category game: restaurant memories

Do you remember the names of all the restaurants you and your significant other have eaten at? Ever?

Cyrus and I were taking a long, long drive the other day and to amuse ourselves, we started playing the "category game," which I think my brother invented. Name a category (cities in Europe, fruits) and name everything in that list.

After some pretty boring categories, we decided to list all of the restaurants we've ever been to together! I didn't think it'd be so hard, but we were naming restaurants for a good 30-45 minutes, and even a day later, we're still running up to each other and saying, "Tasca!"

In honor of our game, I thought I'd tell you about some of my favorite restaurant experiences we've had together.

- Maneki: Seattle, WA. Izakaya-style Japanese restaurant we scoped out while we were in Seattle for a wedding. An oasis in a weekend full of traveling and grogginess.

- Ten Tables: Jamaica Plain, MA. Intimate, romantic, and tiny restaurant we went to for Valentine's Day 2009. One of my best meals ever.

- Hungry Mother: Cambridge, MA. Every meal we've had here has been amazing! Southern inspired upscale food in a comfortable setting with very reasonable prices! Amaaahzing cornbread!

- Ray's the Steaks: Arlington, VA. Back when Cyrus was more of a carnivore, this was the only meal that Cyrus smiled all the way through.

- Tapas24: Barcelona, Spain. An everyday tapas eatery, which was the only restaurant we visited that had fewer tourists than natives. (This was also the only restaurant where the server didn't immediately switch to English when they realized Cyrus wasn't comfortable speaking Spanish. It was a total surprise and embarrassment when she switched over to English near the end of our meal!)

What are some of your most memorable restaurant experiences with someone you care about?