Aqua by El Gaucho

DATE NIGHT!!! It feels like it has been forever since The Critic and I got to go enjoy a night out on the town.  The perfect opportunity presented itself.  For a "nominal" fee we could drop off The Guys at the Pacific Science Center for 5 glorious hours.  And when food is your Coach bag, well, there is no question about what a portion of that time will be spent doing.  Dining out -- I have missed you (I am officially 30 pounds lighter though!).

By recommendation from our fellow foodie friend The Soccer Mom, we headed to Aqua by El Gaucho.  We have been to El Gaucho before but Aqua was new to us.  They raved about the spinach salad, but we had to pass since a.) it is for two -- no salad for The Critic... makes his mouth go all tingly/scratchy/painful and b.) it has mushrooms (yes, I realize they could be taken out, but see problem a).  No matter... what we did have was delicious and a true dining out treat.  Happy to say we've dined here!

First up -- Prawns with coconut curry and cashews... I think.  I don't remember.  Good thing for pictures, huh?  I think I remember it being tasty.  I don't remember it being bad.  We did order and eat this, right?  Yeah... pretty sure we did.

Next up...  My dinner!  Chilean Sea Bass with pickled ginger on a divine sauce of something-or-other and white rice.  The only way this could have been improved is if it had been served on the marscapone risotto (see below).  This dinner was amazing. 

Also up next... The Critic's dinner.  Look at the size of that "shrimp".  Compare it to the glasses behind it!  Amazing.  It was served on a puffed pastry with cream sauce.  It was good, but too heavy and rich for me.  I think this dish shows tremendous growth in food adventures for The Critic.  When we were dating he would have run for the hills from a plate like this.

I am the queen of side dishes.  I would rather have side dishes than desserts.  Two looked good on the menu here and we added them to our meal.  Our amazing server suggested 1/2 portions -- he's so smart.  It was the perfect amount of food.  First up, Brussels sprouts.  I *love* this vegetable, but here it was so-so.  A bit too greasy.  Pancetta -- GOOD.  Apples weren't my favorite.  All in all, not terrible but I don't think I would get them again.

What I *would* get again is this marscapone risotto.  Oh. My. Word.  I mean lick-the-plate-show-no-shame awesomeness.  It's not much to look at, but that's okay.  It would disappear in 30 seconds flat without a little restraint. 

While we opted to skip dessert, we did see something intriguing and I'm blogging about it because I'm pretty sure I need to try this at home some time.  Okay, let's be honest.  The Critic (aka The Pastry Chef) will have to tackle it.  But here's the plan... Bailey's Chocolate Caramel Bread Pudding.  Recipe idea... Brioche, cream from the creme brulee french toast (from here with Bailey's instead of Grand Marnier), add chunks of dark chocolate, then bake it in ramekins and add some caramel in at the end.  Or something similar.  Like I said, he's the Pastry Chef... not me.