Hello, hello!
Fabulous dinner last night at one of my DC area favorites — Lyon Hall in Clarendon, VA.
Matt and I had only been to this place once before since it opened after we left the area. We were excited to come back! Here’s my “I’m excited” face. Matt was not impressed.
We were joined for dinner by friends Tom, Janice, and Shane.
It’s a good thing they seated us in a back corner of the restaurant because we were rather rowdy. 
First things first: wine! I had the Pinot Noir — it was delicious. Very smooth.
For dinner, I decided on the Diver Scallops — served with brussels sprouts, sweet potato puree, pickled kale, and bacon.
SO good! Great combination of flavors.
I demolished all of it.
Our friend Tom got a really interesting dish — lamb with octopus?! Isn’t it pretty? I tried some and it was tasty, too.
Part of the dinner experience also involved using a new app I was recruited to try out via the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. It’s called Serve and is by American Express — it’s essentially a mobile PayPal, which is really cool. The idea is that to simplify the whole awkward paying with a billion credit cards experience that usually ends group dinners, you will simply have one person pay for dinner and then use the app to “bill” the others in the group via email. You can use the app to calculate how much everyone owes, too — it’s pretty neat.
Just like with PayPal, you link the app to your checking or credit card and it will pull the money to send to whoever you owe, via their email address. The app is available on iPhones and Droids — Tom and Janice had an older version of the iPhone and weren’t able to use it, but it worked perfectly on Shane’s iPhone. He was pretty pumped about it.
Lol.
He was signed up in no time (you get a free $10 credit when you first activate it, yay!) and to try it out, I paid for myself, Matt, and Shane, and then had Shane send me his portion of the bill via the app. It worked perfectly! Very convenient. If you don’t have the app, you can sign up on their website and use it that way from your home computer as well. I got a Serve card sent to me that I used to pay for dinner — it works like a debit card and will pull from the balance in your Serve account. Cool!
This is the type of thing that will only be cool if everyone gets it, so I really hope everyone signs up for it. It’s free and will make paying for group dinners a million times less stressful.
Oh, and don’t worry, there’s even a “pizza party” selection on the app — it helps you decide how many slices you need to order, ha.
Good times. Great dinner with fun friends!
Red wine makes my face red. Don’t judge.
Matt and I are currently in the car on our way to Richmond to see his younger brother Drew perform in the musical “South Pacific”! He’s in a year long traveling show right now and they happened to be performing in Richmond tonight. We’re excited to see him! Matt’s older brother Chris and wife Jess are coming up from NC to meet us there, too. Should be fun.
Have a great Saturday, friends!
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p.s. Want to win a $100 credit to your Serve account? Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found by clicking here.
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Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a $250 stipend to try Serve from American Express.
awesome giveaway. i hope i win
That Serve app looks really awesome. I don’t go out to eat very often and kind of miss it, but somehow I manage to make life work without it. Some things are just more important than getting to eat out!
mmm, dinner looks awesome!
i’d love to win $100!
I’ve heard of that app – sounds so cool!
I wanted in on this foodbuzz thing so badly…I’m only slightly jealous
I make the same I’m excited face when put on the spot.
And yes, that Serve app looks very VERY helpful for pizza parties.
I’d love to add $100 to my Serve account!
that looks pretty awesome, i for sure just downloaded it:)
Dinner looks delish, Anne. You know red wine makes my face red also. I love wine and always know I have had enough when my face turns red and my nose goes numb.Haha, It’s true, it always goes numb. I’m not very good at deciding what apps are good, I will take your word for it. I’m pooped. Rented the entire skating rink for today for our 10 year twin grand daughters birthday party. Around 15 10 year olds and parents. I think I’ll have a glass of red wine right now. Have a wonderful evening.
What a fun birthday!! I would have loved that when I were 10
Or maybe even now, haha. Ice skating is awesome – especially when it’s just you and your friends and not a million randoms!
ohh looks fun, i might be into trying that app…that can be an awkward process! Ha Have a great time at home!
Sounds like a great idea!
Being a server that would make life SO much easier!
Amen! I always feel so bad for servers when there’s a table full of people who want separate tickets…..or pay with several piles of cash and scattered change as they each pull out exact amounts and can’t be bothered to stack it even.
yet another reason why I need an iphone!
Ditto! I have a palm pre phone and I don’t have the app – sigh. Matt’s phone has it so that’s what we used, but it’s still pretty cool to just use the online version, too!
Seriously cook app! I hate the awk dinner bill time!
Those scallops look delicious!
Small world!! A friend of mine from high school is one of the musicians for the South Pacific tour! He’s the pianist!
No way!! That’s SO random. I showed this comment to Drew and he was excited – said he knew exactly who it was! Weird!
That is super handy…great idea!!!!
Sounds awesome- cant wait to try it out!
Rowdy, you? Never.
Yum! Looks great! Hahah wine makes my face red-ish too
OMG those scallops look divine!!
That dinner looks fantastic! Very different and fresh-looking!
Lol! Shane works at my gym! So weird to see him on here! Dinner looks delicious!
No way! Random! Well, actually he doesn’t work there anymore – he just quit to go back to grad school!
That sounds like a cool app!
Oh gosh, that restaurant looks so good! Healthy and delicious food!
I Need this. It seems safe. We’ve had identity theft in our family before and this app would give me peace of mind.
oh wow that app looks AMAZING! Being in college on a very tight-knit floor, we go out to dinners together frequently and lets just say that splitting an 18-person check is nearly impossible. There have more than a few occasions in which we cant account for over $5 and someone always gets jacked! This app is the PERFECT solution!
Exactly!
Sounds fabulous! Hi to everyone
I should check that place out since I live in the DC area because it looks yummy. I do like that app as it always sucks trying to figure out how to pay for everything between people
I just signed up for a Serve account, so the extra $100 would be great!! Thanks!
I wish I thought of cool, convenient apps like this. Just downloaded it…hope I win the credit!
I’d love to win! Sounds like a neat app.
Downloaded serve a few days ago. Haven’t used it yet. Just found your site googling for some info.
Welcome to the blog!
I’d love $100 added to my serve account!
Looks like a great restaurant — and a neat app! Fun idea! Thx -
When I visited DC I went there for breakfast and it was UNREAL. Looks like dinner is equally as delic!
Yum I’ll have to check it out for breakfast sometime too!
What an awesome app! I’m going to have to try it out.
That place looks yummy- might have to add it to my “sometime when I’m in the area” list
That app looks really neat- definitely a great solution for big group dinners that avoids the awkward pen and calculator move!
That app looks great! Paying is always the major annoyance when going out to dinner in big groups. Finally, someone has come up with a way to simplify it!
Wow! Amex never fails to surprise me. Not only do they have the best rewards programs, but sounds like now they have a pretty rockin app too.
Hope I win!!
Serve sounds awesome!! I am definitely signing up.
i signed up for serve
Wow, that app sounds solo useful, will definitely be signing up for it!
Looks like you had a great time. I’ve signed up for Serve!
I signed up! It sounds awesome!!
I signed up with Serve.
The Serve app looks great-would love to try it!
Thanks!
What a great blog!!
Serve is a great idea! I signed up through FB & my email address ~ mattspacherose@gmail.com.
Have a great Christmas & New Years!
I’ve never been to Lyon Hall but LOVE Northside Social and Liberty Tavern.
What a fun dinner! I signed up at twennerholm@msn.com