Ah, Local Dining at Its Finest!

Today, I was super excited. My husband and I had the whole day to ourselves- no kids, which very rarely happens! This afternoon we got to go bowling, one of our favorite dates but we don't get to do too often. And no, I will NOT reveal my scores, ugh, they were horrible today. I totally blame it on the floor, you couldn't slide at all. The best part though was seeing a former home-bound student that I haven't seen in almost 6 years!

But, I was most excited for the next part of our day- visiting the Farmers on the Square market in Carlisle followed by dinner at the Green Room!

The market was the cutest open-air market ever. There were not so many vendors that you were overwhelmed but enough for a great variety of foods (and all local, and most either organic or pesticide free). There were bakers (including a gluten-free Green Room booth!), meats, ice cream, honey, soaps, cheeses, fresh fruits and veggies, massage, bubbles and a band! I loved it! Wish we lived closer so I could visit it every week (Wednesdays from 3-7). Here's what I ended up with:

- 1 quart organic strawberries, $6 (Shortcake will be baked tomorrow! Thankful I already have some homemade whipped cream in the fridge from making some frozen mochas last night!)
- 2 small loaves gluten-free sourdough bread from the Green Room bakery, $5
- Honey-based lip balm, $3
- Honey-based hand creme, $6

I could have (and should have) bought more, but we wanted to get to the Green Room right when they opened. I'll say it again, I really wish there was a market quite like this one close by. I love York's Central Market but not everything there is local, etc. So we were off to dinner after a quick stop at the car to chill the strawberries.

I have only ever been to the Green Room one other time, almost 2 years ago, for my 30th birthday. We were well overdue! I will be honest up front, it is much more costly than any other dinner we have had. For me though, I would rather do a dinner like this infrequently than meals at chain restaurants frequently. At least after this meal I was stuffed, but not sick or tired like I am if I eat most anywhere else (except the Warehouse Gourmet, one of my other faves, and a bit cheaper).

It is so hard to decide what to get when I go there. I'm the kind of person who loves to split meals, especially if it is something new or different that I haven't had before (remember Planet X?)

First I chose a salad with coconut chicken, strawberries and orange blossom vinaigrette. It was fabulous! I definitely want to try to recreate the chicken, delish! You can get this as a meal but they were able to make it into a side salad for me.

We also each got some bread. Randy's was an onion pesto bread that he absolutely loved, but I forgot to get a picture of it. They gave me some gluten-free sourdough- the same kind I just bought at the market! Good thing I liked it :)

 Then for my meal I chose Alaskan rockfish, pan fried with sticky rice and an onion/garlic broth. Randy wanted to take my pic with my meal :)

And here's a close-up:

The rockfish is on top of the sticky rice. I've never had anything quite like it but it was very good! I joked that the fish needed a little Old Bay on it (we keep an emergency bottle in the car, but I forgot to put it in my purse).

Randy was a little camera shy, but he ordered the sirloin steak with beet greens and potatoes:

The greens were so good, garlic-y and salty. The steak was very good also, and no hormones or grain here!

I don't typically get dessert out, but this is definitely an exceptional place. I ordered mint chocolate "ice cream" although it was vegan, I think made with coconut milk. It was very good, although the mint could have been stronger. The chocolate was definitely the best part!

Randy ordered a vegan, gluten-free "cheese" cake. We both thought it was "ok". I actually didn't really like the honey drizzled on it, made it too sweet for me.

Ah, what a meal! I can't wait 2 years to get back! Hoping to visit again this summer with my sister when she is home, and hopefully on a Wednesday so we can get to the market, too! Hmmm, I think I may have to go break into that sourdough bread now...