Date Night: On20

{Black T: H&M; Navy stretch pencil skirt: Forever21; Brass and crystal necklace: Target (biting off J.Crew!); Bag: Michael Kors, Gray cage wedges: NineWest; belt: vintage; Flower ring: vintage (estate jewelry at Becker's in West Hartford); Lipstick: Maybelline Cool Watermelon }
We were craving a romantic, dressy, old-school date night, so we decided to head to one of our favorite restaurants, and in my opinion the most romantic place to eat in Hartford - the Polytechnic Club On 20. It's on (of course) the 20th floor of an office building where my husband now works. This is the sign in the lobby:

You take the elevator up to the heavy frosted glass doors with brass bar handles and enter a large, darkened, spacious dining room glowing with warm, candle-like golden light (with actual candles, too). Tables are spaced so that you have a luxurious feeling of intimacy and privacy. There's live piano music and the adjoining bar is absurdly elegant and gorgeous, with plum and bronze colors and dark woods. Even if the dining room is full, there's a quiet peacefulness that always leaves me incredibly relaxed. I had to limit the number of photographs I took as I don't think picture-taking at a beautiful restaurant really flies at all, but I have to wax rhapsodic on the massive windows that span the entire back wall of the restaurant. It is just stunning at night. This Friday, we were lucky enough to get a window seat in the corner, where we could look over the sparkling panorama of the city, the Connecticut river, and the new Science Center, as well as a fire-fly flickering stream of cars flying down the highway in the velvet darkness. Hartford can be like an awkward relative in that we get sort of embarassed by what a mess it is, but we still don't like outsiders talking smack about it. The view from On20 at night transforms our city into a truly glittering metropolitan postcard. All this is even lovelier around the holidays in winter-time, when the dining room is adorned with shining lights and a festive pine tree. Steve and I decided to start a tradition of an annual Holiday Dinner, just us two, every December. Again, I think taking photos spoils the romance of dinner (and is admittedly pretty gauche, although I care way less about that), so here is the view from my husband's office on the 14th floor, just for a snapshot visual:

I'm so excited for him - what a calming work environment, and the job is perfect for him. He said that he sometimes drifts off into a reverie when the crew teams row down the river, it's just such an idyllic picture. The service at dinner was excellent as always. We started with cocktails (single-malt Scotch for him, a rather strong Bellini for me). The amuse was a sort of Thai chicken-patty treat with a delicate coconut-mushroom broth. Then we had langoustine ravioli - I'd never tried langoustines before and they were delicious in a frothy sauce - and a mushroom plate. He got the short ribs and I got a perfectly pink strip steak. The food is always so spot-on and the staff is extremely gracious. We had a delicious bottle of Bordeaux and the kind of laughter-filled, flirtatious conversation that reminds me why date night is so important, as much as we love OnDemand, free-style fart jokes, and the couch. (Which we do. And how.) I've always wanted to snap a photo of the ornate, heavy place-setting plates they start with, with its pheasants, parrots, viols, mandolins, horns, flora and general Renaissance vibe (without the role-play). I took this as quickly as I could and cringed because I'd left the flash on.

{This Michael Kors bag was a gift from Steve. (He is awesome.) Its thunder-greige color, bronze and silver detailing, size, and shape make it the perfect bag for day or night, and I liked how it looked on the decorational table in the ladies' room, alongside postcards advertising a local artist, Sandy Welch.}

{Chocolate and candy plate we had for dessert, along with grappa and a ridiculously light hazelnut gateau and mango sorbet. I especially liked the pumpkin chocolate, bottom left.}

{He good-naturedly humored me for a quick "artsy" elevator shot on our way home.}

{The hubs is addicted to the sci-fi show Fringe. We were watching when we got home, and this flyover shot of Hartford was one of the more accurate ones we've seen on TV. In fact, Steve can see his office building. A fitting end to a romantic local evening.}

-- xoxo