Happy Birthday, Jared!

For his birthday treat, I stopped by a local cupcake shop, Smallcakes...clockwise from top left - Red Velvet, Almond Joy, Banana, Peanut Butter.

I think the Red Velvet was the favorite. But the banana was awfully good too! The frosting was SO good!

The Saturday before his birthday, we went to a restaurant called Michael Smith. We had been wanting to try it, and a few weeks ago it was on Groupon, so perfect timing! Good food AND a coupon?? Yes, please!

It was one of the best meals we've had in KC. Jared listed it in his top 3, and that includes his travels! Since we had never been, we decided to try the 5 course chef's tasting menu and had wine pairings with it. I tried taking pictures of the food, because it was so pretty! So, excuse the quality, they were taken with my phone, no flash, in a dark restaurant. And they get worse as the night went on!
My first course - Artichoke ravioli

Jared enjoying his first course, Bacon-wrapped quail.

I thought this would be my favorite course after eating it...mine was Whitefish and Jared's was Escolar (with a lot of other stuff on it too!)

Next came the salads - Mine was Bibb with strawberries and speck, Jared's was Asparagus Salad.

Here we go, on to the meat course! This turned out to be the favorite! Mine was 8-hour pork roast.
And Jared had the star of the night - Braised Veal Cheeks. And yes, it is EXACTLY what the name suggests! I had to Google it. It was ridiculously good! We also had dessert...it was good, but not nearly as good as the rest. And the photos of it were pretty much black by that point!

Happy 32nd Birthday, Jared!!!