An easy evening

I had a ticket for the Symphony Thursday night, so I put off my Wednesday Dine Out until then. And it was a night that was so good for my soul!

I decided to have dinner at the Easy Bistro & Bar. It's located in downtown Chattanooga, right across the street from the Tennessee Aquarium. It was opened by some folks from New Orleans, and the menu reflects that heritage. It's a pretty place - as you can see above - very "New York." Lots of black, with huge purple orchids at most tables. Big windows looking out on Broad Street, so you can watch the pedestrian and vehicular traffic go by.

They have a lovely menu, and I was determined to step outside my comfort zone and try some different things, So I started with a twist on the Southern favorite, fried green tomatoes. The Easy version was served with bits of crawfish and black-eyed peas. Yum! For my main course, again trying to be different, I opted for the fish special: a pan-roasted triggerfish, with crushed Yukon Potatoes, almonds & tomato-shallot confit. Wow! They fly their fish in daily, so it's quite fresh. I'm a sucker for carmelized onions/shallots, and they were a fantastic accompaniment to the fish and potatoes. Wonderful.

At this point, I wasn't sure I had hit the $50 mark yet - I had a gift card for that amount! So when asked about dessert, I said, why yes, of course. I chose the bourbon bread pudding - and what a feast my mouth had! A wonderful finish to a wonderful meal.

(And to my readers - I've realized that it must seem that I have very un-discriminating taste. I rave about every meal I have! But I've been quite selective in the restaurants I've chosen so far - ones I've either been to before or that my friends have raved about - and ones that I know will serve a blog-worthy meal!)

After my dinner, I headed to the Tivoli Theater for a performance by the Chattanooga Symphony. Earlier this year, our Musical Director and conductor, Bob Bernhardt, announced that he was stepping down as conductor. So each performance this year has featured one of the candidates for the position. This week, they showcased a young man from Australia who has been working in Germany for the past few years, Tobias Foskett. His remarks to the audience were witty and thoughtful, and his conducting of the orchestra was masterful. They performed three "German" pieces - a Wagner overture, a Brahms "variation," and Beethoven's 7th Symphony. A really terrific performance - and my seat in the upper balcony (thanks to my dear friend Bill) was a fun way to watch over the whole performance. I love to watch the percussionists in particular - the cymbalist who sits the whole symphonic performance to leap to his feet for two cymbal crashes at the end; or the player of the triangle who has such an important role!

These evenings of classical music and fine food are becoming important to me. So relaxing and stimulating. They just make me feel so refreshed and appreciative of my life!