They have some good eats in New Orleans....

Well, I didn't really have a chance to document much of my NOLA trip because I was way too busy eating. Eating, drinking, walking and sleeping was pretty much what I did for 4 days. It was fantastic. I arrived Friday late afternoon and after getting settled at the hotel and changing out of my jeans so I could stop sweating, the BF and I headed over to WINO (Wine Institute of New Orleans) for a snack. We loaded up a debit card and sampled a bunch of different wines and ordered a few tapas. The place was super cute and laid back. We ordered hummus, bruschetta, melon and prosciutto and tapenade. They were out of tapenade, so we got an olive assortment instead. Everything was yummy and super reasonable...the whole food bill was under $25. Of course we spent double that on the vino, but it was worth it. We ended up having a late dinner at Rambla, the restaurant at our hotel, and then having drinks at the bar there while waiting for our partners in crime to arrive (of course their flight in was delayed and they didn't arrive until about 1 am). I was really impressed by Rambla. They have a nice wine selection that is heavy on Spanish wines, and very reasonably priced. I love me some tapas, so I was in heaven. My faves from what we ordered were the Rambla shrimp, which was to die for--the sauce was so good sopped up with bread, and the grilled octopus salad, which was pretty unexpected and amazing. It had olives, chickpeas, celery and a few other things mixed together with chargrilled octopus that was perfectly cooked and not remotely rubbery. We also had a 5 onion tortilla, which was pretty good, but had a little too much melted cheese on top for my liking, and a marisco dish with mussels, crawfish and shrimp that was average. After dinner, we hit up Loa for drinks while we waited and snagged a cupcake at the bar that was apparently leftover from a birthday party going on. There was a huge group of people together and all the girls were wearing fake moustaches. Go figure. I got a nice moist chocolate cupcake out of it and was tempted to take the 2nd one the bartender offered us, but better judgement ruled and we left before I stuffed myself silly.

After staying out til around 5am, we dragged ourselves out of bed around noon and headed over to Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets. Just as good as I remembered. Fried dough covered in powdered sugar is just tasty, and you can smell the goodness as soon as you get within 10 yards of Cafe du Monde.



After a bit of shopping and getting soaked in a rainstorm, we decided we would go straight to lunch and picked up a muffuletta from Central Grocery. We got a whole one to split between the 4 of us, and that was the perfect amount. I'm a recent convert to olive consumption, but even Keith, my cousin-in-law, who doesn't like olives thought the olive salad made the sandwich awesome. Luckily, my BF is becoming less vegetarian with every trip we take, so he too enjoyed the ham and salami-laden monster sandwich. After we finished scarfing that down in the park and headed over to Acme so the BF could get his oyster fix. There was actually a line outside, but it went pretty quickly and we were seated at the bar in no time. The boys each got a dozen giant oysters and we ordered one of my cousin Michelle's favorite things--cheese fries with brown gravy, which is called boo fries at Acme. I had never heard of this and it sounded pretty damn gross, but my cousin insisted it's the best and what she craves after a night of drinking. Apparently it's an east coast thing, but I'm from NJ--home of the diner--and have never heard of it. Well, Keith quickly learned he does not like raw oysters...I'm sure Michelle describing them as big boogers didn't help. The BF was undeterred and slurped his down, dousing them in the special horseradish sauce. I tried the fries and they were actually pretty good, but I wasn't convinced of their awesomeness. Apparently it's better with mozzarella, but down in NOLA they use cheddar. Oh well, I was still stuffed from the muffuletta so it's better that the boo fries were resistible. Dinner Saturday night was at Nola, one of Emeril's restaurants. We were there last year and I still think about the crab cakes with eggplant puree and feta. So good. I've read a lot of mixed reviews about Nola, but we really enjoyed it last year...we even discovered a new favorite wine, Kangarilla Shiraz, which we buy regularly now. This year we had another great experience. The service was great and the food was fantastic. We found another great shiraz that we are going to be on the lookout for now as well, Kilkanoon Shiraz I believe (we heart shiraz). A few minutes after we sat down, they brought us a each a piece of warm jalapeno cornbread. Nothing better than warm bread. Well, maybe warm jalapeno cornbread. We got 2 crab cakes...one for me and one for the table--everyone wanted to try since I had raved about it. The BF got baked oysters as an appetizer...as if he needed MORE oysters. The crab cake was just as good as I remembered. You wouldn't think the eggplant, olives and feta would go with a crab cake, but it works so well. For my entree, I got the swordfish special, which came with buttermilk chive mashed potatoes and haricot verts. The BF got shrimp and grits, which I of course had to taste. Very good. My fish was good...my only minor complaint was that the chargrilled taste was slightly overpowering. I was so full after a couple bites anyway, but I forced myself to keep eating because it was good. I managed to save some room for dessert and was really looking forward to the special dessert that had been on the menu--a Mississippi mud cake with 'ooey gooey' warm chocolate cake and ice cream. I had my heart set on that, so I was bummed when our server said they were out of it. Bollocks. Plan B. Bittersweet chocolate torte with brandied apricots and chocolate ganache. Not bad. I'm not a huge fan of fruit anywhere near my dessert, but the apricots were within the layer cake and just added some texture. The cake was nice and moist and while it wasn't my favorite, it satisfied my chocolate craving.

Sunday we headed over to EAT for brunch. The BF had a tournament at 2pm, so we got there around noon and put our name in. There were already a few groups of people waiting outside in the drizzles and I was thankful I borrowed a giant umbrella from the hotel. The BF went down the block to get a bloody mary at Cafe Lafitte in Exile since EAT is byob. Awesome recommendation by Chowhounders...it had more garnish on it than I have ever seen and only cost $5. We waited for what seemed like eternity, but was actually close to an hour. It looked like there was only 2 waitresses for the whole place and the host disappeared after taking our name. We were starting to get really antsy when we knew it was our turn next to be seated and saw the people at our 4-top pay their bill and leave...only to have the table sit there uncleared for a while. Finally it was cleared, but no one came to get us. We were starving and impatient by this point, so we went inside to wait right in the doorway, hopefully reminding the host that we were waiting for that empty table...right there...in front of us...so close. A few minutes later, the waitress finally came over and seated us...then walked away. No menus, place settings, nothing. They seated another table right next to us and gave them menus immediately. Not cool. Michelle's inner-New Yorker came out and she got up and got menus for us. The waitress must have noticed, because she came over and took our drink orders immediately. She was super nice too. I love that about the South...she didn't get all offended and act pissy because we were slightly rude. We were just so frustrated at that point. And hungry. Once she took our orders, our food came out pretty quickly and everything was amazing. So worth the wait. I had my first fried green tomatoes with remoulade. Oh. My. God. Their remoulade is spectacular. I wanted to drink the little bowl of it. I wish they bottled it and sold it. I had a spinach and artichoke omelet with grits and a biscuit. The biscuit was huge, soft and fluffy. The moistest, best biscuit I have ever had. The omelet was done to perfection. Everyone was thrilled with their meals and our previous annoyance over waiting disappeared. We had a 9PM dinner reservation for Dante's Kitchen, so around 5PM we decided to have cocktails and a quick snack at Rambla. We ordered the Rambla shrimp again--they were that good--a cheese plate, patatas bravas, and a ceviche special. Again, everything was excellent and it was a perfect snack for the 4 of us. We attempted to take the streetcar to Dante's Kitchen, but it doesn't seem to come every 15 minutes like it says it does online. We ended up hailing a cab and lucked out with a chatty cabbie who pointed out some sites along the way. The restaurant is a cute little cottage and the owner greeted and sat us. Our waitress was really helpful and nice. We ordered the same bottle of wine we had the previous night and liked so much and the boys ordered cocktails as well. I don't like margaritas, but I have to admit the BF's blood orange margarita wasn't bad at all. I got a beet salad with arugula and pecans as an appetizer and it was very nice and extremely fresh. The BF had bbq shrimp, which came in the BEST sauce. I just couldn't stop dipping the bread in it. Oh, and speaking of bread, they brought out piping-hot spoonbread for the table that was really interesting. It was kind of like cornbread with a little molasses and melty butter on top. You just can't go wrong with hot bread. I was stuck between an amberjack dish and roasted chicken and asked the waitress her opinion. She told me the chicken was a staff favorite, so I picked that. Thank god I did, because that was one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had. It rates up there with my favorite chicken in the world at N9ne Steakhouse. It had a maple bbq glaze and was soooooo moist. There was extra sauce for dipping on the plate and a potato bacon cake. Keith got the chicken too and was equally impressed. The BF, who never eats chicken and says he doesn't like it, tried mine and said he wished he had ordered it. Best thing on the menu, hands down. I would go to New Orleans just to go to Dante's Kitchen and order that chicken. I'd get the bbq shrimp appetizer too. For dessert we got a strawberry shortcake and the chocolate spice cake. I basically ate the whole chocolate spice cake...it had a nice crackly top and the spice wasn't overpowering. I'm not a big fan of strawberry shortcake (the whole fruit thing), but everyone else was raving about it so I gave it a try. Pretty damn good. Homemade whipped cream and a nice shortcake biscuit thing. I could do without the strawberries, but I guess they were pretty good too. I would definitely recommend Dante's Kitchen to anyone...it was one of the best meals I've had. Ever. And I have had a lot of great meals.

Monday we hit Croissant d'or for coffee and croissants. They make a nice latte there. For lunch we ended up at Stanley. The service was good and my omelet sandwich was pretty tasty, although a little heavy on the velveeta-ish cheese. Good comfort food menu. I really wanted to try EAT for dinner, but they are unfortunately closed on Mondays. Instead, we went to Rio Mar. Seafood and tapas...and open on Monday. Perfect. We had a drink at the bar first and the bartender was really nice and made a couple suggestions of what to order. The rest of our party was running super late and the kitchen was getting ready to close, so the BF and I just ordered for everyone and had the waiter help us make choices. The staff there was super friendly and helpful. We got the ceviche sampler and crawfish croquettas to start. The ceviche sampler was excellent and had 4 generous portions of different ceviches. The croqettas were pretty damn good too. For mains, we had a yellowfin wrapped in prosciutto, a shrimp dish that the bartender recommended, 5 hour roast pork and a pan-roasted black drum. The pork was by far the best thing we had. Good thing our friends were running late, because we probably never would have ordered it if we hadn't let the waiter decide on 2 things for us! The yellowfin, which was my choice, was actually my least favorite. It was a bit fishy and I wasn't a big fan. Couldn't get enough of the pork and the plantains that came with it though. I would definitely go back to Rio Mar.

For our last meal on Tuesday we went to EAT. Lunch wasn't quite as revelatory as brunch, but it was still pretty damn good. I actually had an omelet again, this time with ham and goat cheese. For lunch, it comes with a mixed green salad and grilled french bread. I wish it came with another biscuit! The BF got the trio with gumbo, red beans and shrimp with butterbeans. I tried his and it was very good, but very heavy as well. I was happy with my not-so-light, but fluffy omelet. We stopped by Central Grocery to get a muffuletta for the trip home. Brilliant plan. We ended up waiting until we got all the way home to eat it, but it totally held up and was just as yummy as I remembered.

All in all, we had amazing food and I'm certain I came home a couple pounds heavier. Totally worth it.

My microwavable chocolate cake experiment

A couple weeks ago my mom forwarded me an email entitled "The 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake." Obviously, I had to try it at some point. Last night I finally did...although I'm pretty sure soy milk and eggbeaters aren't perfectly suitable substitutes for milk and a whole egg. So, here's the recipe:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE 4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa 1 egg 3 tablespoons milk 3 tablespoons oil 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) A small splash of vanilla extract 1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe) Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT !

I did use semi-sweet chocolate chips, which resulted in extra melty chocolate goodness. I didn't have any regular milk or real eggs, so I used my vanilla Silk soy milk and a 1/4 cup of eggbeaters to substitute for the 1 egg. I licked the spoon after stirring it up and definitely tasted soy milk, so I think next time I really need to wrangle some regular milk. Popped it in the microwave and the BF and I watched it rise, but then it fell a bit. I'm thinking that's because I didn't use a real egg....which is also the reason it wasn't as light and fluffy as the recipe claimed it would be. I let it cool a couple minutes after I took it out of the microwave, then ran a knife around the inside of the mug and popped it out on to the plate and cut it in half. Here it is:



The BF and I agreed that the flavor was good, but it was a bit dense and rubbery....probably because of the whole egg/milk thing. I did some research online to find out what vegans use as substitutes for milk and eggs, because I've had some really yummy vegan chocolate cakes before. Shockingly, vinegar can be used as a substitute for eggs, because it has the same leavening properties. Who knew? I'll have to give that a whirl next time I'm desperate for chocolate cake and don't have any eggs! Regardless of the slightly rubbery texture, we ate the whole thing. I'm definitely going to be trying this recipe again....so much better for a lazy person like me than having to go all the way to the store for dessert!

Not impressed....

Thursday night we decided to try Veloce Cibo at the M Resort. It's supposed to be sushi/tapas in a cool atmosphere at the top of the casino. Unfortunately, it did not go well, beginning with the hostess. We ended up being with a bigger group of people than I had anticipated, which was annoying. I hadn't made a reservation in advance since I didn't know how many we were going to be or what time we would be having dinner. I was at the mercy of the rest of the bachelor/bachelorette party that was in town from LA--all people I didn't know and being that I was hungry, really didn't give a shit about. Anyway, we strolled over to Veloce Cibo a little after 8 pm with 10 people. Now, I can't hold it against them that they didn't have a table for 10, as I would normally book that in advance, but the hostess was an idiot. It was like pulling teeth to get an answer out of her. We asked if we could split up our party and get a couple of tables, as we all didn't really care if we were sitting together. She stared at me blankly and finally said something about being able to eat in the bar area. Apparently that meant that no, they could still not seat us if our party split up. She just seemed extremely dim, which does not set a good tone for the impending dining experience. Anyway, we all went upstairs into the bar area, which seemed pretty full as well. Next thing I know, we are standing outside on the terrace, which has a lovely view, but quite obviously is not where the food is served. The boys volunteered to go back in a find out if we could order food out there and disappeared. The cocktail waitresses weren't all that helpful so I decided to go back in and find the BF and get a drink at the bar. I was not about to just wait outside forever. Of course, I go inside and the boys are all watching the game and probably hadn't even asked anyone about the food situation. The group I was with was pretty disorganized, but I was starving so screw them. I sat at the bar, where the BF had already found a spot, and asked for a menu. The bartender was nice, but not the most efficient guy. We ordered a couple of drinks while we were deciding on the food. I ended up getting edamame, spicy tuna roll and stir-fried eggplant. The eggplant was very salty and I have had better spicy tuna rolls from the grocery store. Not impressed. And it's not cheap either. I didn't think it was overpriced until I got my food....it just wasn't worth it. My friend got their signature M roll, which looked even more skimpy and amateur than my spicy tuna roll. Oh well. Maybe I would have had a better experience in the actual dining room and if I had been able to order a main course (as only sushi and appetizers are available at the bar). I doubt I'll go back to find out though.

Countdown to Gluttony

We are going to New Orleans again this year for the WSOP Circuit event in May (well, that's what the BF is going for, I'm just along for the ride) and I'm getting ready to get my eat on. I've been scouring the Chowhound boards trying to decide which places I want to try this time. Last year, it was pretty much just the 2 of us, but this time, my cuz and her hubby are joining us for a long weekend. I still think about the crab cakes with eggplant tapenade and feta that I had at Emeril's restaurant NOLA, so we might have to go there again. I'm also still traumatized by the chocolate cake with pink lemonade sauce I had at Stella!, which was just wrong on so many levels. I should have followed my instincts and asked for that sauce on the side, so it didn't totally ruin my dessert experience at what was otherwise a lovely meal at a great restaurant. What drugs was the chef on when he decided to pair a pink lemonade sauce with chocolate cake??? It smelled and tasted like vomit. I could barely even choke down a few bites of the cake, which means it was really bad, because I will eat just about anything that's chocolate. So, we are definitely going to Cafe du Monde for beignets and coffee and I'm sure the BF will insist on Acme for his fill of oysters. I'm thinking about Parkway Bakery for po' boys, because I've read a lot of good things about that. We're also going to try Rambla, which is the restaurant in our hotel. I am a big fan of tapas, so I'm looking forward to that. Last year, we ate at Mr. B's and my BF was a big fan of the bbq shrimp, so I'd like to find a new place to try this time with bbq shrimp that will measure up. Bib and all. I want to do a great Sunday brunch too...I've seen good things about EAT for brunch, but I'm still doing my research!

Big fat FAIL!

We went to dinner at Nora's Wine Bar the other night and I was determined not to stuff myself until it's painful. We always order way too much, plus I drink lots of wine from the fun machine dispenser thingy ("enomatic system" is the proper terminology, but I prefer to call it a thingy). This time, between the 4 of us we ordered a caesar salad and eggplant cakes (with extra tomato chutney of course) to start. For our main courses, we got the seafood and couscous, which is my favorite, a mushroom and spinach pizza and the Alaskan ling cod. I tried a couple bites of the cod, but hardly had any of that. Basically, I had slice (and an extra tiny piece I can't even classify as a slice) of the pizza and some seafood and couscous. I hardly even had any couscous and I didn't even eat the whole piece of bread slathered in tomato and garlic goodness that comes with it. Plus, being the designated driver, I only had 1 glass of wine. I was doing so well. Perfectly content and full, but not crossing the line to pain and the need to be rolled out of the restaurant. Then a couple other people we know sat down to chat and apparently dessert was ordered. Bollocks. It's not like I can pass up the warm flourless chocolate cake. That would just be rude. Plus, the people who joined us insisted on buying us another glass of wine, and I couldn't be rude and turn that down either. I just drank a couple sips and gave the rest to the BF, who happily obliged since I was driving his ass home. I only had a couple bites of the cake, but then miraculously ANOTHER chocolate cake appeared because the other dessert we ordered (some kind of fruit tart) was gross. That's why I don't allow fruit in my dessert. It just messes shit up. Anyway, by the time we get up to leave, I'm feeling like I'm about to burst. We get home and I proceed to curl up in the fetal position and rub my tummy as to avoid puking. Damn you Nora's! Why do you always do this to me???

Don't people eat on Mondays???

After a long round of golf today, we were starving and decided to hit Cafe Deia for a very late tapas lunch. We get there and lo and behold, the door is locked. Closed on Monday. WTF? I guess I'm spoiled by living in Las Vegas, where most places are open every day and usually open late. If a restaurant has to have a day off, I suppose Monday is a logical choice, but it always seems to happen that the place I want to eat on any given Monday ends up being closed. We even drove by a sign on the street advertising Cafe Deia's happy hour Monday thru Friday. That is absolute bollocks. We ended up at Frank & Fina's Cocina across the parking lot for some Mexican food. Needless to say, I am uncomfortably stuffed. Damn those chips & salsa they keep bringing out. Still warm and crispy. I can't go to Mexican restaurants when I'm super hungry because I end up eating way too many chips and then scarf down whatever carb-heavy tortilla laden meal I've ordered and by the time my brain catches up with my stomach, I'm about to burst. It's all Monday's fault!!!

Free lobster and warm chocolate cake

I decided to actually drag myself out on Saturday night to have some dinner with the bf and some friends at Sedona. At least it was less crowded than Town Square would have been, which was our other dinner option. I hate crowds. Anyway, we normally hit up Sedona on Tuesdays for half-price wine night, but apparently Saturday night is free lobster night (with the purchase of a $25 or more entree). There was a giant birthday party going on and I don't think I've ever seen the place that crowded. Probably because we never go on Saturday night. I spotted a birthday cake out in the patio bar area....so tempted to try and blend in with the crowd and sneak a piece! Instead, I had the pepper-crusted ahi with eggplant mashed potatoes, accompanied by my *free* lobster tail. Free food is awesome. I did share it with the bf so I would have room for dessert. This may be the first time I have ever ordered dessert at Sedona--normally I'm so stuffed from the tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich plus my entree that I need to be rolled out of there. We all shared the warm chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream. Berry sauce on the side, because I don't like fruit fucking up my dessert. It was yummy, but small. Next time, I'm ordering my own....

I dreamt about birthday cake. What's wrong with me?

Holy seasoning!

Well, we decided to try the new Sammy's Woodfired Pizza Kitchen that opened around the corner. I haven't been to a Sammy's in about 10 years and things have indeed changed. They now have a whole section of 'tapas,' in addition to pizzas, entrees, sandwiches & tacos, and salads. Perhaps the menu is a little too ambitious (I don't think Gordon Ramsay would approve), but I'm a fan of the tapas because it means I don't have to decide on just one thing.

We opted for a couple of tapas/appetizers and a pizza. The hummus and baba ganoush each came with what the menu called 'grilled flatbread,' which was actually pizza dough that was drenched in butter and some dried herb pesto/seasoning mix. You could hardly even see bread, there was so much seasoning on there. Needless to say, it was pretty overwhelming and basically impossible to taste anything except that. We asked if we could get some plain grilled flatbread and our waiter said it wouldn't be a problem. When he brought it out, he commented that he never realized they could make the flatbread without all of that seasoning nonsense and would definitely order it that way himself in the future. I am shocked that no one has asked for that before.

Anyway, we also got a BBQ chicken pizza....substituting mushrooms for chicken on half for the semi-veggie bf. Definitely should have requested light on the cheese, because there's enough on there to clog every artery in your body. If we go back, we definitely need to work on our ordering skills. Small pet peeve...they charged extra for the mushrooms on the pizza, even though they were substituting for chicken, which I have to imagine is more expensive than mushrooms. Whatever.

They kept bringing out these giant ice cream sundaes piled high with whipped cream to tables around us and the brownie sundae version sounded really good, but I was way too full and since I'm still trying to work on overcoming my tendency to eat until I'm in pain, I was a good girl and passed. In hindsight, I probably should have just ordered the damn brownie sundae for dinner.

I challenge Bobby Flay to a throwdown...

Now that the bf is back in town, I've been getting out to eat more instead sitting at home watching the Food Network and Bravo while eating cheese & crackers (which is my current favorite snack). A couple nights ago we collected on the sushi dinner my brother owed us. We are not a fan of the all-you-can-eat sushi joints, but my bro went on and on about how great this place Oyshi is, so we broke down and agreed to give it a whirl. Besides, last time we picked the place and took him to Sushi Roku it was a debacle, so I'd rather not repeat that experience. Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised by Oyshi. It's over on Rainbow and Robindale and looks pretty new. I'm sure it helped that one of the guys we were with is friends with the owner and everyone that works there, so we didn't have to abide strictly to the AYCE "rules." The sushi was pretty good and they even let the bf create his own roll. It's really hard to beat $26 per person, so we might have to go back at some point.

Last night, we had to go to a party over at Caesars for the Dream Team Poker Tournament that the boys are playing today. After standing around for a couple of hours, chasing down cocktail waitresses for drinks and contemplating eating from the antipasto bar they had set up, we decided to grab some dinner at Mesa Grill. Now, I have a special place in my heart for the ole Mesa Grill, since it was the first place my bf and I shared a meal just the two of us. It's always super busy and when we rolled in around 10:20pm, they told us it was going to be about a 25 minute wait. Oy. So we sat at the bar and had a drink while eavesdropping on the guy trying to hit on a couple chicks next to us. So pathetic, yet highly amusing for us. About 20 minutes later we checked back with the hostess and she seated us. Damn! The table was probably ready the whole time, they just want to make you wait. Should've gone and checked back in after 10 minutes. I hate it when restaurants play that stupid game. Anyway, we decided to try the wild mushroom quesadilla with truffle oil and white bean hummus as an appetizer. Our waitress told us she thinks it's the best quesadilla in the world, but I would have to disagree with that. The dollop of hummus that they put in the middle was cold and it was really off putting. It made the whole quesadilla seem lukewarm and just odd. It certainly didn't enhance the flavor. We weren't fans. Usually I think hummus makes everything better, but not this time. Anyway, on to the main course. I got a pork tenderloin with and ancho bourbon bbq sauce (or something like that) and a sweet potato tamale. The bf got black grouper with a chile tomato sauce and avocado. My pork was pretty tasty--very tender and moist. I did have a little mishap with the tamale though. I took the first bite off the top not realizing it was the pecan butter, so basically I had a mouthful of butter. It was gross and I was tempted to spit it out, but it kinda melted in my mouth before I could. The butter was the same color as the tamale so it totally blended in and was difficult to differentiate. That being the case, they should at least spread it around instead of putting a lump of it on top so you get butter and tamale instead of just butter in your first bite. Unfortunately, I was too full to get dessert, because there were 2 items that looked very tempting--a warm chocolate cake and a chocolate espresso layer cake. I usually have a totally separate stomach for dessert, but I was wearing my tighter going-out jeans and wasn't in the mood to be uncomfortably full. Especially since it would be a little while before I would be home and able to crawl into the I'm-too-full fetal position. I have decided that Mesa Grill is just really hit or miss these days. I wonder when the last time Bobby Flay was actually in the kitchen and if he approves of the cold hummus on the wild mushroom quesadilla. If so, I'd like to challenge him to a quesadilla throwdown. The bf and I would take him down for sure....

My first time....

So here goes, my first foray into blogging. I decided to write a blog about food because it's really the only thing that I always have something to say about. Plus, I figure establishing myself as a food blogger is my best chance at someday achieving my dream of being a guest judge on Top Chef or Iron Chef (fingers crossed that the secret ingredient is chocolate!). Since I doubt Food & Wine is going to hire a noob with no journalistic experience (save for my stints on my high school and college newspapers) and I'm way too lazy to go to culinary school and work my way up the chef food chain in order to get invited, this is my best bet. I'm also way more passionate about eating food than I am about actually cooking it; which is why I watch Food Network constantly, yet cook rarely.

The boyfriend is out of town for a few days, so I have a lot of time on my hands and a productive mindset. I went to See's candy today for the first time to buy some molasses chips for the bf. I'm usually partial to Ethel M here in Vegas, but we saw a piece about these molasses candies on Unwrapped and the bf started saying they are the best candy ever. I have little faith in his taste in candy, since he is devoted to Skittles and doesn't really like chocolate (I'm not sure how we are still together), but I happened to drive by See's and thought I'd check it out. I haven't opened the box yet since they are kind of for him, but I got a dark chocolate truffle with chocolate chips for myself for the meantime, and in case the molasses chips suck.

I'm on a self-imposed health-kick for the next few days, so I probably won't have any good meals to report on. I'm contemplating doing some baking though, so we'll see if I work up the motivation to do that. I've been craving these cupcake cones my mom used to make for us as kids. My sister and I were just discussing ways to get the frosting down to the bottom of the cone, so that every bite includes some icing and not just the part on top. That's probably why I dreamt about cupcakes and icing a cake last night. I think I might need an intervention....