Dinner with my Valentine at The Point

Valentine’s Day this year was the first time Chris and I actually got to go out on the date itself. Last year I had a night class on Valentine’s Day so we ended up going to Athos a few days before. The year before (our first Valentine’s Day) I was in Florida and he was here. So we both wanted to do something special for our Valentine’s Day date.

Chris found a pre-fixe menu for $60 per person at The Point, a new-ish restaurant in Albany that we had both heard amazing things about. We figured since we weren’t doing presents that this would be our gift to each other, a fancy dinner!

Chris ordered a beer at the bar while we waited for our table (only about 10 minutes) and we were seated in the back. It was a dark, romantic atmosphere and we really like the style of the restaurant. The tables were on what looked to be stacked books and there were vintage televisions on the wall that were playing an old black and white movie. It had nice ambiance.

After scanning the drinks list, I opted for a martini, something I usually never order at restaurants! It was called the True Blood, complete with a quote from Bill Compton on the menu, and that made my night! “Something to sink your fangs into. Bold. deep. serene. Absolut ruby red vodka, muddled oranges and strawberries, pomegranate liquer, vintage portuguese desert wine, balsamic reduction rim.” It was light and fruity and so tasty. I easily could have drank two more, but at $11 per martini, I kept it at one!

For the first course, I chose the Fennel Salad, “shaved fennel, blood oranges, pomegranates, goat cheese tossed with arugula and a raspberry vinaigrette”. It was a toss up between this and seafood trio, but the goat cheese was on the salad was calling my name! The salad came out and I started eating it–it tasted amazing and it was so full of flavor…but there was no goat cheese on the salad at all. I was so disappointed because that was pretty much why I ordered it. I debated on saying something to the server but my shyness won over and I didn’t.

The second course came out and I picked the King Crab Pasta, “Alaskan king crab meat, fresh snow peas, shaved carrots, fresh tomatoes with a truffle butter cream sauce”. This dish was so rich and delicious. There were a few hunks of crab in it, but not many, but I could still taste the flavor of the crab throughout. I never order pasta out at restaurants, but I figured tonight was a special ocassion and we were paying a lot of money, so I got what I wanted! I ate a little less than half and had the rest packed up to get to go.

The third course had only meat dishes on the menu, so I had called ahead of time to find out if there were going to be any vegetarian options for this one. Fortunately, there was! It wasn’t listed but it was a butternut squash ravioli. It was simply divine! Some of the best ravioli I’ve had. It wasn’t as rich as the pasta but it was still a lot of food! I got half of the dish wrapped to go so now I have two meals for the next day.

Finally, the fourth course came out! I picked the apple and pear cobbler with walnut gelato. It was an absolutely huge portion! The cobbler was warm and the gelato was delicious. There was also some chocolate dipped fruit on the plate and I was so full at this point, it was hard to eat any more, but it was so good I wanted to finish it! The chocolate was some of the best tasting I’ve had!

Despite the disappointment with my salad, this meal was great. For $60 we got four courses which was tons of food and I had leftovers to last me two more meals. The food was great and I would highly recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for some place fancy with amazing food. I want to go back and try their famous cheese board and get some cocktails sometime! Chris enjoyed his food also and ate every bit of it! It was great to spend an evening out with my Valentine.

How was your Valentine’s Day? Did you go out or stay in?