Me & my sister at the reception. I didn’t want to post my class’ picture without permission, but I have a whole slew of photos

After the graduation ceremony the other night, all the interns—I mean, grads—mingled for a while at the reception before slowly breaking off to have dinner with our families. With a group of folks who focus on food every day, of course there was a lot of discussion about where everyone was going.

When my parents first asked me if there was somewhere in particular I wanted to go (I’m having a hard time remembering the last time I went out for a “fancy” dinner), I drew a total blank. Then I remembered a conversation I’d had with a classmate about Rouge Tomate, which actually works with an RD in their menu development, using an approach they call “SPE,” which stands for Sanitas Per Escam (Health Through Food) and revolves around three elements: sourcing, preparation, and enhancement.

In short, they feature beautiful food prepared with an eye toward healthy living—the kind of thing I was not really sure my dad would like. Luckily, he was game to give it a try. 

I started with a festive glass of sparkling rose. I felt like it took me forever to decide what to try off the men—it’s not that there are a ton of options, but they all sounded so interesting! There was also some googling involved for certain ingredients. Unfortunately, a lot of the dishes had tree nuts, but I really appreciated how accommodating the restaurant was—our server even brought me out a little cup of their carrot soup as an amuse bouche when my family was slurping on some grapefruit-and-pine-nut thing.

For my appetizer, I ordered a wild mushroom panzanella salad, which came topped with an egg. I shared with my sister, who traded me a delicious octopus tentacle. Yeah, that doesn’t sound weird at all…

I went with the arctic char for my entree. The brussels sprouts went so well, and the spaetzel was surprising yet delicious. I appreciated that the portion size was perfectly satisfying without being overkill. 

I even had room to have a few bites dessert—we ordered a piece of Nettle Meadow Kunik, this fantastic cheese. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture because they presentation was simple and lovely. It came with the most amazing rosemary toasts. I’m really loving rosemary anything lately.

What was your last restaurant meal?