Pumpkin and Spice

Last night I went out to dinner at Seasons 52 with a group of fellow food bloggers- Jenn from Eat, Live, Run (whom I also go to school with), Caitlin from See Bride Run, Meghann from The Inner Workings of a College Graduate and Gina from Fitnessista. Jenn, Caitlin, Meghan and I all live in the Central Florida area, and Gina was in town from Georgia with a friend, her aunt and her cousin (who also joined us).

I was super-excited about the get-together, because I couldn't wait to meet Gina, Caitlin and Meghann. When you read people's blogs, you really get a feeling of knowing them, even though you've never actually met, so meeting them was such a great experience.
Here we are, left to right- Me, Meghann, Jenn, Caitlin and Gina. (You will notice that I am so freaking pale I look like I've been photoshopped in the picture. This is no trick of the light, friends; I really am that white.)

Another reason I was excited is that I've never been to Seasons 52. I've lived here for, like, five years and have always wanted to go, I just never had. It has a really cool concept- the menu changes seasonally, and there are weekly specials, so the menu is never the same. Also, everything on the menu is under 475cals, and they use no butter, cream or trans fats. I've been trying to lose some of the "pastry weight" I've gained during school, so this was nice, as I didn't have to worry about trying to pick something "healthy". (It was still a splurge night, but not nearly as bad as if we had gone to, say, Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs.)

Jenn, Meghan, Caitlin and I got there first, so we went to the bar to have a drink while we waited. The other girls got wine, but I was a total lush and had one of my favorite cocktails, a Rob Roy (scotch and sweet vermouth- basically a Manhattan but with scotch instead of whiskey.) It was good. I regret nothing. Once everyone arrived and we sat down, we ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and a bottle of Pinot Grigio, as well as two flat breads and a bowl of edamame. I had my eyes on the mussels marinara appetizer, so I just had one little piece of the flat bread. The flat bread was good, but I love mussels, so I was glad to have held out.

For my entree, I ordered the Pacific Halibut with autumn roasted vegetables and shrimp risotto. The fish and risotto were delish, but in my opinion, the highlight of the dish were the roasted turnips in the vegetable mix. They were sweet and perfectly cooked- not too crisp, but not too mushy. Yum!

Dessert was a tricky choice. At Seasons 52, the desserts are all mini-portions in little shot glasses. There were several that looked good, so I was relived when other people decided to have two. I had the Rocky Road and the Peanut Butter Mousse, which was easily the most popular dessert of the evening- I think almost everyone had one! (Aren't the little desserts cute?)

It was a fun, relaxing evening- the girls were a blast, and the food was very good.  Gina even gave us each a goodie bag of banana bread and vegan macaroons. What a sweetie! (I don't have a picture- Kyle and I have mostly torn into it already!) I think the girls are getting together again next week to celebrate Jenn's last day of school, but sadly, I have a final that night that I can't miss... So I'll just have to be there in spirit!