Gjelina

A special dinner for us on Saturday night to celebrate that Ritesh just got an article accepted for publication - and not just any article, mind you, but one based on his dissertation and therefore very close to his heart and that had been a long time coming. And not just in any old journal either, but in the Journal of Social Science and Medicine, which apparently is the most cited peer-reviewed journal in his field, not just in the US but in the world. Congratulations, love! So happy for you!
Unfortunately, I can't link to the article because a) it won't actually be published until the fall and b) you have to pay for access to the journal's website. So all I have to offer is some pictures from our festive little dinner at the cozy Gjelina on Abbott Kinney in Venice:

Starting off with a rose pour moi and a Hefeweizen for the man of the hour

then we shared the trout salad with avocado, red grapefruit, arugula, red onion and shaved parmeggiano

Ritesh's roasted fennel pizza with tomato confit and spicy fennel salami

oregano, red chili flakes and parmeggiano to add al gusto

my mushroom, goat cheese and truffle oil pizza. Gjelina is not a pizza place but they are famous for their pizzas so that's what we went for. And they were both outstanding. Very flavorful but perfectly balanced (I was worried they might go overboard on the truffle oil but it was just right).

our dessert wines, a great port and an amazing Austrian ice wine

dessert: banana chocolate bread pudding with caramel and cream - sadly, another banana dessert not quite up to someone's very exacting standards

can't a guy get a decent banana dessert around here, even on a special night like tonight?

a ghost across the table

and a little night cap on the way home: my pomegranate margarita and Ritesh's classic margarita, at El Cholo

What a treat to have a date night out! And congratulations, love!