getting ink'd

with MIL in town on a quickie visit for the bean's birthday party (more on that later), the hub and i totally took advantage and snuck out for a date night.  having planned ahead, i managed to score us a reservation here:

if you watch top chef, perhaps you'll recall the season that featured the hottie voltaggio brothers battling it out at the very end for the win.  and if you've been reading for a while, you may remember when i hauled my cookies all the way down to the OC for their book signing at south coast plaza.  and then this summer, lilcee and i grabbed lunch from ink.sack, just a few doors down from michael's full-service restaurant - ink.

the moment we set foot inside, i did a quick scan and then an internal gleeful jump when i spotted him in the kitchen.  "he's here, he's here!" i said to the hub, and got an eyeroll in return.  obvs, my husband is not as easily starstruck as his wife.

while i did take pictures of everything we ate (much to the hub's delight...not), they're really crappy.  shocking, right?  heh.  so instead, here's a shot of that night's menu.

i chose the ham, pork belly, and potato charcoal and the hub went with the hamachi, octopus and beef short rib.  everything was super delicious and very nicely presented, as one would expect from a top chef.  and if you think i skipped dessert, you don't know me very well.  the hub tried the apple (served with burnt wood ice cream - it wasn't our favorite by far) and i played it safe with the chocolate.

and here's more proof that the hub loves me - he asked our server if there was a chance that michael might come out so we could say hello and get a picture.  i did another internal jump for joy when he said that yes, that he would arrange it for us.  woohoo!

i'm guessing that he prefers to avoid causing a ruckus by walking through the dining room, because the server instructed us to wait outside on the patio after settling the check and michael would come out to meet us there.  although maybe he uses it as a good way to get some fresh air after being in the kitchen for hours.  either way, i went home a happy girl with this safely on my phone:

he was really friendly and chatted with us for a few minutes, never making it seem like he was in a rush or super busy or anything.  he chuckled a bit when i told him i'd met him at the book signing, and asked us if we enjoyed our dinner.  and he flashed a smile in my picture!  yay!

the hub is such a good sport about these things.  i suppose taking a picture of your wife with another dude is an odd way to end date night, huh?