Hello again!! It's been a long time since I've written a post and with good reason. My last post was back on May 31st and since then we've had a bit of a change in our lives. That was the day my mom came to stay with us while she got her Alberta roots set up. June was a CRAZY month! Having my mom here cooking us dinner was great. Home-cooked meals almost every night, good company, lots of laughs. At one point M even commented on how we'd stayed home more with Mom here than we had in weeks! Because she was here and we were well fed we even saved money by not being at the pub 4 nights a week! Unbeknownst to us the staying home phase would actually prepare us for the next big change.

On June 31st we found out that we are expecting! No more beer for me :( That's not to say that we didn't go out to eat, because we still do, but my morning sickness took over at dinner time from weeks six through twelve. I was not in any mood to go out for food so home we stayed. A lot. Poor guy, I think M missed our pub nights. Now that I'm further along, 22 weeks (almost 6 months) I'm way past the sickness stage and I'm good for food most any time. Which leads me to our latest date night dinner...

 17th avenue is filled with restaurants. Literally on every corner, in every strip mall, some right out in the open, some tucked away a bit. This Monday evening was a surprise for me as it was M's turn to do date night. As we are walking down 17th ave on a warm October evening we approach a Mexican restaurant and I'm sold. Yup, I could eat tacos. But M steers me away from Mexican to offer me a bit of a fancier meal! 80th & Ivy has been on 17th ave longer than I expected honestly, its towards the west end where its not quite as busy. Its facade is sort of covered by its street facing patio, but its almost hidden by its very large heaters and the Mexican patio almost hides the entrance.

 In we go and it's very different than I imagined. the foyer opens right into a large lounge, high top tables and TV's all around. Not busy at all, clearly Monday is not the money shift. Seems a little strange to me, being on 17th ave and all, but it's okay, I wasn't in the mood for a loud raucous crowd. Up the stairs to the back dining room and its a very different vibe. Low tables, and only 12 of them at that, so a much more relaxed vibe. Its got a great viewing area from the whole dining room of its open concept kitchen. As a restaurant manager (oh yeah, and in the past six months I've left one job and added more hours in the restaurant as a manger) I see the pros and the cons to open kitchen. Pro in this case, as a bit of a foodie I'm always watching the chefs and seeing their systems. Con, I watched the head chef pull out his phone and start texting away, while on line. (Com'on dude, I know it's not a Friday night, but no phones on the floor!). The main reason we were there was they do a weekly special of buck-a-shuck oysters. Since I've been pregnant I'm not supposed to eat them so M has been missing out. Its a bit of a treat in a way because we don't have them often but any time he'd try to suggest somewhere with them my stomach took over with a resounding NOPE. I did't even want to be around seafood for a few weeks. Am I ever glad that's over with!

 As we're seated and waiting for our server we go over any appetizers that catch our eye. Nothing is really grabbing me, the selection is a bit more...Asian/spicy/meaty? That's a terrible way to describe it, but I just can't explain it. Regardless I wasn't into an appetizer. We decided that dinner would be filling enough that we didn't need one anyway. Sorry, correction - I didn't need one. M was still having his oysters, its 95% of the reason we came here. Our server seemed to be new, we'd ask him questions and he wouldn't know or he'd hum and haw. That's cool, I get being new but simple things like if you serve Coke or Pepsi should be learned on day one. So M asked for 10 oysters half and half. (That just means half from the east coast half from the west coast for you non seafood lovers). Johnny boy, because I don't know his actual name, explained that it's served in 6 or 12 and M asked for 6. Twelve came out to the table. Sorry babe, can't help ya eat 'em, you're on your own.

 Once M is done on the oysters we go all out on our main course. We order the Butcher Block for 2. It's literally three different proteins on a huge slab of butcher block. You chose two side dishes and get to stuffin' your face. Steelhead Trout, 1/2 a rotisserie chicken and a 8 oz NY striploin. This kind of dish works perfectly for the two of us because he'll eat more trout, I'll eat more steak and we split the chicken. It was served with broccolini (my choice) and roasted fingerling potatoes (also my choice, don't kid yourself) and a trio of dips. Broccolini was on point. Man that was delicious, I haven't had veg that good in a long time. Potatoes were also delicious, with a ton of butter and herbs, crispy edges and fluffy inside. Mama is a happy lady!

 We've gotten our fingers messy ripping up half a chicken when I cut into the steak and it's almost well done. Now, I'm not the kind of pregnant lady who has changed her diet drastically. I'll still eat a medium rare steak and I still eat hot dogs. So when our steak is super over done we've got to find Johnny Boy. He graciously removes it, shows the chef and then they walk out of our line of sight. I know that trick-you don't want your guest seeing one of two things: 1) you and the chef talking badly about us and mocking me for sending it back or 2) you and chef are going to eat it. Frankly I don't care what you're doing I just want a new one out that isn't overdone. Second time around, chef nailed it. Now truly I hate a NY Striploin. I think the fat cap is too much, there isn't enough marbling in the steak, its tougher than any other steak and usually overcooked because of how thin they are. The second attempt redeemed itself and was cooked perfectly. Good :)

After polishing this platter off we debated on dessert. 3 kinds of gelato sounded right up my alley. But after letting all that food settle I decided I didn't have an ounce of room left. Granted, none of the three flavours sounded all that appealing to me but I passed anyway. If I recall correctly the gelato flavours rotate every so often too. We'll save that for the next visit.

 If you're looking for somewhere new to go and you've put on just enough make up that you're feeling fancier than a pub I'd suggest 80th and Ivy. The food was wonderful, the atmosphere is warm and romantic. A great spot for date night. Once I can eat oysters again we will go back, for buck-a-shuck and gelato :)