Floataway Cafe

Friday night we got all dolled up and went out for a much-deserved fancy dinner at Floataway Cafe. Upon arrival, we were seated promptly in our own booth, side by side and eager to eat some truly delicious cuisine.

Drinks were ordered: Corey had a Limoncello Lemonade that tricked both of us into thinking we were drinking a non-alcoholic, tall glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade (this is dangerous) and I had a Merchant's Wife which is comprised of freshly-squeezed watermelon juice, Hendrick's gin and Pernod. The licorice flavor was subtly layered underneath the bright watermelon juice and added a nice amount of depth to the cocktail. Corey's deceptive lemonade was garnished with fresh thyme - an unexpected and delicious combination.

Appetizer arrived: Wood-fired blue crab in a buttery, lemony, light basil sauce. Oh lord, this was good. The smoke of the wood-fire and the bright citrus with the delicate crab was so well-done. Divine.

Main courses: Corey had ricotta and lemon mezzaluna (aka ravioli) tossed in a very simple sauce of herbs and olive oil. I had homemade tagliatelle with a spicy tomato sauce and three pillowy veal and ricotta meatballs. Ordering pasta at a restaurant this good is a gamble because you can pay a lot for a meal that you could probably have made at home or, on nights such as this, be BLOWN away by how wonderful a simple dish can be. You can be overwhelmed by just how delicious homemade pasta is, how the tomato sauce creates the right amount of flavor to compliment the meatball, and how the ingredients really speak for themselves.

Dessert: Gorgeous profiteroles with homemade vanilla ice cream stuffed inside, smothered in a decadent dark chocolate sauce and topped with roasted peanuts. Everything I love on a plate. Such a simple, almost child-like dessert that I could have eaten for years. We also had coffee that came to us in a french-press for the table. I don't know what we were thinking by ordering regular coffee at 10pm at night but we got a lot of TV on DVD in before we finally fell asleep.

It was an amazing meal from start to finish. I would go again in a heartbeat and Corey and I have determined that more nights out are in the cards for us. It makes the week so much more delightful when you have something utterly delicious to look forward to.