Earlier this year, Lance and I found out we’d be going back to Atlanta to work at an event.  I immediately went to Open Table to make a reservation at the fantastic Woodfire Grill.  This is Kevin Gillespie’s restaurant and we had the pleasure of eating there in January 2011.  It’s rare that we’re able to be repeat customers at any restaurant outside of Indianapolis. 

I’m pretty sure they keep notes on their customers because when they called to verify the reservation they mentioned my HFCS allergy and, once we were seated, our server mentioned that she knew we didn’t drink wine but asked if we’d like anything else.  That’s a neat touch – to be remembered. 

We opted, again, for the 7-course chef’s grand tasting menu.  We had no idea what to expect, but were happy to trust the chefs.  We were asked if we had a problem with raw fish, so that gave us a hint of what was to come. 

Our meal started with a lovely basket of small rolls and herbed butter.  The bread was warm and delicious. 

In March, Lance and I had the pleasure of working at an event in the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN.  This is an amazing place.  It’s the largest non-casino hotel in the US and covers about 9 acres of land.  Inside, in addition to the rooms, convention rooms, shops, and restaurants there are also rivers, waterfalls, plants, and fish.  It’s a gorgeous space. 

The one downside is that once you’re in the biodome, you’re sort of stuck there due to the size of the venue and the size of the grounds surrounding it.  As a result, we ate all of our meals within the hotel.  The good side is that our meals were super tasty.  The bad side is that our meals were also super expensive.  I’m going to combine them in this one post instead of making a separate post per meal – two of our meals were quite brief!

A few months ago, Lance read about a restaurant in Oslo called Maaemo.  In March 2012 it was awarded two Michelin stars.  This is the first time a Nordic restaurant has received two stars right off the bat in its first inclusion in the guide.  The restaurant focuses on local ingredients and certainly falls into the category of modernist cuisine.  We had been bouncing around the idea of fine dining while in Norway and this announcement seemed like a good sign. 

Lance worked hard to secure us a reservation and we were thrilled to be able to dine at Maaemo on May 30th, one of the last days of our trip.  Lance’s dad was kind enough to drive us to the restaurant, but, since it’s right across from the bus terminal in Oslo, we took the bus back to the house after our meal. 

I’m hoping the pictures will do a lot of speaking for themselves because I can’t possibly do this meal justice with my words.  It was just too amazing and complex and astounding.  This certainly counts as the most dramatic culinary experience of my life. 

Ah, St. Elmo - my favorite restaurant in downtown Indianapolis.  I had rare pleasure of being able to eat at St. Elmo on my actual birthday this year!  Normally we’re only in Indy in August, but this year we had an event in March as well.  My birthday conveniently fell on the day of the event we knew we’d be finished early with, so I was able to secure a reservation for us at St. Elmo.  On my birthday!  Super exciting! 

World Famous St. Elmo Shrimp Cocktail

We both started out with the insane shrimp cocktail.  It’s insane because the cocktail sauce is horseradish with some red stuff.  It’s a delicious challenge.  I didn’t finish all of my shrimp, but Lance was happy to help.