Baaaaaaaaaah! I love date nights. They are sooo not common around these parts. Mike & I usually choose to stay in for our "DVR nights" on random weekly evenings when we're both actually home, and call it good. That being said, sometimes the stars align, and we get a proper date night. Out. With food. And no kiddo to worry about. This, people, was one of those nights. Yahoo!
We've been wanting to go to The Copper Onion for ages now- I've heard some really great things about it, and when Mike heard they had carbonara (remember this?), he was excited enough to call and make reservations himself:)
We made it in before the Friday night dinner rush and got settled in our little corner nook. I thought the ambiance was warm, cozy, and romantic (most weekends we're at In-N-Out, so this was a vast improvement on the "romantic" end!), also, the service was friendly. We had to ask for bread specifically (we all know I need my carbs), which tasted so-so, but I'm a hungry pregnant woman, so I won't complain:)
I ordered their burger & arugula side-salad, and Mike ordered (shocker!) the carbonara- complete with homemade noodles an actual yolk hidden in the middle! The food was super tasty!! Mike said it's the "best carbonara he's had to-date in the US" (we've only been home a month so I'm sure the search will be ongoing)! Oh, and I really liked my salad. Like, a lot.
Other highlights: they give you a nice little cold carafe of water- no waiting around for a refill! || Don't judge by my burger- the menu was really diverse and unique! I just am not a diverse and unique eater:) Looking around, everyone's plates looked heavenly! If you're adventurous and/or don't mind spending a little extra $$$, for sure, go! Try!
Quirks: the napkins looked like dishtowels. They kind of smelled like dishtowels too (remember, again, I'm a bloodhound. Smells are a specialty of mine:) They were cute though:) || The pickle was shockingly awful. It was speared right there on top of my happy burger (I love pickles). I have NO clue how it was made, but it was so spicy/strong/garlic-y? Eek! No good. Also, the aioli on my burger- I always requests sauces on the side, and am so glad I did- this was SO spicy, too! || Expensive. For us at least. We share meals 93.6% of the time, but since Mike was undoubtedly eating pasta with a raw egg, I chose a thoroughly-cooked burger:) Almost $40 for a meal with no drinks, no appetizers, and no desserts? Kind of a kick in the full-and-happy-stomach. Oh well. This was a dinner & NO movie date:) So there! We saved ourselves $20 by going home for some DVR time:)
