MixTec… mexican for dinner.. why? Cuz I’m lazy

Stomach still sick from the day before. Although Pho helped…

Quite a story.. it all started with making clam chowder the day before. Or wanting to. So today I said let’s cook. W wanted pizza earlier after batman so I said let’s make it. aking pizza fresh turned into buying frozen pizza.. turned into buying roast chicken and clam chowder to buying Roast chicken from … and then maybe Gyro.. to MEXICAN! Cuz I love soup, and I’m lazy.

Sopa Azteca

tortilla soup made with tortilla strips in tomato base chicken broth with cheese and fresh avocado.

Vegetarian soup with chunks of avocado, melted cheese in a tomato broth with tortillas melted in.  I’m pretty sure the black soft rings were Pasilla peppers. MMM. – which is common ingredient in this soup.  It was delicious but the tortilla and the heavy amounts of oil from the cheese made it a bit greasy and too much for me.  I actually don’t like tortilla and bread softened and melted into my soups so I’ll probably just stick to the yummy Consomme Ranchero – freshly chopped onions, cilantro, shredded chicken and rice in a light chicken broth and ranchero salsa – that I’ve gotten a few times.

My lone Grilled Fish Taco
Came with a light mango salsa… scallions, cilantro, tomatoes.. but the fish itself was bland and a bit too fishy… def not fresh.. and I swear it wasn’t grilled.. def lightly breaded and pan fried… meh – Lime, guac and hot sauce didn’t help it.. good thing W ordered a lot.

Chicken Quesadila

Beef Quesadilla

Both served with Pico De Gallo, Guacamole, And Sour Cream :] BOTH were bigger than the size of my head – just one piece filled us up.  I was a trooper and tried to eat more too… #BURST.

We both got some Jarritos, Mexican Soda.. but they don’t have my favorite, Guava, so I got lime and W got Fruit Punch. YUM

Miami Day 2, Tanning, Hot Celebrity, Relaxation to the Extreme…

Can’t post about the previous night’s dinner just yet sooo…. skipping on… [don’t worry it’s in the works.. and will be posted once i get the go-to!]

What have you been waking up to lately? I woke up to this! GORGEOUS!!!! Even more beautiful than one I came into… and not ONE drop of rain! Altho a bird did land next to me while sunbathing and I screamed bloody murder lol…

Nice and early, so I got a delicious breakfast.. hot oatmeal with blueberries, raisins, brown sugar, pot of black coffee and “half a grapefruit” – They gave me a paper as well :]

The oatmeal was creamy and still chewy.  Actually felt more like pearl barley than oatmeal. but delicious… and felt like creamy.. but no dairy or milk ;]

THIS was HALF A GRAPEFRUIT?! I think not… it was amazzzzzing!!! Cold, fresh and sweet… :]  As you can see, there’s also a sprinkling of juicy blackberries, raspberries and strawberries – JOY!  SO refreshing and delicious.

Time to venture out there!!

Got an awesome seat by the oasis pool…

And got my tan on!!! It got SOOO hot, it was high-noon, that for an hour or two I was hiding under the umbrella reading from W’s kindle :]

I had lemonade envy yesterday so I got the peach-blueberry lemonade… with vodkaaaaa :D

And a few more Phantom Mojitos, I’m in love….

I was between a few things..

First off, who eats a TUNAMELT in the burning humid weather OUTDOORS?!?!? Gross!  I wanted it all. Wings, Pita, Burger, Falafel Wrap, Pizza [I had pizza envy so many ppl ordered it]

But #1 on my cravings/list was Fish Tacos!!!!

Not what I had… but similar.. mien was grilled long chunk of Mahi-Mahi, Pickled Slaw [mostly cabbage] and a delicious Cilantro Lime Creme…. I had a tub of jalapenos on the side. YUM

I was in the pool at the time they came so I had them cold, BUT, good stories….

SO WHILE I WAS THERE, Guess who was right next to me?! I thought he looked familiar.. took twitter to find out who he was tho.. Robert Ri’Chard of Vampire Diaries.. or the one that I remembered him from.. the first guy to die on House of Wax… Paris Hilton’s BF hahahaha…

He had a garden salad with no onions and no cheese…. he was hotttt!!!!  He just wandered around the pool talking to every girl that hit on him – in fact I think  I’m the only one who didn’t hit on him or try to talk to him LOL

The funny part was he kept saying what he REALLY wanted, but ate just the plain dressing-less salad. LAME. I hate it when guys can’t eat or are on a diet.  I like a guy who can eat with me, outeat me… ;] STILL, he is pretty hot. Body be BAAAANGING..

Back to me.. HAHA being cuz of too many mojitos… Getting my sun on!!! Haven’t been this tan in AGES!!!

SO I was planning on going to Blade for Sushi or Scarpetta [yep Scott Conant’s got place here] but W got off early and so we decided to just stay in, relax and order room service.

Two Chicken/Veggie/Noodle Matzo Ball Soups, Chicken Quesadilla, Chicken Tenders and Fries. SOOOO MUCH FOOD.  We also got honey mustard and ranch on the side for the tenders.. teehee…

<3

“I vow to fiercely love you in all your forms, now & forever.  I promise to never forget that this is an once-in-a-lifetime love and to kno that in the deepest part of my soul that no matter what challenges might carry us apart, that we’ll always find a way back to each other”

Lulu’s Waikiki Surf Club and Tiki’s Grill & Bar

After a long day on the plane…. literally a REALLY long day… probably 14 or 15 hrs in airports and on planes…. we cleaned up and got dressed at the hotel and headed out for a snack!

First up?

Lulu’s Waikiki Surf Club

Ahi Poke
A Hawaiian Classic. Fresh from the Pacific Ocean. Simply prepared with sweet Maui Onions, green onions, alae salt and Kikkoman Shoyu

Probably the best poke I’ve ever eaten… this was the FIRST thing we put in our mouths here in Hawaii and it was FREAKING AMAZING!! I was daydreaming about this ALL freaking week..and now that I’m BACK, I’m STILL drooling and fantasizing about this sexy bowl of raw tuna!

Mac Nut Crusted Mahi
Macadamia nut encrusted mahimahi fillet served with a tropical Lilikoi-mac nut butter sauce.

The fish was good and the veggies were very fresh but the sauce was a bit killer to me.  A bit too buttery and wayyy too much… should’ve gotten it on the side.  The mahi itself was very tender and cooked to a nice flakiness…

Blackened Ahi

Ahi fillet seasoned with cajun spices blackened in a cast iron skillet. Accompanied by grilled cajun rock shrimp sauce, black beans and tomatoes, finished with a light butter sauce.

I usually don’t like seared tuna but this was perfectly seared… just a very very paper thin sear on he outside and beautiful fresh raw tuna on the inside.  DELISH

Afterwards we walked around but then took a quick nap back at the hotel.. [like I said before, long day of airports and planes…We were up since 430am NYC time… which is 1030pm the day before Hawaii time and we had gotten INTO honolulu around 430pm the next day [their time] that’s a LONG, FREAKING. TIME!] We woke up later and wanted some drinks and more snacking… we heard that Tiki’s was a nice place to be… it was also right next to our hotel so off we went :D

Tiki’s Grill & Bar

Z decided to get his Jack on the Rocks in one of their signature mugs… and I ended up getting a Fire Goddess Martini… [Pama Pom Liquor & Cranberry Juice]

We were a bit hungry so we decided to get a few bar/lounge snacks… they had open mic night so we were grooving to some nice singing, enjoying the night [kinda wet out] while we ate and drink.

Kalua Pig Quesadilla
A favorite since we opened in 2002 – try it and you’ll understand why.  Taro tortillas filled with kalua pig, pepper jack cheese, and Kahuku corn relish served with guacamole and salsa

Nice and piggy. I loved these.  Def ate more than my fair share… needed more guacamole though [hint hint]  The tortilla was  nice blue corn one… or at least they were blue, har har, very good… would’ve loved it if there was more pig and more cheese!!! The thicker the better but these were squishy and yummy on the inside!

Guava Glazed Baby Back Ribs
A four bone rack of St Louis Style Baby Back Ribs grilled & basted with our own signature guava barbecue sauce.

These were a bit on the sweet side, obviously, from the guava, but it was SO delicious… so tender that it just fell off the bone.  Lickity yum and fatty.. okay maybe a few parts were WAY too fatty but SO delicious.

Hawaiian Ahi Poke
Fresh Yellowfish tuna cubed and  seasoned with Hawaiian ogo Seaweed, Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil.  ON a bed of Organic Baby Arugula from the east side of Oahu.  A local favorite!

After having the poke at Lulu’s just earlier, it was so freaking good, this was a bit too heavy on the sauce… still fresh and tasty though, just more on the salty side.

Tiki’s Famous Coconut Shrimp
Jumbo Shrimp Rolled in Crispy coconut and served with a sweet chili sauce and Asian slaw.  Made famous here, copied everywhere!

Z was SO excited about these… he’s never had coconut shrimp before and was always scared that they were just frozen ones from Costco… [like at Joe’s] but the menu convinced him that this MAY JUST BE the place to get them.. since they were “made famous here” — which is why I tweeted them asking if they were fresh hehehe…

Two GREAT places that we would go back to again and again for drinks and snacks and a guaranteed good time!  The staff is great and so is the atmosphere!

Craving some Bobby Flay in me…

After watching some Throwdowns on my DVR… I got a huge craving for Fried Chicken and Waffles… but that’s not happening til this Sunday…. [going to the C&Q winner, Melba’s in Harlem] But I knew what I wanted… some fried chicken…. Bobby said that Bar Americain had it on its menu so I checked it out. UGH. Only on Mondays.. or was it Thursdays? And the Mohegan Sun one had it everyday but it was too long of a trek for some fried chicken…. now I HAD to eat at a Bobby Flay restaurant. I’d been to Mesa Grill in Summer of 2004… twice… their brunch is great… but now it was time to go back again… well, I’ve also been craving tamales….Mesa Grill it was…

My strongest memory of Mesa Grill is their bread basket… given their brunch one is even yummier.. there is one thing I could never get over…

Their corn bread is amazing. BEST CORN BREAD EVER!!!!…. A bit of heat and crunch.. with whole kernals of corn… YUM!

rough cut tuna nachos

mango-habanero hot sauce + avocado crema
I love blue chips. I’m chipist… I like colored chips :] I couldn’t taste the habanero hot sauce but the tuna was super fresh and in nice big chunks so it was delish. Totally not what I expected… but in fact better.. I was scared it would be taking “nachos” a little TOO literally…

celebrating dos de mayo

Since we decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home [read about it at the end of this entry], we decided to go out for Dos de Mayo…. not sure why but we’ve been in the mood for Mexican for awhile… we had tried to get in the day before but it was booked for the whole night… so Sunday night Mexicano dinner it was :D This is just a few blocks from our apt so we strolled down on the nice hot – slightly too humid – night to Hell’s Kitchen and got our Mexican on :D

Apparently their “busy time” is 5-7 so thats the only time they take reservations… when we got there we sat at the bar waiting for a table and got us some drinks….

Dos de Mayo

Hers: Wajito – Light Rum, Fresh Watermelon, Lime Juice  & Fresh Mint

His: Classic Margarita

Complimentary dip from the chef…

Delcious black bean dip with sour cream and delicious little sweet corn bread slices…..

Guacamole with Homemade Crispy Guajillo Corn Tortillas

The tortilla chips were sooo good and thick and crispy. The guacamole was amazing, LOVE good classic guac :]

Baby Back Ribs

We were in the mood for ribs, they were amazing. Fall off the bone happiness…

Shrimp Ceviche

Delicious and fresh. Ceviche and some sangria is the perfect hot summer day meal :] Speaking of which we ordered a pitcher of it…

Sangria

Love it when sangria has chunks of fruit in it :D

Duck Confit Empanadas with Cranberry Mole & Pico de Gallo

These were sooo soooo soooo good!!!! Crisp outside and yum flavorful duck on the inside.

Grilled Shrimp with Serrano Sauce, Sweet Plantain & Guacamole

Loved the little salad in the middle. THe plantains were so delicious and each one was topped with shrimp. Needed some heat so I asked for some hot sauce and they gave me a nice roasted pepper hot sauce.

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Grilled Chayote, Sweet Plantain Puree & Salsa Verde

Buttery rich fish and loved the puree and the chayote. The salsa verde was pretty light. Wish it had been spicier as well…

Poached Artichoke Quesadilla with Idiazabel Cheese, Roasted Sweet Corn & Poblano Crema

This was a huge disappointment. I was most excited about this, because I LOOOOOVE artichokes but just like at dell’anima, it was overpowered by the idiazabel cheese which was a little pungent for me and it just tasted like cheese mush :[ Waa…

For once I actually felt stuffed… but then came the delicious trio of desserts…

Tres Leches with Cherries Sponge Cake Soaked in Rum & Milk

SO GOOD. I love a good tres leches :] I’ve had some bad tres leches before where it’s TOO milky and almost sour. This was sweet, not too sweet, and just so good…

Caramelized Banana Empanadas Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

LOVE empandas and LOVE bananas :] This made me oh so happy!!!

Flan de Coco – Cocounut Flan with Fruit Salad & Coconut Macaroon

SO GOOD. I can never pass up flan, it’s so simple but it’s always so good…. :D

We will definitely be coming back here again… Ok, that’s a lie, we might not. There is just way too many restaurants and places to eat at in the City… I’m more into menus that change seasonally so I’d like to come check it out later in the summer or in the fall to see if it’s changed at all… it’s not REAL mexican food and there are some people who have reviewed this place and aren’t that into that.. but it’s a nice spin and gourmet-a-fying it. But then this just makes me want to be at Frontera Grill ;D

Cinco de Mayo

I decided to make a special pork shoulder taco dinner for Cinco de Mayo.. we planned on eating at home and then going out for drinks afterwards :D

Shredding the pork after 2-3 hours and then putting it back in the oven for another hour…

We had grilled corn and drank Inedit… maybe too much Inedit… anwyays we ended up NOT leaving the house because of food coma and already drunk :D