Patio Party: My Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday dear Mark....

Happy Birthday to you!

Saturday was Mark's birthday! To celebrate, my parents came into town and we went out to dinner at Dr. Granville Moore's--a Belgian restaurant known for its mussels and beer.

The restaurant is one of our favorites but not one we get to often, so it was a real treat.

We started off with two appetizers: escargot in a puff pastry (because Mark hadn't had escargot before and Mom and Dad insisted that he give it a try on his birthday--not that it took much convincing)....

and a lettuce wedge with roasted tomatoes, minus the bacon (because there's a vegetarian in the group).

Neither lasted very long....

We had the added bonus of a kitchen/server error. They brought out Mom's mussels with the appetizers so they were credited to us as an extra appetizer....poof! Gone!

Then....dinner was served....

Mark and Dad ordered Moroccan mussels with lamb and fennel in a spicy sauce...

Mom ordered mussels with a butter herb sauce...

and I had a home made veggie burger made with black beans.

My favorite part though was the large bowls of french fries with dipping sauces....

Those sauces include: ketchup (a standard), truffle aioli, chipotle mayo, chipotle bbq, horseradish sauce, and a curry dipping sauce.

We literally rolled ourselves out of there....

Right on home to GIFTS!

We all had fun watching Mark open his gifts and took pictures as we watched...

After gifts, some of our food began to digest and we thought maybe, just maybe, there was room for cake...

Mom also bakes us wonderful birthday cakes--a la our request. Mark requested a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and Mom took it a step further adding a ring of hazlenuts and a center of mini chocolate chips.