When I was in my twenties, I held very different expectations when it came to spending a romantic night out on the town. I naively measured the success of the evening against the amount of preparation that went into organizing it. Truth be told, the über-planner in me would meticulously arrange every last detail, from reserving a table at one of the restaurants my then-boyfriend-now-husband and I had been meaning to try, to suggesting we arrive early enough to enjoy a round of pre-dinner cocktails. All of this work, in my mind, would lead to the realization of the “Best Date Night Ever.”
Don't tell my husband this, but it turns out I had it all wrong.
Over the years, I've determined that the most romantic meals we've shared were the ones that involved little or no planning. They didn't take place at any of the new-to-us restaurants on our list but rather at the restaurants that already held special meaning for us as a couple.
One of the restaurants in that category is Apollo Grill on West Broad Street in Bethlehem. My husband and I discovered the restaurant's satisfying food and cozy atmosphere a long time ago, back when I was still a co-ed at Lehigh University. Even now, returning to Apollo is like going home. No matter how many times we plan to eat there, we carry on in excited anticipation during the days leading up to our meal. In fact, our fondness for their food is so great that we actually based some of the catering decisions for our wedding reception on the section of their menu that we concentrate on the most—the appetizers.
Apollo offers more than 30 items on their appetizer menu. With exception to the Oysters on the Half Shell, which go for market price, each of these dishes costs less than $15. You can choose from pub favorites like Nachos ($10.90), Potato Skins ($7.90) and Buffalo Wings ($10.90), or opt for something a little more upscale like Lobster Ravioli ($11.90), Macadamia Nut Panko Scallops ($10.90) or one of three versions of Carpaccio (beef, tuna or smoked salmon; each for $10.90). You're bound to find something to suit your tastes.
On Taste As You Go, the food blog I've been writing for the past four and a half years, I talk about how I love tasting my way through life, “one recipe, one dish, one restaurant at a time.” Appetizer menus like the one at Apollo are the stuff of dreams for people like me, people who believe that food tastes the best when it's shared with others. Luckily for me, my husband believes the same thing.
We make a meal out of four or five appetizers, each choosing our must-have dishes before working together to select something that we already know we enjoy or something that we've never eaten before that we're both willing to try. This way, we can really maximize our experience of the menu. So far, we haven't encountered anything at Apollo that wasn't to our liking.
Usually making their way onto our list are the Filo-Wrapped Asparagus with Prosciutto ($9.90) and the Lump Crab and Avocado Cocktail ($14.90). We've been known to engage in a duel with our spoons in order to emerge the victor in the battle for the last drop of decadent tequila lime butter that accompanies our favorite seafood appetizer.
Another go-to item would be the Thai Sesame-Encrusted Shrimp ($10.90). We've always chosen that dish with the intention of kicking it up a little in the heat department. But the last few times we've ordered it, the advertised “hot and spicy sauce” that's supposed to go with shrimp skewers hasn't lived up to our expectations. Regardless, we still consider the dish to be one of our favorites.
To add a bit more substance to our meal, we like to balance out the lighter appetizers with a dish or two featuring meat as the main attraction. Since my husband likes lamb more than I do, he ordered the Baby Lamb Chops ($14.90) the last time we were there. Prepared with an herb crust and served with a rich Madiera sauce, those chops were gone in no time.
I opted for the BBQ Rubbed Tenderloin ($12.90) and cannot say enough about it. I prefer contrasting textures in the food that I eat, so I loved absolutely everything about this dish, from the buttery avocado to the garnish of crispy tortilla strips.
Honestly, I would have licked the plate clean had it not been for the group of gentlemen sitting at the table beside us (and for the fact that we weren't actually eating in the privacy of our own home). I was a heartbeat away from ordering a second plate, but my husband lovingly reminded me to save room for dessert.
We went a little overboard and ordered three desserts to split between the two of us, but it was totally worth it. The highlight for me was the Caramel Pot de Crème ($6.95) topped with a dollop of ice cream and served with fig-pistachio biscotti on the side. Salty and sweet, it was the perfect dessert to cap off our tour around Apollo's appetizer menu.
Now with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I know some of you are probably tempted to up your game in terms of planning the ultimate romantic night out. While I firmly believe there's a time and place for trying new restaurants and pushing yourself to explore the culinary landscape of the city you're in, there's something to be said for the allure of the familiar. When making your plans, promise me that you won't discredit the power of re-exploring one of the restaurants that you've already tagged as your favorite.
