Birthday Boy: Before Dinner

Tonight we went to Volterra in Ballard, as part of Seattle’s Restaurant Week and…we LOVED it.

We had a group of six — Brandon, me, my parents, my sister and her husband — ready to celebrate Brandon’s birthday and some place new — and three courses for $28 really helped the cause! We started off with a bottle of Montepulciano, which was very dry, but quite good.

Then, Brandon and I ordered the same three dinner options: starter, entree and dessert. We usually try not to do that, but we weren’t paying attention and the others added some variety. Regardless, our selections were delicious and the chef did not skimp on the portions:

Roasted Beet Salad Roasted Organic Beets, baby arugula, and toasted walnuts tossed in balsamic vinaigrette and topped with aged Asiago cheese

Course one: Beet salad

Piedmontese Beef Tenderloin Grilled beef tenderloin topped with truffle scented Prosciutto di Parma, wild mushroom demi glaze; served with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus (cooked medium) 

Course Two: Piedmontese Beef Tenderloin

Chocolate Orange Cake Chocolate Orange cake with chocolate mousse and chocolate tuile

Course three: Chocolate Orange Cake

Since we’re all family, we shared some of our dishes and these two entrees were also really good:

• Wild Mushrooms and Tagliolini House made organic egg pasta tossed with Locally harvested wild mushrooms, truffle butter and grated Grana Padano cheese
• Herb Marinated Pork Ribeye Grilled Pork Ribeye with Cranberry beans, cauliflower, smoked tomatoes and leeks topped with goat cheese cream

All in all, it was a wonderful dining experience. We’ll definitely be heading back! And a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my one and only!

The Birthday Boy!