Birthday Dinner @ Carmelo Greco

Hub's took me to a fabulous restaurant in Frankfurt for my Birthday!  Truthfully I haven't been all that impressed with food in Germany but this restaurant was super nommy even better then some fine dining restaurants we've been to in the San Francisco.

Adorable Hubby :)

Our sparkling water had this attachment to make pouring the water smoother.. I have no idea what it's called.. but it was so cool I was really tempted to jack it BAHAHAHA! :)

One of the funny things about living in Germany is that whenever I'm out and about whether it's shopping or eating I always get excited because the prices seem so much more affordable... until I remember that the prices are in EURO's and not in USD BAHAHAHA. and then I'm like crap. AHAHAHAHA.

I loved their bread... the puffy looking bread was like this deep fried doughy puff it was nomss!

They really load you up on the bread ahahah.. the crips on the top tasted like pita chips but waaaay better!

Gelatin cubes of beef with foam and cucumber infused ice cream and candied fruit

Ice Cream #1! 

This was really super interesting the gelatin beef reminded me the gelatin beef you would eat at a Chinese wedding banquet on one of those spinning lazy susans.. and the funniest part was that after The Hubs and I both had a bite and I said "You know what this reminds me of??" the Hubs responded "Chinese banquet" I said "OMGGG YES" AHAHAHAHAH.. we really are married.

It was also accompanied with a scoop of cucumber ice cream which I really enjoyed.. at first I was kinda weirded out but it was actually really good together they really complimented each other.

Ice Cream #2!

As you will find I ate A LOT of ice cream/sorbet/granita's at this meal... 4 times to be exact!!  In 5 different flavors!! (Lucky too because the restaurant was realllllllllllllllly warm.)

Burrata salad w/ artichoke, tomato jelly, potato, and mustard infused ice cream

For one person this was waaaaaaaaay too overwhelming and it made it somewhat unappetizing.

Also this dish was really wet... hahah that is the best way I can describe.  There's ice cream and jelly LOTS AND LOTS of burrata cheese as you can see (to be fair the burrata was VERY fresh and delicious) underneath the burrata was a lot of very wet veggies and a very mushy wet potato. and there was nothing to absorb all of the different wet textures so it just made the whole dish very mushy.... yahhhh...

While I appreciate the effort this was definitely one of those better in theory vs. execution type of dishes.  This was a fail.

Duo of Fois Gras w/ caramelized apples and port wine cherries

The Hub's appetizer was a MAJOR win!!  IT WAS NOMS!  Sauteed fois gras as well as a cold pate type of foie gras covered in macadamia nuts.  The sauteed apples and cherries were a perfect accompaniment as they really cut the fatty taste of the foie gras.

I also really appreciated that they plated it with two different types of fruits.. that way you actually get 4 different flavor profiles!!  (I'm the type of person that likes to order 5 different appetizers vs. appetizers and mains at restaurants hahaha because I get tired of the same flavor profile quickly.)

Atlantic lobster w/ creamy risotto and Sicilian tomato sauce

I wasn't happy with my appetizer but the meal was saved by my starter entree which was AMAZING!!!!  So amazing it deserves an AMAZEBALLS BAHAHAHA!!!

I'm usually hesitant to order lobster in fine dining establishments (even though it is my ABSOLUTE favorite seafood) because I often find that the lobster comes out rubbery for whatever reason.

This however was PERFECT some of the best lobster I've ever had in my entire life.. it was plump, juicy, succulent and soooo so sweet!

I'm a huge risotto fanatic and this risotto was delicious and I really loved that they gave you some pureed Sicilian tomato sauce so that you could eat the creamy risotto normally.. or with some tomato sauce (another flavor profile!! LOVES IT HAHAHA :)

Ravioli w/ Parmesan and Sicilian tomatoes

This was the Hub's starter entree and it was SOOOOO GOOD too!  The Hubs absolutely hates Ravioli and yet he even admitted this was some of the most delicious ravioli he's ever tasted.. you could most definitely tell it was freshly hand cut and made right before we ordered it the ravioli skin was SOOOOO thin and the cheeses inside were amazing.

The Sicilian tomatoes were plump and delicious as well! 

Duck w/ pureed potatoes, mushrooms and mango's

I loveeeed my duck dish!!  Duck is one of my favorite things to order in restaurants soooo you could say I'm pretty picky about my duck.  This however was delicious.  I really enjoy duck because I like the gaminess but I'm turned off when it's too gamey (does that make sense??! haha) this was prepared with just the right amount of "gaminess" hahaha and I really enjoyed the sweet mangos!! I swear the fruit in Germany is way wayyy sweeter than in the US.

Suckling pig w/ celeriac puree and candied granny smith apples

The Hub's entree was good.. the pig skin was BOMB (but when is crispy pork skin not bomb?? haha).. but the meat itself was a bit on the dry side.. Suckling pig is basically like a German national dish.. you can order it ANYWHERE in Germany.. and in fact one of the best suckling pig I ever had was inside of a train station and it was like $3 EURO's hahaha.  So I would just say this was good but I've had better.

Palette cleaner - Watermelon granita w. Beer & Apple sorbet

Ice cream #3! 

This was really interesting.. the scoop on top was a sorbet infused with beer and apples.. it was reallly really "beer-y" AHAHAH.  I have no idea how else to describe it.. being that I don't drink.. and when I did drink I didn't drink beer.. this was not really my cup of tea.. however the watermelon granita on the bottom was DELICIOUS!!!  SO SO watermelony!  And watermelon is my favorite fruit so I was really tempted to ask for another scoop hahahaha. I didn't tho.. I resisted hahaha.

Lemon jelly w/ vanilla bean infused whip cream and peach sorbet on crushed pistachios

Ice Cream #4!

Our main dessert was yummmmmms.  Especially the whip cream!  You could tell they make their whip cream fresh and the best part was that it had vanilla bean in it!!!  I.LOVE.VANILLA.BEAN. vanilla bean ice cream, vanilla bean cheesecake.. i DIE for all things vanilla bean! 

The lemon jelly was a bit tooooo lemony for me.. but The Hubs really enjoyed it I think you were actually suppose to eat the lemon jelly w/ the vanilla bean whip at the same time.. it probably would have dampered the tartness of the lemon jelly but I was so excited that there was vanilla bean that I basically ate ALL of the whip cream before I got to the jelly part ahahaha.

The restaurant surprised me with a cake!! :)

Haha as you can tell I was totally caught off guard.

why.am.I.such.a.dork. -___-

I've never gotten a sparkle candle like this before so I was super excited hahaha. 

My own personal chocolate ganache cake!!  

IT WAS SOOOO RICH OMG!!! 

It was absolutely delicious.. and on the house too!!  I always appreciate when a restaurant goes the extra mile :)

Excuse the shininess ahahahahaha.. German (and most European countries for that matter) don't really do the AC thing.. it was realllly really warm in the restaurant you may have noticed that as the evening went on The Hubs took off his jacket and loosened his tie ahahaha and that my hair totally fell flat hahaha.

Something every wannabee foodie always looks for - the Michelin stamp of approval hahahaha

Thanks for such a wonderful and memorable meal Booboo!! :)