So Friday was June 29th, and when I opened the door to walk to the kitchen, I found balloons in front of my face! There was a Post-it note from Liz and Hannah and a note from Anna. Ooooh yeahhh, it's my birthday! :D While I was taking pictures of the balloons, Anna pops out of her room and sings me a little song, dance moves included! Super cute ^^ I still had my eyes half-closed because of my contacts and was smiling with my retainer, but what a great start of the day :P
Inside the bag attached to Anna's (very colorful and flattering) note and balloon was a shirt from Japan! :O
Hello Kitty! :)
I thought that was pretty funny, because I wear my gray Hello Kitty shirt as my pajama shirt! Thank you girls for starting my day off bright and cheery ^^
Sometimes I'm too lazy to change and just wear it to school XD
But not that day, because I can't be wearing pajamas to work on my birthday, right? ;) Yep yep, so I went to work after my doctor's appointment (where the nurse wished me a happy birthday!), played with worms for a bit, and then came back home. I was told to keep after 6pm available ... so I supposed we were having dinner? :P Not a bad guess, since that's what happened!
Josh and Book picked me up and drove me to dinner, but when we got closer, they told me I couldn't look to see where we were going. Easy. I just laid down in the back seat and dozed off ^_^b When we got out of the car, I stared at the ground so as to not give away the location, and I accidentally read a sign that was really low to the floor. It said something like "Pacific Retirement Living." Haha! When I was starting to think they were dumping me at a senior living home for my birthday, they realized they were walking in the wrong direction and circled around to the restaurant.
Big Sky Cafe!
Apparently Book chose this restaurant, which is known for its comfort food (Omgah, comfort food *heart*)! We walked in and saw Daniel, Jenny, Anna, and Sean seated at another table... and then Wilbur and Jerry taking seats at the other. There wasn't enough room to stick both tables together for all of us, so we were oddly separated :/
:D Hiya!~
I took a seat with Wilbur and Jerry who were looking pretty lonely with just two of them at such a long table (haha, looked like a bro date :P). Josh eventually left to join the other table (Noooo, he's leaving meeee)~ but Book took his place.
Josh looking tough!
Big Sky Cafe uses local ingredients (or sustainable when local's not available!), and I had the hardest time deciding what to order! Book knew instantly that the steak was calling for him, and Jerry ordered the same thing. Wilbur was the only one that ordered a burger :P
Book, King of Steaks. Right there.
Wilbur and Jerry (trying to order me alcohol :P)
After a while of trying to get me to order something special for my 21st birthday, Jerry eventually gave up. Haha, I'd rather drink something tasty to celebrate... like sparkling fruit juice or Mountain Dew / Sprite! :)
The other half half of the table was empty, and I wondered who they invited (I thought it would have just been Josh, Book, Daniel, Sean and Anna!). While I was looking at the empty seats, Jeff walks in!
Dinner buddy is here :)
The waiter started placing these little tiny cups of cantaloupe with basil and some other spices on the table, along with baskets of cornbread and... flatbread crisps? I liked the sweetness of the cornbread~ The cantaloupe was really aromatic and kind of reminded me of Indian food :O So interesting! I wonder if they were experimenting with liquid concoctions in the kitchen ;)
Mystery drink?
Cornbread and flatbread crisps
After eating a piece of cornbread, I was full for the night. Haha! I wasn't even hungry for lunch, let alone dinner, and I didn't feel like eating D: But we ordered an appetizer (I chose Skillet Seared Crab Cakes!), and they turned out so delish! I haven't had crab cakes in many years, and I still don't know what they're "supposed" to taste like, but this one was moist and meaty :) Not too much binding ingredients, and you could definitely taste the crab inside ^^b We split the two among us, and just a bite was enough for me *getting even more full* XD
Two crabcakes
The other guests who came later were Jae, Shuran, and Lucy! That was *extremely* unexpected, since I rarely get to see them ever, haha~ But it was nice to see them and fun to listen to their quirky conversations :)
Lucy enjoying bruschetta!
Cornbread and Ozark Forest Wild Mushroom Bruschetta
The bruschetta was unlike any I've seen before, no tomatoes and cheese, but instead topped with sauteed mushrooms (seemed like oyster mushrooms!) and sprouts. It was yummy! I liked when the bread got soggy and soft, but I think most people like their bread toasty, right? :P Soon, all of the entrees began showing up onto the table at once.
Beef Tenderloin Filet with Green Peppercorn Butter
Of course, who else would order steak? ;) (Jerry did!)
Wilbur and his Grass-Fed Big Sky Blue Cheese Burger
Although the picture is blurry, I still think it's funny since Wilbur looks like he's worried. Which he was! He was wondering what "kale chips" were. They're essentially kale leaves drizzled with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and baked to crisps. He liked them, but said that potato fries or chips would have gone better with his burger :P
Jeff's pork chops weren't ready on time, so the waiter gave him complimentary Curried Chicken Apple Tacos while he waited. He shared them with all of us. These looked very... vegetable-y, but I took a bite of the chicken with my fork, and they were bursting with flavor! Mmmm, so good. The menu said the filling was made with apple, celery, red onion, arugula, almonds, and oranges. There was the curry flavor, and it was definitely yummy ^^
Curried Chicken Apple Tacos
Geisert Farms Dry-Rubbed Pork Chop
The pork chop came a bit later, but it was GINORMOUS! And it looked juicy and ready to eat, haha~ I was more interested in the sweet potato around the meat though :P Yummy! Jeff said he liked this one a lot!
I ordered a pot roast, because I've never had it before. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the meat was tender, and everything had a tinge of alcohol in each bite. Is that how all pot roasts are, or just this one because it's called "Red Wine Pot Roast?" It was good nonetheless! Jeff and I both agreed that we liked the pork chop better though, hehe~
Rosemary & Red Wine Braised Pot Roast
Cheddar Cheese Macaroni
Oh, can't forget the mac n' cheese when coming to a comfort food restaurant! It used spiral macaroni that is longer than usual, and the bits of bacon added a lot of flavor. Very creamy~ ^^ It was good, but after eating 3 noodles, I was stuffed!
At the end of the meal, the waiter came out with three of Big Sky Cafe's signature carrot cake cupcakes. They were topped with a cream cheese frosting, a pecan, and dusted with powdered sugar. Jenny cut them into quarters, and everyone had a piece! I was glad everyone took one, because I couldn't even think about eating more @_@ I had a crumb and some frosting, and it was very tasty~ ^^ Ah yes, and Shuran, Jae, and Lucy started singing "happy birthday," and everyone eventually joined, but I think it's because not everyone knows each other well or they were all too full from dinner... but it sounded very melancholy, like we were at a funeral. Hahaha! XD Oh well~
When I walked to the other table to see what they were up to, I learned that Josh ordered the sorbet of the day, which he told me was CHOCOLATE. I was so surprised and amazed that he was trying chocolate (something he cannot stand eating) that I cleared the table space in front of me and just stared (and took pictures). No way... he cannot be enjoying chocolate sorbet like this:
"Mmmm... so goooood"
*mind blown* @_@
I'm very happy with my birthday dinner, although I did not have the stomach space to eat much (although Jeff told me I ate a lot =_=)! Lots of guests that I didn't expect to come appeared, and none of us had ever eaten at Big Sky Cafe. The food was unique, eco-friendly, and tasty (and comfort food)! I think this is a nice restaurant to get your comfort food fix without getting to weighed down :)
Big Sky Cafe
47 South old Orchard Avenue
Webster Groves, MO 63119
Webster Groves, MO 63119
We said our good byes and left for home. And then when Josh was pulling up at my apartment, I saw two figures coming out of the car in front of us and though that they looked suspiciously similar to Jerry and Wilbur! Hahaha! Oh my, there was an after-dinner meetup at my apartment, and they surprised me with a homemade birthday cake (chocolate overload!) and non-chocolate option blueberry cheesecake. Book made them both!
When Josh wouldn't even *try* the Oreo cake, I became suspicious. Wasn't he just eating chocolate sorbet at the restaurant? He admitted that it was blueberry sorbet!! Ahhhhh, it all made sense, but Daniel was playing along, so I couldn't tell that both of them were messing with me :P
Yay, thanks guys! Taking the time out of your Friday nights where you could be doing something wayyy more exciting to eat with me and wish me a happy 21st birthday-- thank you ^^b
This was death. 2 layers of chocolate sandwiching a layer of Oreo frosting, topped off with more frosting, sprinkles and Oreos.
If I didn't already have diabetes from eating cereal every morning (essentially all sugar!), then I definitely got it from Book's cake, haha! It was soooo sweet @_@ but good!
Obligatory family-style picture
Other than the people in St. Louis, I also got birthday wishes from Houston, Taiwan, and China! :) Elaine sent me an email! And Debra sent me pictures of herself with her birthday card to me :D Hehe, here's one picture!:
It's Debra!
Whoo! So I started June 29th off with a text from Daniel wishing me a happy 21st at 12am, and I ended it by talking to my parents at midnight (start of June 30th)... who both almost forgot it was my birthday. Haha~ Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes! I'm grateful for everyone's kindness ^__^!
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