“…so what now???”

I was asked this tonight, during dinner. What do I want now?….

Let’s first talk about what we ate tonight…. we were at The Local, one of my favorites in my area, which I’m sure you have heard me rage about on my facebook, twitter, and probably even on here (although I don’t do quite as many food posts on here anymore)

We started off with the Salt & Pepper Calamari with pickled peppers, ginger salsa, and cilantro…. which was delicious! I kind of wish they didn’t have the sauce on the bottom of the plate though which makes some of it kind of soggy after awhile.  But the plate was HUGE!  They have really upped their portion sizes since they first opened!

We also had the Roasted Garlic Hummus with “garden vegetables” (today was just carrots and cucumber slices) and grilled pita (which definitely had cardamom in it – which gave it a super “Indian” feel…)  Delicious as usual… just too much EVOO and herbs/garlic in the middle of the hummus, which, I personally stayed clear from.  The hummus was rich, yummy and garlicky enough as it was.

It was quite tasty…. I love hummus myself, so I was enjoying it like a mofo.  Plus I love carrots and recently found a love again for cucumbers…I think it’s the way they sliced it.

Then came our entrees.  My lovely lady date got the Herb-Marinated Half Chicken that came with garlic mashed potatoes and over sautéed spinach – which I have had before, so I highly recommended it.  It was loved.  Everything was perfectly seasoned – but, like I said, a HUGE portion.  Seemed a whole lot larger than the last time I got it.

I was craving beef… and I’ve had the short ribs and the steak tips and the salads with the steak so I noticed they had something new… a Chimichurri Skirt Steak on top of braised kale with steak-cut sweet potato fries.  The steak, while I got it ‘medium rare’ was still cooked medium/medium-well.  Which is why I always ask for things rare to medium rare, or else you’ll just get it well-done and overcooked.

The steak was delicious, as was the chimichurri, though I felt it could’ve been more present – it was pretty…. not “bland” but light. Present, but not really there.  The kale though, tasted overpowering and the salt was just crunching through…. wasn’t my fav.  I stole some spinach from the chicken dish instead.  My dinner date wasn’t too big of a fan of the kale either.  Meh.

[ps. for a nice chimichurri sauce check out Bon Appétit – my fav goto place for inspiration]

I got a nice Californian Cabernet Sauvignon [Red, duh] which took me forever to sip on. Strangely so. [I’ve been cutting down on my alcohol so it doesn’t take much lately]

Delicious.

So  now back to the question…. what am I …. wait what?  I think I’m tipsy now.

Ohhhh so what NOW?!  What now????  After what?  “After taking a chance at love and moving to another country and coming back, so soon after, broken hearted”?  Well, I take that and I continue on. [BTW have you noticed how awesome my hair is? Yay for my new waves/curls]

I can say that I went to another country with full on intentions of nothing but the best… and yes I came home, a bit sad.  I wouldn’t call myself broken.  I’ve been broken so many times, it’s more about who can piece me back together, has the patience to, now, than to say who broke me apart.  How do  you break when you’re already broken?

Am I just damaged goods?

I don’t think so.  I just think that the one who should be with me hasn’t realized it yet.  Or found me yet?! Who knows.  I hope it’s…

…

…

… does it even matter who I say, unless it’s mutual?!

So there it is.  A splendid  dinner and a so-so answer to the question asked.

Buenos Noches mis Amores <3

Disney and Margaritas at FIESTA

In the midst of Tea Time after lunch at Le Jardin de Giverny I snuck out to wander around….

DISNEY STORE

And yes took lots of goofy looking pics

And then went looking for a bar, I’m sorry mom, for some booze and alone time…. YESSSS!!! A little bit of my heart, a Tex Mex restaurant…!!! Brand new – called Little Fiesta

It was cute, not really crowded and I got to talk to the bartender a little bit and we exchanged LINE names.  He wants to come visit America and actually spoke English pretty well – he said it was cuz he had a lot of American friends and mostly foreigners came to this restaurant.  Asians aren’t so into Mexican food…

One Margarita….

Two Margarita…

Salsa so I don’t have three Margarita floor :]

Definitely recommend this place.  Haven’t tried the food but the people are awesome.

台中市西區五權西四街106號, Taichung, Taiwan 40348
+886 4 2378 5587

Mayahuel, tequila and beers…

My first trip back to NY in over a year and J picked me up from Penn Station the day before Valentine’s Day, I already found my way to a bar, vodka tonic please, we went back to the apt, drank some delicious wine and headed out to Mayahuel, one of his favorite go-to places. WHAT A CUTE LITTLE PLACE.  I adore the decor here.

We started off with the chips with salsa and guacamole.  While I’ll unshamefully flaunt that I make amazing salsa verde and guacamole – which J agrees with me, they’re red smokeyyyyy salsa was SOOOO FREAKING GOOD.  Time to buy some liquid smoke and try making some :]

J ordered a spicy cocktail.. and I definitely ordered something super strong and yummy….

He got chicken and pork tacos… we both agreed the chicken ones were better, the pork was a bit dry… [which isn’t usually the case according to J]

I got the special, a whitefish or some sort of fish ceviche…. there was quinoa, pineapple, sooooo many flavors and textures, sooooo goood….

After a great simple delicious dinner we headed to J’s favorite bar, Proletariat for a few beers :]

<3

Pre Dinner & Cocktails at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana & Jaleo

Got to hang out with my buddy B and his girlie friends…. K and A, the other day..  W and I headed over to Oyamel after I was done with work and they were already finishing up a pitcher of margaritas – I gladly joined in and quickly catched up.

SOOO much tequila <3

We decided to order one of everything off of the 4$ each bar menu. YUM.  PS their chips were SOO much better than the flimsy ones from Los Cuates

Ceviche verde “El Bajio”
Wild Pacific ono with a creamy avocado, tomatillo, green olives, and jalapeno chiles sauce

W loved it, I thought it needed a bit more crunch or spice to it.  Avocados made me happy though.  Eating it with chips helped.  <3

Taco de barbacoa de res
Beef stewed in a Oaxacan-style guajillo chile sauce with pickled catcus paddle

Beefy, a bit dry but tasty.

Albondigas enchipotladas con queso doble creama
Meatballs in chipotle sauce with crumbled ‘double cream’ cheese and cilantro

Soft small balls of meatballs. I’m a meatball snob but these were good.

Shredded Pork Tacos

Pulled Pork and cabbage. My favorite ones of the night. DELISH!

Taco de cochinita pibil con cebolla en escabeche
Yucatan-style pit-barbecued pork with pickled red onion and Mexican sour orange in a house-made corn tortilla

I thought these were a bit dry too :T Meh.

Bathroom

And then we headed to Jaleo for some tapas and the… DESSERT!!!

I remember ordering a regular bubbly but ended up getting served a rose sparkling wine that cost 4$ more but it WAS tasty. Our waiter was kinda pushy with what we wanted to order. Awkward… but B’s rice pudding was FAB!

My flan <3

BATHROOM!!! Freaky…

But no toilet paper so I left them this HAHA

Snack Time at Los Cuates

After wandering around trying to find some food to eat near ILO so W could get a haircut… we had an hour to eat a snack. So snack we did. At Los Cuates…

Mango Margarita for me. SMALLEST thing ever…. and was just meh.

We got a large salad and then these.. a mixed nachos

YUM

DELISH

Food was decently good. Booze could’ve been better They were SUPER slow and had HORRIBLE chips & salsa. Overly thin chips and, while fresh made, meh chunky salsa. THANKFULLY the nachos were THICK yum chips.

They were soooooo slow and we had to say we had to leave soon to get our food. We ate, INHALED in 5 minutes and left.

Shall try again, possibly, next time, Maybe.

THANKFULLY we got delicious chicken and went home to watch the debate and drink beer.

I love Costco Pizza and Homemade Tacos

W is finally out of Detroit WOOHOO. We planned it so that we both got in around the same time in DC and headed straight to Costco for some PIZZAAAAAAA – we’re both starved.. so we need a lot of food in us….

A whole large pepperoni pizza please…

I would like some pizza with my chili pepper flakes. K, thanks. And then right after? We took the longest nap, EVER.  We woke up just in time for dinner though :] Homemade tacos a la Mama W <3

I see you W :D

She made a yummy minced beef, mexican spiced meat.. and we filled crunchy tortilla shells with the meat, lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheddar and salsa… [no sour cream for me please]

We had a lot…

We took back the leftover shells and meat and a few days later we made a yummy Nachos plate in the middle of the night hahahaha :]

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

Specials Only from Legal Seafoods

After a delicious brunch and a day reading at the bookstore…

Before the bookstore I went to get a few dresses at Neiman Marcus for my Birthday in Vegas.. found two extra sparkly super BOMB totally SEXY dresses :]

I love baby shoes!  Baby shoes always makes me want to have a baby.. but the some annoying kid was right next to me while taking this pic…. and I changed my mind.

I bought this book as one of many W’s birthday presents :]

It. Is. AWESOME.

I got these for me :] Read thru a lot of the Hot Dog book, SO good. GET THEM

Boston Mag‘s Best Burgers issue. GO CRAIGIE <3 <3

After a while I headed across the street to get some grub at Legal’s..

We ordered off the Specials Menu, COMPLETELY off of it, except for the Steamers which is a given and a ust-have.

Watermelon, Poached Shrimp, Whipped Goat Cheese and Basil – there was some Balsamic-y sauce on the side which was WAY too sweet.  MEH.

Steamers with Butter

AND THEN we were surprised with a free appetizer from the Chef!!!… Fried Eggplant Parmesan on Crostini. Delicious.

Tempura Flounder on Fried Rice and Pickled Veggies

The Wine that was recommended with my Salmon Dinner… a bit on the sweet side but good..

Cajun Wild King  Salmon on Coconut Rice, Blanched Spinach and Mango/Pineapple Salsa

Absolutely delish!  The salmon was cooked to a perfect medium!  I hate things like rare/med-rare fish [on purpose or not].. like tuna or salmon, gross. But this was PERFECT. Just cooked thru but still suppppper tender, not fishy and just DELISH!

The coconut rice was SO good.. definitely cooked with some coconut milk and toasted coconut. YUM.

I ended the night watching movies downstairs eating snacks :]

Tigers vs Angels … Baseball Food … and last meal at the MGM Detroit food court takeout AKA … Tiffie poops for days…

One last Tigers game before I head out.  The elevators were out the in the hotel, and we were on the 16th floor so we just walked upstairs for a snack at the concierge after coming back from the pool earlier that morning.

Orange + Blue eyeshadow for the Tigers game.  And a red bull.  Gave me wings which is why I so FLYYYYYYYY ;D

CHEESY I KNOW.

We got to the game 2 hours early so we could watch the batting practice and for their warm-ups.  It was STIFLING hot.

Hot dogs first. I had one, W had two – I WISH I Had two.

I love mustard. What can I say? These were tasty. W liked them better than last time’s… I liked last time’s better..

These were skinnier but longer, the last time they were thicker and a bit shorter. BOTH tasty though. YUM.

Beer #?!?!?!?!

Nachos, Boozey lemonade/tea, peanuts, cheesy sausage… and more…

Caramel Corn, Candy…

And more beer…

We ate so much crap at the game.. and it was such a good game.  We took a limo back to the hotel and while W washed up I went down to the food court for my final dinner in Detroit.  I finally tried the Chinese food at Bamboo and got W his favorite, Bacon Cheeseburger with Onion Rings.. I also got us some chili cheese fries.

I wanted to try this wonton soup forevzzz… they gave me freaking saltines to go with it.  It was actually really good.  Light, fresh crisp bok choy and the wontons were okay.  The filling was a bit on the bland side but doable. Pretty sure there was mega-MSG though since I bloated up like a mofo and had a headache after.

Also got some aloe juice and green tea at the chinese place.. and the green bean stirfry.. which was green beans in a black bean sauce – it was a bit on the salty saucy side but weren’t overcooked, still had a nice crunch and I ended up eating most of it.  Chili cheese fries were probably the killer though and I spent half the night in the bathroom and the other half tossing and turning. WOMP.  But fun times.

Baseball food + Chinese food DON’T mix.

Sierra’s for a Fishy Mexicano good time…

I need Mexican, I’ve been craving Mexican… tequila and salsa and chips galore. So, what do I do? I go get Mexican :] My favorite Mexican restaurant around, Sierra’s – AND it’s close to where I live !!!  They have amaaaaazing freshly made salsa, sooo good and chunky, and while not too high on the heat level – which I usually want in a salsa – it’s SOOO GOOD!  I always ask for a few refills :]

As soon as we sat down we got the Freshly-made Chips and their amazing Salsa! Happy happy joy joy – even before I could eat 3 chips my dinner date already ate the whole thing of salsa…

Pink Adobe Margarita on the Rocks sans Salt

Gold tequila, Grand Marnier, Grenadine

This thing is HUGE :] And soooooo tasty – and had a beautiful pink hue to it. YUM! I was tipsy by the time I got to half of it. WOOOOOO

Caribbean Shrimp

Succulent shrimp dipped in Corona beer batter, rolled in fresh shaved coconut, spiced and deep fried. Served with a tangy honey mustard dipping sauce.

These things were HUUUUGE, they were the size of my palm – they’re covered in some sort of amazing corn bread batter and then covered in tons of coconut and fried to happiness.  The sauce was sooo good with a nice kick to it. Bangity bang bang. Only four come out but they’re huge and filling – the shrimps inside or pretty big as well.

Bayou Catfish

Marinated in buttermilk and spices, breaded in cornmeal, this succulent fish is lightly fried, accompanied by our creamy Chipotle sauce

Dinner date got the catfish.  I guess we were both feeling fish tonight.  The catfish was tender, lightly breaded and fried to a nice perfection.  I didn’t like the chipotle sauce but then again usually mayo-based sauces aren’t my thing… Obviously this also came with a little salad, beans, rice and hominy.. Crunchity catfish!

Grilled Red Snapper with Warm Shrimp Salsa

Grilled red snapper filet topped with a sauté of shrimp, pineapple, green chilies and avocado

And I got what I always get, well usually, boring I know.  But it’s SOOOO GOOD!!!!  Tender huge piece of grilled snapper topped off with a “salsa” of huge shrumps, pineapples, I think even maybe some mango, OMG I cleaned this plate.  Licked it and mopped it up with chips hahahaha…. I asked for more salsa and also a side bowl of sliced jalapenos. YUM!

This place is tiny but rocking.  It’s got a really nice homey feel to it and there’s a nice bar area that’s always packed with locals who come in for a drink or three to watch a game.

470 North Rd. Route 117 Sudbury MA