In less than an hour from when I arrived in the Boston area yesterday I had running shoes on and was starting a 4.5 mile challenge with my twin brother. An hour after that I was panting but made it back to the house and not too far behind. While my brother is a big guy, he has run his entire life. Three weeks ago I couldn't run a mile. Now I'm not going to lie, I didn't run the whole thing but I didn't walk too much either.
Our reward was dinner at a great restaurant called L'Andana Grill in Burlington, Ma. The restaurant is chic and stylish with very comfortable seating. I was worried that we were seated too close to the table next to us but once conversation flowed and food arrived you forgot you were so close. The menu has an Italian flair but is highlighted by the wood fired grill. As an appetizer we ordered Carpaccio and a four cheese Fonduta. The Carpaccio consisted of shaved parmesan, sirloin, buttery croutons and a black truffle aioli. When all the ingredients were put on the fork it consisted of the perfect bite. In my opinion it was topped by the gooey, yummy four cheese Fonduta. My brother had been before and knew to ask for more of the tasty garlic bread that you get prior to your meal as dipping bread. The bread that came with the Fonduta was wonderful but the garlic bread just added to it. The best part of the Fonduta was the big chunks of roasted garlic and the salty sopressata.
For entree's my brother decided on the swordfish and I decided on the Scottish salmon. I just had some of the swordfish for lunch and while it was wonderful nothing could have beaten the perfectly cooked salmon. Underneath the salmon was a sweet, delicious pile of lentils. I haven't eaten lentils that good in a long time. In the lentils were cranberries that popped in your mouth and the tartness was a wonderful surprise.
The dessert menu looked delightful but we were so full on the appetizers that we ended up bringing most of our meal home. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone in the Burlington, Ma area.
While I was successful at the run last night I was woken up by a knock on the door at 5:45am and told it was time for another run. I felt like one of those whiny teenagers on a episode of MTV's Made. I only made it 2.7 miles and at the end I could barely feel my legs. So while I'm reminded that I have a lot of work left to do I'm happy with what I've done so far.