Dinner with a Bird's-Eye View

For Wheat's birthday this year, I did exactly what any red-blooded, American girl would do on their fiance's birthday: Go straight for his heart and offer him food. Last year, I took him to Rick's Cafe Boatyard for a nice belated birthday dinner on the lake, but this year, I upped the ante and took him to Eagle's Nest at the Hyatt Regency.

Eagle's Nest is Indy's only revolving restaurant, so I made reservations for a sunset spin on one of the highest rooftops in the city. Although the day was overcast, the view was still impressive and we had a blast pointing out our apartment complex, the Capitol building, the canal, and other notable landmarks in the city. It took our entire dining experience (slightly over an hour) to make one complete revolution and we left a bit before the sun went down.

Although dinner itself was delicious, the highlight of the meal was honestly the appetizer we chose - braised short rib gnocchi with chives, shallots, and creme fraiche. We practically licked the sauce off the plate when it was finished and I'm still dreaming about it. For the main course, I chose the grilled center cut filet with potato and artichoke gratin, broiled pearl onions, and marrow butter. Wheat opted with the herb crusted prime rib, garlic and horseradish fries, and pickled onion salad. Needless to say, we were both happy with our choices.

We closed our meal with a lemon meringue bomb with brandied cherries and phyllo dough, which is a fancy way of saying lemon pudding with cherries. Coupled with some hand-holding, it was the perfect end to our mid-week date night.

It's a rare occasion for us to dress up and go somewhere fancy. We're more of a frozen-pizza-and-Bachelorette-on-the-couch kind of couple, but I must admit - it was nice to celebrate my favorite guy in the way he deserves.

Here's to next year.