MS surprised me with more than a sky high adventure for my birthday in Temecula. After a restful mid-morning nap, we headed out for an afternoon of wine tasting and an early dinner. He had made two dinner reservations and left the decision to me.
I chose the Smokehouse Restaurant at Ponte Winery.
As we sat down to our table for two, we spied a happy couple exchanging vows just beyond the white trellis of roses. With such a romantic setting, we enjoyed our meal with love and laughter.
Our server noticed my ring and asked about our future plans, and also brought us a complimentary appetizer from the kitchen - a curried chicken bite-sized tea sandwiches.
We ordered a lightly battered, Fried Calamari with tomato remoulade, fresh lemon and parsley as an appetizer, and laughed as we finished the entire plate.
The Wine Country Salad was a nice balance to the fried starter with mixed baby greens, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, feta cheese and a vanilla balsamic vinaigrette.
For my entree, I was impressed with one of the daily specials - a tender, well-seasoned steak over a bed of creamy vegetable risotto [pictured above], while MS ordered the Duck Confit Pizza with cilantro pesto, mozzarella and goat cheeses [not pictured]. The pizza came in such large proportions that MS had leftovers for lunch the next day.
My birthday celebrations started well before dawn with wonderful surprises and continued with a day of crisp and sweet whites, full-bodied and warm reds, and a lovely dinner that left me satiated and completely satisfied.
We took time to be with each other, enjoy the simplicities of life, and make memories to always cherish and remember.
I could not think of a better way of celebrating my 30th birthday.
All my thanks and love to MS.
The Smokehouse Restaurant
at the Ponte Family Estate Winery
www.pontewinery.com
street: 35053 Rancho California Road Temecula, CA 92951
tel: 1.951.252.1770
Smokehouse Hours
M-Sat lunch 11a-5p
Sun brunch 10a-2p & lunch 2p-5p
7 comments:
How was the duck confit pizza? Sounds incredible
Karen
west la apartments
Hey Karen,
Not sure how the duck confit pizza was... since I didn't take a bite of it. I'll have to have MS comment on his take of it. ;)
Hey BoLA - Happy Birthday, you young pup, you!!! Best wishes for many, many, more. ;o)
Hey Kirk-san! Thanks so much for the birthday wishes! Age is just a state of mind, right? ;) Hope all is well with you!!! HUGS!
The restaurant was zehr delightful. Having a wedding going on in the background was cool too.
I had the Duck Confit Dinner, it was more like Duck Jerky, tough and very very salty! At least they didn't charge me for it. The appetizers were ok though. Go to House of Blues Foundation Room in Vegas if you get a chance! It's TOP NOTCH!!!
Love Ponte! I'm from Temecula myself..Ponte is one of my most favorite restaurants.
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