Valentine's Day

Andy and I don't go in for big fancy stuff around Valentine's Day - we tend to take turns to cook a nice dinner or order a take away! We sometimes take a day out somewhere but we don't usually go out. This year it was Andy's turn to sort out Valentine's Day and I have to say he did a great job!

We use Google Calendar a lot to keep track of dates and what is going on as I am often away with work. And a couple of weeks before the 14th I spied an email letting me know I had an invite in my Calendar. It was from Andy and he was asking if I would be free at 6.30pm for dinner in a secret location with a sexy/smart dress code! How exciting! Well, of course I had to check my busy social diary and break a few hearts but I said yes.

So where did my romantic husband take me? There is a new-ish restaraunt in Dundee called the Playwright and we had been there before for cocktails but not for food. I was a bit worried going out for food on the 14th would mean being surrounded by heart shaped ballons and being forced to order from a menu based on pink food and smutty innuendo for the name's of the dishes.

Thankfully, the Playwright steered clear of this the only nod to Valentine's being a single red rose alongside your dessert. A nice touch though was that they closed the cocktail bar to anyone who didn't have a reservation, so after dinner there was no crush at the bar and the noise/busyness levels didn't get too high.

We both had the scallops to start which was a good choice - meaty but not too heavy and with some nice cripsy potatoe rosti and cured ham. Then Andy had the beef - a huge doorstep that was cooked to perfection that he rather reluctantly gave me a wee taste of. I had the duck, which was served with parsnips, potatoes cooked in stock and grapes. The duck was really tender, cooked to just the right balance of pinkiness inside and not too fatty.

But the best part of the meal (apart of course from the excellent company!)was the chocolate and Grand Marnier terrine. It was bliss - very chocolatey but not heavy and a good sized portion. There was a lot of mmmm-ing and ah-ing and licking of the spoons!

We then had cocktails at the bar - I stuck to Pink Collins and I was very impressed with Andy's Victorian Mojito which replaces rum with gin - very tasty. We did join my sister and her friend Ruth for a quick drink at Underground but felt that the mad dancing could be left in their capable hands and us old folks toddled up the road - happy, full and perhaps a little bit tipsy.