Nodding Donkey

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The temperatures have warmed up, the flowers are in bloom and March Madness is upon us!!!!! A few years ago I completed my first bracket and since then I've become totally obsessed. It's just so much fun. The games are fast paced and often nail biters. And the type A crazy person in me loves the competitiveness of bracket pools. Why everyone in America does not complete a bracket and follow the tourney is beyond me. It's just the best thing ever. (I know, how am I still single, right?)

My girlfriends S and PMc are just as obsessed as I am. S is a Tar Heel and PMc is a Longhorn so they have a reason to love the tourney. Me? I was just a kid when Houston had Phi Slamma Jamma madness. But that's okay they let me play too.

S had spent St. Patty's Day at the Nodding Donkey and just raved about it. So when PMc and I were trying to figure out where to go for some Friday tourney watching, we decided to check it out. Wow! Madness. Sooo many TVs. Soooo many games. Soooo many age appropriate boys. $3 happy hour drafts and this delightful $5 drink called a Donkey Punch (more about that later). And with the garage doors all opened and a perfect day, it's like a perfect inside/out patio spot. My kind of place.

We liked it so much, we decided to go back on Saturday for some more game watching. Given the Friday craziness, we knew we needed to get there early. S volunteered to get there bright and early and get us the perfect table (and, yes, she was there 3 days in a row. This girl needs a drink named after her). I'm proud to say, she accomplished her mission.

My mission on Saturday was to find out exactly what was in that Donkey Punch (it's motto: It only hurts for a minute). It's one of those drinks that's so delicious that you suck it down really quickly and then, about 20 minutes later, it hits you. Whhhhheeeeeeeeee!

I, too, was able to accomplish my mission. It was pretty simple. I just asked our server what was in it and she rattled off the ingredients: moonshine, vodka, rum, orange juice, cranberry juice and pineapple juice. Wait? Wha? Did I hear that first ingredient right? Did you really just say moonshine? Yes, our smiling server said, but, you know, legal moonshine (I guess that's defined as - not made in bathtub?). Not Everclear, but something like that. So, basically, you're serving us generic grain alcohol in citrus deliciousness? I'm down with that. Cheers!

I knew we were going to be there for the long haul (hello, we actually watch the games) so I ordered some queso. It had fresh corn, pico de gallo and brisket. Yeah, I didn't get the brisket either. It's too fatty to pull off in queso. It would have been a decent queso otherwise.

A Donkey Punch and a copule of hours later, I needed something else to eat. I wasn't too hungry, so I looked for a salad. Here's how their menu reads:


Rant of the day:

Dear Nodding Donkey menu writer, a "liter" is a unit of liquid measurement. It is NOT how you spell "lighter." Maybe it was meant to be cute, but, come on, lighter and liter are pronounced two totally different ways!!!! I'm sorry, this kind of thing annoys me, no matter how many Donkey Punches I've had. Literacy is a good thing. Promote it.

Ok. I'm done now.

The silver bowl salad (which is the same as State & Allen's down the street), was good. I like the spiciness of the chicken combined with the sweetness of the grapes and mandarin orange slices. I don't like that it's served in a stainless steel bowl. When my fork hits it, I get the chills.

We eventually had a couple of guys join our party. For the record, only the girls had completed brackets. Hmmmmmm, what's up with that. A ordered the silver bowl salad as well and C ordered the turkey sandwich which looked and smelled delicious. It had sliced and pulled smoked turkey between two thick slices of bread with a side of cranberry sauce to give it a Thanksgiving feel. It was also accompanied with a good sized bowl of fruit salad. I think I'm going to order that the next time I go.

After 5 hours of game watching, I decided it was time for me to go. As I was getting up to leave, a Rolls Royce pulled up to the valet. It was like a Rolls Royce clown car because like 6 guys who all looked like they were extras for the Jersey Shore got out of the car at once. Really? It's bad enough we have the reputation in this town for our $30,000 millionaires but now we have to deal with this? Ugh. And that's my cue to leave.

While I personally prefer the food at State & Allen, I'll definitely go back to the Nodding Donkey, especially this time of year when it's nice and cool outside. Or when I get a hankering for some moonshine.

Cheers!

http://www.thenoddingdonkey.com/

Komali - A Second Look

So K wanted to take me out to lunch to "celebrate" my new job at my new firm. I put "celebrate" in quotes because it was a celebration for me but for K, who inherited several of my crazier cases, it was bittersweet. I chose Komali because I wanted to check it out for lunch and try it out again after a slightly disappointing first look.

I arrived at Komali and was immediately greeted by a smiling Chef Salum. Have you gotten any rest?, I asked. He laughed and shook his head.

The restaurant was not very busy. I'm not sure the word has gotten out yet that Komali is opened for dinner. Well, except for the "ladies who lunch" crowd that is. All of the tables which were occupied were filled with older, HP ladies. I guess I missed that memo for the Lady Who Lunches Tour. Or maybe I'm just not on the LWL mailing list yet . . . hmmmm.

Another reason for the lack of crowd could be the prices. Komali's lunch menu is identical to its dinner menu so you're not getting any break on prices at lunchtime. I'm not sure how many people in this town want to spend $16 - $18 for lunch entrees.

We had a table of 5. Three of us ordered the chili relleno and two of us ordered the chicken enchiladas. Both dishes was very, very good. The chili relleno, which I had, was stuffed with a crab meat and pepper stuffing, and served with a side of rice and homemade corn tortillas. I loved the chili relleno. The chili is grilled, not fried, and so it had a nice, smokey flavor. There's a slightly spicy tomato sauce which the chili sits on which is very flavorful and just a hint of sour cream is squirted on top. The crab meat stuffing is what makes this dish, however. And when I say stuffing, don't misunderstand me. You aren't going to get a crab cake with a bunch of bread crumb filler inside. Nope, red and green chilis and a ton of jumbo lump crab meat stuff this chili delightfully. This dish is definitely worth the price tag. And those homemade corn tortillas? OMG. I don't think I can eat corn tortillas any place else again.

The chicken enchiladas looked delicious as well. Again, no filler. Just tortillas, chicken, and a tomatillo sauce with slices of avocado on top. I'm going to order this next time.

But the dish we absolutely fell in love with was the Chocoflan. A moist chocolate cake, topped with a dense flan, topped with a caramel sauce and pecans. You must try it. Not too sweet, but extremely moist and flavorful. It's now my second favorite dessert in Dallas (The Grape's Valhrona chocolate terrine with brandied cherries is still numero uno).

I think Komali has found its footing. I'm very happy to see that. Can't wait to go back.

Cheers!

Morton's

So M and I decided to meet for dinner at the new Morton's in the old Grotto space on McKinney. Neither one of us felt much like dealing with the St. Patrick's Day chaos, so we figured dinner at a steakhouse on McKinney Avenue was the perfect choice. Ok, I know what each and every one of you are thinking, "Um, isn't Idle Rich and several other bars on McKinney?" Yes, we realized the error in our logic as we both got stuck in McKinney traffic. But it was all cool. People have to get to the chaos somehow.

I got to the restaurant a bit before M so I sat at the bar and ordered a drink. Morton's has a great happy hour menu. Lots of food choices for $5 or $6. Iceberg Wedge Bites, Mini Cheeseburgers, Petite Filet Mignon Sandwiches. And they have nice drink specials as well. I ordered a Manhattan, which seems to have become my drink of choice now that I'm wine-free until Easter, and checked out the bar scene. Meh. But it was St. Patty's Day so perhaps the usual scene was too busy drinking green beer down the street. Or stuck in traffic.

M got there and we were seated. The interior is nothing special. It's in the steakhouse style - dark, woods, wine bottles as decoration. Yawn. We checked out the wine list. Compared to Perry's, which is very, very, very proud of their list, Morton's had some nice bottles at fairly reasonable prices. Oh, wine, how I miss thee.

A giant loaf of onion bread was placed on our table with some butter. What is this, we wondered. We cut into it and were pleasantly surprised. We had expected the loaf to be fairly hollow in the middle but instead we found soft, plentiful, onion bread deliciousness. We had to call uncle or we would have completely ruined our appetite.

Our waiter arrives with a cart full of stuff. Sigh. I hate the steakhouse cart. Seeing a cut of meat on a platter wrapped in cellophane is not appetizing. And the poor LIVE lobster with its claws rubber banded together that was displayed on a platter? So very sad. And why exactly does the presentation need to include a hunk of raw broccoli and an entire potato? I know what those things are. Most toddlers do too. Thanks, but just show me the menu.

We finally received our menus and then our server presented us with a card of a great prefix "deal." You can get a starter, entree and dessert for a "great bargain" our server tells us. And as soon as he leaves us, M does the math. That great deal, gets you . . . $1-3 off the menu price!!!!!! Wow! What a deal! Not.

M and I both ordered a New York strip and then decided to share creamed spinach and button mushrooms. The steaks were, meh. Nothing special, and nothing we both couldn't do at home. I think they use soy sauce to tenderize and flavor the steaks, because you could definitely taste that (btw, Morton's does offer a soy-free and gluten free menu for those so inclined). The creamed spinach was tasteless. One bite each, and we were done. A little garlic or even a little salt would have helped immensely. The mushrooms were delicious though. I'd order those again.

So my first take on Morton's? Well, I don't think I'm coming back for dinner any time soon. Given the number of great steakhouses in this town, I'm not sure why I would want to eat dinner at Morton's when the steak was forgettable and the most tasty things I ate were the bread and the mushrooms. I'll definitely check out the happy hour scene again though, once I'm back on the vino, that is.

Cheers!

http://www.mortons.com/index.php

Celebrity Cafe & Bakery

So the next stop on my Lady Who Lunches Tour was Celebrity Cafe & Bakery in Highland Park Village (I refuse to call it HPV. That's an STD, not a place to shop and eat). It's the perfect little lunch place. Emphasis on little. It's not a big space. You order at the counter up front and, if you want to eat there, you have to either sit outside or sit at the few, cramped tables they have upstairs. I usually order my meal to go there but this time we decided to eat upstairs. We snagged the last table which had juuuuusssttttt enough room for the 2 of us.

Despite its name, Celebrity's menu isn't fancy. The menu is comprised of quite a few simple salads, sandwiches, soups and quiches. And that's usually just what a lady who lunches needs. K ordered the tuna salad plate which she describes as her "favorite lunch." A scoop of tuna salad on greens, with a few slices of avocado, a hard boiled egg, and a cup of fruit. Nothing fancy, just a nice, filling lunch. I wasn't very hungry so I just ordered a bowl of soup. Their soups change daily and today I ordered the chicken enchilada. It was delicious and tasted exactly like chicken enchiladas in a ranchero sauce. I could have used a few more vegetables and a little more chicken though.

Love Celebrity's iced tea. You have a choice of multiple flavors, green or black. I like the ginger peach the best but sometimes I switch it up and go for whatever green tea option they're pouring.

I almost passed out when I ordered my bowl of soup and iced tea and, as the cashier handed me my number, told me I owed $14.01 Wait, wha? Fourteen dollars for a bowl of soup and an iced tea? Wow, what exactly was this soup made of? Did they use the "nine effing dollar" tortilla chips from Hillstone? I asked the cashier to repeat himself and again he said, $14.01. I asked again, are you sure that's the price of a bowl of soup and an iced tea? He looked confused for a moment then shook his head and laughed. Oops. He had 14 on the brain because the number he was handing me was 14. My meal actually cost $7.01. Whew. Much better

But let's face it, the real reason we all go to Celebrity is the iced cookies. They make some of the best in town. Shamrocks for St. Patty's Day today. Yum. (Well, yum, if we had actually ordered any. K and I are both in a wedding in a couple of weeks and have dresses to fit in, so we decided to be good and go home without a sweet treat. Definitely next time).

Cheers!

http://www.enjoycelebrity.com/specialty-bakery

Chefs for Farmers 3

I just got home from Chefs for Farmers 3, which benefited one of my favorite charities, The Family Place. Had so much fun. It was very different from the last two CFFs, which were sit down, more formal meals. Here, we walked the line at Highland Park Cafeteria and jammed to some tunes spun by a DJ.

It was embarrassing how much I ate. I was such a glutton. To give you a complete idea of my gluttony, here's what was served. I'll highlight what I didn't eat.

Brian Luscher of The Grape
Cabbage Rolls, Liver & Onions, Butterscotch Pudding

Dan Landsberg of Hotel Zaza:
Meatloaf

J. Chastain of The Second Floor Bistro
Ambrosia, Garden Fresh Salad, Sweet Potato Hash

Jack Perkins of Maple and Motor
Chicken Fried Steak & Greens (these somehow didn't get on my tray)

Janice Provost & Chad Houser of Parigi Restaurant
Tater Tots with Pork Belly, Jello

Jill Bates of Fearing's
Vanilla Malt Ice Cream Sandwich

John Tesar
Mac n Cheese, Fried Chicken

Justin Fourton & Diane Fourton of Pecan Lodge
Burnt Ends, Maple Grits, Banana Pudding

Kelly Hightower of Nova
Crayfish Bread Pudding, Broiled Grouper

Matt McCallister
Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Green Chili Cheesy Potatoes, Rice Casserole, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy

Randall Copeland & Nathan Tate of Restaurant AVA
Wild Boar Sloppy Joes, Biscuits

Rick Griggs of Collage Bakery & Bar
Modern Strawberry Shortcake (I ran out of room on my tray)

Scott Romano of Charlie Palmer
Fresh Pasta with Duck Meatballs

Tim Byres of Smoke
Salisbury Steak with Gravy

Yes, that's my tray. How embarrassing is that? Shhhhh . . . don't tell my trainer.

There were a few standouts of the night. I'm definitely going to check out Pecan Lodge in the Farmers Market soon. Those burnt ends were simply amazing as was the super tender brisket (which I ate with a spoon after my tray ate my fork). Restaurant AVA's wild boar sloppy joes (with coleslaw on top) and the AVA biscuits were scrumptous. Chef Brian's cabbage rolls rivaled my Mom's galumpkies (although Mom's will always be my favorite). Matt McCallister's green chili cheesy potatoes was a dish I want to serve every Thanksgiving. And Dan Landsberg's meatloaf and Tim Byres' salisbury steak made me love those dishes again.

There was a ton of wine served in fun glassware and Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka was there serving drinks. It was such a fun night for a great cause. I was so glad to be part of it.

Cheers!

Il Cane Rosso

I'm starting a new job in a week. I'm not getting any time off between the old and new job so I've decided to be a "lady who lunches" as I "work" out my notice period.


The first stop on my Lady Who Lunches Tour was Il Cane Rosso in Deep Ellum. Yes, I know, most ladies who lunch wouldn't be caught dead in Deep Ellum, but, as I'm sure you've realized loyal followers, I'm not most ladies.

It was an absolutely beautiful day so we insisted on sitting outside on the patio. It's a nice, large patio with lots of seating. You really don't hear the freeway above. And in case you forgot you are in Deep Ellum, there's barbed wire surrounding one portion of the fence. You know, in case someone wants to steal pizza or something. The patio is also a nice place for lunch because you can watch some shirtless guys (or sports bra clad women, if that's your preference) in some bootcamp running past you, doing laps on Commerce (?!). I know I should probably feel guilty about scarfing pizza instead of exercising during lunch, but I really don't. I'm a lady who lunches, afterall. There's plenty of time for exercising later.

We started with the Mista salad. It was a simple salad with lettuce, grape tomatoes, and parmigiano with a basic, balsamic vinaigrette. It's served family style, with one order being just enough for about 3 people. It was a nice start to our meal.

It was a Friday and I actually abstain during Lenten Fridays (see, Mom, I'm a "good" Catholic girl), so no meat for me. Pizza is always a great choice during Lenten Fridays since you can always find something to eat. We ordered the Vegetale pizza. The crust was absolutely perfect. Il Cano Rosso prides itself on its Neopolitan style pizza made in an authentic oven, imported straight from Italy. The crust is thin, crisp and flavorful, but not so much that it overwhelms the toppings. The Vegetale was served with olives, artichokes, mushrooms, and "seasonal vegetables", which I think in our case was a bit of spinach. The toppings were very fresh and were well balanced with the amount of cheese that was on the pizza.

But. . . .there was something missing -- sauce. Il Cano Rossa says their sauce is made from hand crushed San Marzano tomatoes. That's all well and good but I didn't really get any of that. I found the sauce thin and lacking in flavor. A little thicker sauce and a bit of garlic would have gone a long way. But we did finish the whole pie (which has 8 slices, fyi), so I guess it was pretty good.


So my first take on Il Cane Rosso? I liked it, especially the crust, but didn't love it. I'm going to have to go back and try a few more of their pies (with meat!) to see if my sauce-deficient Vegetale was an anomaly or simply the way they do things. Plus the patio was a nice place to hang with the nice weather here and they do have a nice craft beer selection to get your drink on.

Cheers!

http://www.ilcanerosso.com/

Play with Matt McCallister

I was so happy I got the opportunity to check out Play with Matt McCallister at Salum last week. See, I was at the first Play dinner at 2d Floor and didn't get a chance to write about it. During that dinner I got a text from my sister that my mom was being admitted to the hospital. After receiving that text, I don't remember much of anything about the dinner other than I have amazing friends in L & M (and I and C). Without their support, I would have never gotten through that night. Thanks guys. You're the best.

I need to put a disclaimer here. I'm personal friends with Chef McCallister and his wife, Iris. I've been to their house, they've been to mine, we've had more than a few drinks together. I say this because there are going to be quite a few raves here but I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. Yes, I'm friends with the McCallisters but as Iris will be the first to tell you, I always tell it straight. If I'm raving, trust me, it's rave worthy.

Chef Salum was supposed to have been cooking right beside Matt that night but he's one busy man. Komali duty called and we got to see Chef Salum only a couple of times when he'd flit in and out to get a taste of what we were eating. He's still smiling. Although I think he must be sleep walking by now.

We started with an amuse bouche: carbonated strawberry mojito with shaved foie gras. Wait. Isn't a mojito a drink? How the heck is it staying on this spoon? Well, Chef had encapsulated the mojito so when you bit into it the mojito popped in your mouth, unleashing its amazing flavors. Yum-my.

The next course is described as "cauliflower, cheddar, ale" on the menu. It was cold soup with a cauliflower base and a cheddar ale consomme. The flavors were spot on but the textures were a little weird so it wasn't my favorite dish of the evening. (See, I tell it like I taste it).

Next was a "salad" of salmon, beets, horseradish, citrus, caviar and dill. Matt had changed up his desconstructed borscht that I had had before and made it even better. The citrus added just the perfect bite to this dish and balanced the sweetness of the beets perfectly. I could really eat this dish every single day.

We then had chili salt octopus, squid, brandade, and 5 minute farm egg. I really enjoyed the octopus and squid. The kick of the chili was just perfect. The farm egg was cooked perfectly but I didn't really need it for the dish. It made the dish look neat but tastewise, it didn't really add any wow.

Matt's version of a sloppy joe was next. Now, I grew up on Manwich. And I guarantee you, you can't get this flavor out of a can. Matt's sloppy joe was made with duck confit, foie gras aioli, black-pepper brioche and pickled, er, grapes. So good. A perfect bun and the duck confit won over this "not a big duck fan" girl. And the grape?! It tasted like pickles. Fun.

Sesame pork ribs with tamarind hoisin, cilantro and daikon was next. Oh My Goodness. When Matt opens up his restaurant, these have to be on the menu. Fall off the bone deliciousness.

Next up was sweetbreads with bacon, sunchoke-barigoule, red-pepper, gribiche. (Yea, I have no idea what I just said either). Ok, now I have to get my sweetbread rant over with. Dear chefs of Dallas, I'm over sweetbreads. Every chef's dinner I go to has sweetbreads on it. There's only so many times one girl can eat fried thymus. Let's move on to something else, okay? Now that I've said my peace, Matt's sweetbreads were the best I've had (sorry, Randall Copeland, yours have moved to #2).

The next dish was my personal favorite. Root beer short rib with vanilla lemon potatoes, radish and watercress. The short ribs were cooked to perfection but it was the vanilla lemon potatoes that really made this dish for me. The lemon and vanilla just added this little something extra which was just divine. I was absolutely stuffed and could have eaten 2 more helpings of this dish. So very, very good.

Then we had roast beef with black truffle, mire poix, turnip, potato and parsnip. I was so full by this point, I have to be honest, I really can't remember anything about this dish other than it was good. Ooof. So. Much. Food.

But wait! There's still our dessert courses. Yes, you read that right. Just in case we had an room (and I didn't) Matt made us 2 desserts. Our first dessert course was brioche french toast with bananas, bacon brittle, and vanilla rum ice cream. Our second course was dark chocolate panna cotta, maraschino, mint, malt ice cream. They were both really good but I was so very, very full.

Had a wonderful time. So glad I can now have happy Play memories. If you get a chance, Matt will be Play-ing with Randall Copeland at Restaurant AVA at the end of this month. I may still be digesting this meal by then.

Cheers!

Bolsa

D and I have been talking about going to dinner for quite some time. She's a loyal follower and is often sending me suggestions of places to go for WiDiDallas reviews. But, more than that, she was a friend that I didn't really know that well and wanted to get to know better. You see D is married to one of my best friend's husband's friends. So while we've known each other for years, hang out in groups occasionally, and have the same "guilty pleasure" television show that turns us into giddy, adolescent girls, we've never really hung out one on one together. But D had really been there for me when my mom was so sick earlier this year. She was always checking up on me and making sure I was doing okay. That kindness and caring made it very clear to me that D was definitely someone I wanted to get to know better. So I asked her to dinner, and we decided to check out Bolsa in Oak Cliff.

I had been to Bolsa several times before. My original supper club went there when it first opened and throughout the years, I've stopped by from time to time. I love to sit out on Bolsa's patio. It's large and covered so in the winter it's nice and warm and in the summer you aren't sitting on the face of the sun.

One of my favorite things to order at Bolsa is the bruschetta tasting. It's a fantastic dish for sharing as you get to taste 4 different bruschettas. Some with meat, some with veggies, some with fruit. But always delicious. I'm also a fan of their flatbreads. Try the "Twig & Branch" with arugula, chevre and grapes. So good.

Every Wednesday Bolsa has a Cocktail Challenge. They select a liquor and then ask their facebook friends to offer up suggestions for secret ingredients to make cocktails from. They select 5 ingredients and come up with 5 cocktails, which are sold for $5 each after 5 on Wednesday (wow, that's a lot of 5s). If they select your ingredient, you get a free drink (so like Bolsa on fb and select an ingredient). When we went, Grey Goose Vodka was the featured liquor and, well, they had selected my proposed ingredient -- ruby red grapefruit (yea, I know, not all that original) so FREE DRINK FOR ME!

When D and I arrived at Bolsa around 8pm, it was busy but not crazy busy. We were able to get a seat within 5 minutes. Of course that seat was in the corner, in the waaaaayyyy back of the restaurant but we had a table, so that was fine.

I told our waiter that I had suggested the secret ingredient and would like to order the grapefruit drink. D asked for the grapefruit drink by name -- the Ruby Rio (or something like that). When our waiter returned he had . . . two different drinks. Somehow my order got lost in translation and I got a grapefruit gibson instead off of the regular drink menu. I would have drank it but I don't drink gin (Gin is made out of juniper berries. Juniper berries are poisonous. Why would I drink poison, especially poison that smells and tastes like that?). The waiter happily took it back and brought me what I actually ordered. Glad he did; it was delicious.

Bolsa's market specials change weekly depending on the what the chef can find from local purveyors. So what we ordered, might not be on the menu when you go. D ordered the burger, which came with chips. D had to send her burger back the first time because it was a little more rare than the "medium to medium well, but closer to medium well" she ordered. No problem, a new burger was made and brought to our table without question. D really enjoyed it.

I ordered the Shiner Bock braised beef cheeks with "brussels sprout" gratin, which our server highly recommended (which you know made be happy, considering how much I love me some brussels sprouts). The beef cheeks were absolutely delicious. The meat was super tender (no knife needed) and the sauce was thick with a nice bock flavor, with almost like a hint of coffee. Excellent choice, server.

Now I bet you are wondering why I put the "brussels sprout" in quotations above. See, I'm not convinced there were actually any brussels sprouts in my gratin. I saw and I tasted . . . cauliflower, not brussels sprouts. It tasted great but it was still . . . cauliflower. Now maybe there were a few leaves of brussels sprouts mixed in with said cauliflower but cauliflower was definitely the featured veggie in that gratin I was served. When I brought it to my server's attention, he tried to explain to me that it was a brussels sprout gratin, not a cauliflower gratin, and the reason I couldn't taste (or see or feel) the brussels sprouts was because of the gratin and then he explained to me what a gratin was. Dude, I know what a gratin is. I also know what cauliflower is. And I guarantee you the predominant vegetable in my gratin was cauliflower. Maybe the chef ran out of brussels sprouts. Maybe he didn't have enough brussels sprouts to make full on brussels sprout gratin that day. Maybe my piece of gratin was cauliflower heavy and if I had gotten a spoonful of another part of the gratin it would have been brussels sprout crazy. Who knows. But would it have killed him to check with the chef and get an explanation rather than to be so dismissive of my concern? But, whatever, I still liked the gratin (but it would have rocked with brussels sprouts).

Despite that little hiccup, D and I had a great dinner and a great time getting to know each other better. We're already planning our next dinner in the OC. BEE Enchiladeria, here we come!

Cheers!

http://www.bolsadallas.com/