Mark's Birthday Dinner at Dino

Mark is always getting me the best gifts and surprising me with the most fantastic ways to celebrate my birthday. I wanted to repay the favor so I arranged a surprise party for him at Dino, our favorite restaurant in DC. But as always, Mark manages to drive me crazy even when I'm trying to do something nice for him. He scheduled not one, but two doctor's appointments for his birthday. Oye vey. I was scrambling to make sure that he made it on time and that the surprise was in tact. We did manage to surprise him and I didn't have a complete nervous breakdown so it was a total win-win.
My favorite appetizer at Dino is the Burrata. This is a mozzarella cheese thing with cheese curds inside. It is melty amazing-ness and I would eat it every day if I could. They serve it with three dips: olive tapenade, roasted red pepper, and sun dried tomato.
Kevin got this Brussels Sprout and pancetta dish that I think I ate half of off of his plate. Sorry, Kev!
The saltimbocca (meatballs) are really sensational.
So sensational, in fact that they put a meatball sandwich on their menu! This is Mark's second favorite thing to order.
Mark's first favorite thing to order is the Bistecca Fiorentina. It is 36 oz. of medium rare beefy perfection. Mark can down one of these things with ease and nothing makes him prouder. There are a few stray potatoes and greens on the cutting board that they serve it on but I think they are just for show. This thing is a sight to be seen and so is Mark happily housing it.
My favorite thing to order is the whole roasted fish. Crispy skin with a creamy lemon aioli, capers, and parsley. The fish is cooked beautifully and I love to order this dish.
Dino brags about their roast chicken on their website and although I rarely order chicken when I'm out to eat, I also ate about half of Kevin's chicken. I think he wished that he sat farther away from my fork's reach.
The wild boar pasta is a savory, chunky sauce over homemade pasta that has many interesting flavors that work really beautifully.
The seafood pasta is beautiful and perfectly balanced.
The risotto looked delicious too!
I'm one lucky gal!
Oh and Mark's mom made him this beautiful birthday cake last weekend and it was fantastic!
Mrs. deWolf has been pretty cagey about divulging her phenomenal chocolate frosting recipe but maybe I'll be able to persuade her to let me in on her secrets next time we're home!!