Can you tell that Bo and I enjoyed our first date night together since Katie’s arrival? Last night’s date night was a perfect opportunity to reflect on the past 18 week since we became a family of three and remember the strong foundation we had as a couple before her arrival.

Many of our friends and family members recommended that we plan a date night sooner versus later. Luckily, our dear friend Heather, who happens to be pregnant, offered to babysit for us a few times before she and her husband welcome their own child. Heather was a nanny during college for a young child so we felt very comfortable in her ability to watch Katie. Since it was our first time leaving Katie alone, we decided to leave for our date night after Katie went down for the evening. Heather arrived at 7pm so she could keep me company during Katie’s bedtime bottle and also become comfortable with the nighttime routine and our nursery. While feeding Katie, I walked Heather through our typical routine in the chance that Katie woke up while we were gone. At this point, once Katie falls asleep around 7:45pm she typically doesn’t wake up again until 7 AM. However, if she does wake up, it tends to be within an hour of falling asleep and often times it’s due to a wet diaper.

At 7:55 Bo and I hopped in an Uber towards Red Hook, a Brooklyn neighborhood just ten minutes from our house. We wanted to go to dinner somewhere close, in case there was an issue. The only other request I made to Bo, before we chose a restaurant, was that we tried somewhere new. Luckily, the Michelin Guide’s 2017 Bib Gormand list was released this week – perfect inspiration for finding a new restaurant. In case you haven’t heard of it before, the Bib Gormand list features their favorite restaurants where guests can enjoy two courses plus a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less. One of the restaurants, The Good Fork, stood out to us as it is Korean New American food and located in an area of Red Hook we haven’t visited before.

The intimate restaurant seats 30-40 people max and we were lucky to be seated at a cozy, corner booth in the front which provided us the perfect venue to watch the people and food go by throughout the evening.

We toasted with an Old Fashion and Dark & Stormy to celebrate our date night and then got to business, studying the menu. The menu is smaller than most, with six appetizer options and eight main course options. This allowed us enough choice without overwhelming us. We decided to share three of the appetizers so we could taste as many dishes as possible, and then ordered the entrée that they are best known for and which has been on their menu since they opened in 2005.

We started with the homemade dumplings and scallion pancakes before enjoying the farm salad, which included whipped stilton cheese and roasted fall squash. The pork and chive dumplings were crispy yet light thanks to the delicate dough wrapping that didn’t overpower the other flavors.

For our main dish we shared the Steak and Eggs Korean style which was served kimchee rice, fried egg, arugula and apples. The dish was delicious and reminded us of bibimbap.

Last but not least, we shared two of the desserts although we were too full to finish them. Steve’s Key Lime Pie which is a local favorite from a nearby bakery was tart and sweet but I personally thought the crust was a bit much. In my opinion the S’More’s Ice Cream sundae was the winner though just two bites nearly put me in a sugar coma.

And yes, we those parents who took a break during our date to sneak a peek at our sleeping daughter on the Nest camera.

While our date night was only two hours, it was the perfect amount for our first time away from Katie. Our goal is to enjoy at least one date night per month, leveraging family and Heather until we are able to find a local babysitter.