Bikes, Burgers and Valentine's Day

I just got home from the most amazing Valentine's Day meal of my life. John took me to Pescados, one of my absolutely favorite restaurants in Richmond. The menu is filled with Latin and Caribbean Seafood. We did the Valentine's Day prefix, which included the following:

Appetizers: Scallops with caviar and cauliflower curry puree

Duck confit over arugula and dried fruit coated with a sweet raspberry sauce

Dinner: Peppercorn and blue cheese crusted filet mignon, cooked medium rare over top of broccolini and mashed potatoes

Fresh lobster tail over corn risotto

Dessert: Passion fruit parfait and chocolate ravioli

Everything was paired with a wine to match. It was spectacular, savory, romantic and absolutely wonderful. When we got home, I had a half bottle of Rosa Regale, a sparking red Italian dessert wine that you sip while eating dark chocolate. It tastes just like a chocolate covered strawberry. Yum. Plus, John had beautiful flowers delivered to my office. It was a wonderful Valentine's Day. Thank you babe!

Now, let's back up to last week. My last post mentioned that I had signed up for Endorphin Fitness's Triathlon Essentials crash course. I had completed Monday's flexibility and core workout and was ready for Tuesday's cycling class. At least I thought I was... The class was filled from wall to wall with cyclists of every level. It was inspiring and overwhelming all at the same time. We were instructed to bring our road bikes and moun

t them on a rear axle suspension devise that ultimately made our road bikes into stationary spin equipment. It was incredible. My heart rate maxed at 180, which is quite high for me. I loved every minute of it. The massive number of cyclists was so inspiring. I wish I could afford the entire spring program at Endorphin, but alas, the great outdoors on my own time will have to suffice.

Along with my Endorphin crash course on Triathlons, I also crashed my diet as well, specifically with burgers. My coworker Stanley convinced me to attend the soft opening of Boom Boom Burger, the grass-fed organic small business burger joint down by the Farmer's Market on 17th street. The atmosphere was great but the food was okay. Definitely enjoyed the local produce, especially the oyster mushrooms, but $10 bucks for a burger with no sides or drink is pushing it here in RVA. I guess I can't get too excited about Boom Boom burgers when I had the Barnyard Burger to look forward to later that week...

Have you ever been to Lemaire inside the Jefferson Hotel? Everything on their menu is fabulous, and normally I would never consider ordering a burger at a 5-star locale,

but at Lemaire, the Barnyard burger is the best $18 you

will ever invest in when it comes to burgers. Ground tenderloin topped with thick cut bacon, a fried egg and

my favorite: the foie-gras sauce to top

it all off. It's a heart attack on a plate for sure, but worth the 10 mile run afterwards. Hands down this will be my marathon treat of choice. Oh yeah, and we tried antelope. Lemaire's special was a medium rare sliced antelope, very lean and drizzled with a red wine jus. It was awesome, but the burger was better.

So there have it. My week filled with food and cycling. Nothing unusual for me but so much fun none the less!