Do you ever find yourself in the Valley looking for a good meal? I’m talking about the Rio Grande Valley. That is where I found myself famished and in need of a good meal this week. I needed a little luck on my side because I Googled Harlingen’s Top 10 Restaurants, Harlingen Fine Dining, Harlingen’s Best Mexican Restaurants…and Olive Garden hit the Top 10 every time. I finally settled on Las Vegas Café for some local Mexican fare. I did a drive by and kept on driving. Harlingen is sketchcity and this place seemed to fit right in. I drove around for a couple more miles, but just couldn’t bring myself to eat at Applebee’s or Olive Garden. I decided to swing back by Las Vegas Café to check out the clientele. I immediately noticed 2 cop cars in the lot. Eating where the local cops eat is usually a good idea.

I ventured in to this run down dineresque establishment and was told to pick any table. The restaurant was at least half full which I took to be a good sign. Not knowing Spanish was ok. This can be an issue in the Valley. The following night out, I asked my server for vegetarian recommendations and he suggested the chicken fajitas (???). Language issue-clearly. Anyway, the staff at Las Vegas Café spoke enough English to help me out and my meal came out in short order.

The guacamole appetizer was enough for two and very fresh. However, I found the dish to be quite bland. I could only identify two ingredients-tomatoes and avocados. This was Michigan guacamole, not 3 miles from Mexico guacamole.

Guacamole

My cheese enchiladas came out piping hot and with a side of homemade flour tortillas-YUMMMM!!! I know white flour is a no-no, but these were homemade flour tortillas! The cheese enchiladas were fresh, but also bland. I ended up dumping an entire vat of salsa on both my guacamole and my enchiladas. Had I had the opportunity to take this food home with me, I totally would have made little bean burritos out of the leftovers for breakfast.

Cheese Enchiladas

With a 30% tip, the grand total was $13. I would definitely eat here again, but I would pack hand sanitizer and would run a marathon after my meal so as to not catch a case of the fats.

Only 4 Ingredients!

2 cups Organic Crunchy Almond Butter
1 ¾ cups Raw Honey
2 ¼ cups Vanilla Arbonne Protein Shake
3 cups Quinoa Flakes 

1) Dry Roast Quinoa (can be done in oven or on stovetop) 

Stovetop Dry-Roasting

2) Mix Almond butter and honey in microwavable bowl. Heat for 60-90 seconds. Mix well.
3) Add Protein Powder and Quinoa and mix well.
4) Spread in 9×13 pan. 

5) Refrigerate 1 hour. Cut into 24 squares. 

Yes, Pei Wei is a chain. I hate chain restaurants (excluding Pizza House b/c I do not acknowledge their new Michigan State location). When I set out on the road for work my snobby eating habits change a bit. For example, I love Subway when traveling, hate Subway when I’m not. Pei Wei, however, is somewhere I would actually eat at home if they opened one in my ‘hood. It’s PF Chang’s cheap fast sister. I eat there every opportunity I get. Tofu DanDan noodles for $7 in under 5 minutes. How can you beat that? Time to draw up my petition for a District Pei Wei.  For those in NoVa try this Pei Wei location:

Fairfax
4461 Market Commons Dr
Fairfax, VA 22033
Phone: (703) 803-4466

Tip 1: Pei Wei has just launched a Rewards Program. Cards are only available in CA at the moment, but look for the program to be extended to the rest of the US soon.

Tip 2: Pei Wei has a Gluten Free Menu and Tofu can replace any meat.

Tofu vs. Bacon: Norm and I have VERY different opinions about who wins

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When in Dallas, one doesn’t think to rush to Las Colinas for dinner. The concrete jungle is home to more office space than Reston, the mustang statues and Trevi’s at the Omni Mandalay. For business travelers who prefer to walk to an amazing meal, Trevi’s is the answer.

At first glance, Trevi’s is not for vegetarians. My server, however, was delighted to offer several vegetarian options. I opted for the gnocchi with a tomato sauce with vegetables.  A beautiful basket of bread arrived before my meal. The garlic was a nice surprise as I always avoid the butter. If you look closely, you will see the butter was too cute to eat anyway.

Flower Shaped Butter...so cute!

I was very surprised by the gnocchi. The gnocchi tasted more like dumplings. I liked them so much I asked my server about the preparation. He said they are pan seared a bit when all of the ingredients are mixed together immediately before they hit the plate. They were so soft on the inside and just a bit firm on the outside. They were also HUGE!  The tomato sauce was light and the dish included a nice variety of perfectly prepared vegetables…not too crisp…not mushy.

Huge Gnocchi

Trevi’s is located in a hotel. Sometimes hotel restaurants are a bit lacking. Not Trevi’s. If you find yourself in Las Colinas, step into the beautiful Omni Mandalay, visit with the exceptional staff, and wander downstairs into Trevi’s. Their Italian fare won’t disappoint.

Bonus: On the 1000 Point Open Table list

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Lilette: A Garden District Gem

I recently had the good fortune to try an amazing restaurant in the Garden District of New Orleans. My colleague asked me what I liked. I said I’m not picky other choosing not to eat meat.  His response was Lilette. I immediately scanned the menu online and was excited by all of the prospects.

We started with a bottle of Barbera D’Alba. The wine came highly recommended and paired very well with our food choices (as promised). One of my dinner guests also goes light on meats, so the 3 of us went veg for all of the appetizers. We selected the Grilled beets with goat cheese and walnuts, Potato gnocchi with sage brown butter and parmigiano cream, and the Eggplant crisps with Skordalia, oven dried roma tomatoes, basil, and oil cured olives. The gnocchi takes home the gold. The beet salad was excellent. The eggplant crisps were fine, but not memorable.

The salad options looked so divine that we could not resist. We chose the Raw salad of brussel sprout, beet, onion, fennel, carrot, arugula, hazelnut and Banyuls vinaigrette and the Shaved Hawaiian hearts of palm with lemon, Parmigiano Reggiano and olive oil. I only tried one bite of the Raw salad, but it was fabulous and I would definitely order the salad at my next visit. My Hearts of Palm salad couldn’t have been more perfect. It was light and just the perfect size. 

We were ravenous, so we moved on to entrees that included The Hanger Steak, Snapper, and another round of Gnocchi. You guessed it-I was the one who opted for more gnocchi. It was superb. My guests cleaned their plates and we were content…well…until our server delivered the dessert list.

I typically pass on dessert. I explained to my guests that I had a 2 Buck Bar from Walgreens waiting for me in my hotel room. I told them how I really enjoy shopping the seasonal candy aisle looking only at the top and bottom shelves for the unusual items. On this occasion I found a $2 gem. It’s a ginormous Andes Mint that could easily last me 2 weeks.  Upon mentioning my love of seasonal candy, one dinner guest mentioned that the dessert list contained many seasonal items. We couldn’t resist.  We opted for the Nutella custard with fleur de sel, caramel cream and chocolate-hazelnut brittle and the Chocolate brioche bread pudding with Earl Grey ice cream and orange caramel. They were both divine. We were especially curious about the Earl Grey ice cream. It sounds odd, but was quite yummy.

Needless to say, I will return to Lilette the next time I am in New Orleans. The ambience was wonderful, the wine list extensive, and the prices were very fair. The service was also excellent. When you are in New Orleans, put Lilette on the top of your to-do list (after buying beads, of course).

Lilette
3637 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA
504-895-1636
www.liletterestaurant.com

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Social @ Hotel Lumen

After a 3 hour rainy drive from Texarkana to Dallas, I was ready for a good meal. I had intended to set out into the cute neighborhoods to find a unique local restaurant, but it was simply too late to go exploring. Fortunately, the Lumen Hotel has a wonderful restaurant onsite. Also, the hotel staff lured me in with a free wine coupon as I missed the wine social earlier that evening. My company does not support alcoholic tendencies, so this free wine coupon felt like a Golden Ticket.

I rolled into Social pretty late. The place was empty! Not one guest was there. I had the place to myself which was killlahhhh. I chose a corner table with my back to the wall (need to see the shooter, of course). They had several vegetarian options. None were healthy, but this isn’t a place to visit if you’re on the Subway caloric restriction plan.

Two appetizers caught my eye. The tomato soup (sans shrimps) and macaroni & cheese were about to meet their demise. Both came out piping hot. On their own, both were excellent. However, I discovered dipping a spoon full of macaroni & cheese into the tomato soup was doubly delicious. I suppose this is something they teach ladies NOT to do at debutante school. I’m not a deb and I was alone in the restaurant. I finished my meal like a heathen…and it was wonderful. My free glass of wine was mediocre, but it was free so I sucked it down like a champ.

I can’t wait to stay at Lumen again and eat at Social. My meal was only $17 (tip included) and completely within my work budget. Also, other guests did visit the bar and were seated for meals, so the place was a bit more lively at the end. Definitely go. See menu here.

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If you are a vegetarian or vegan, DON’T GO! Taking a bite into a dish that was served to us as “mango???….” was the worst experience I have had in a restaurant (even the meal that turned me into a vegetarian wasn’t as bad as this mango anchovy dish). I inspected the inside of the mango??? before dipping my spoon in for a small taste. I really did almost heave at the table. I was pretty embarrassed and was super cautious for the rest of the meal. Also, TWO of the vegetarian dishes come covered in a sunny-side-up egg. I still eat eggs in cupcakes where they are well disguised, but many vegetarians can’t look a little chick fetus in the face and then devour it. Odd, I know. Feel free to judge and call us hypocrites. That’s fine, but veggies be warned. You’re better off at a steakhouse. At least they serve you a beefsteak tomato salad and you know it isn’t going to secretly have anchovies stuffed inside.

On a positive note, I enjoyed the company, the wine, and the ability to walk home rather than deal with the car, parking, etc.

BBQ and steak are specialties in Texarkana, so my dining options are very limited. Six of us decided to head out for lunch and debated where to eat. Half of the city is under major highway construction. If you think the mixing bowl project was rough, this mess in Texarkana is even worse. If you are on one side of the highway, forget trying to go anywhere on the other side of the highway. I made this mistake-twice-and had the opportunity to pass the Texarkana water tower several times. I felt like a character in European Vacation.  As you can see on the water tower, the Texarkana motto is “Twice as Nice”. Twice as nice as what? Laredo? Texas City? Ok, maybe.

Texarkana Water Tower: Texarkana is Twice as Nice as...Anacostia! Woohoo!

One lunch guest had suggested the Ice House, but she was shut down quickly. Apparently, live animals were sold out of that building in the not so distant past. One member of our lunch bunch just couldn’t see eating in that environment. She said all of those animal particles were still floating around in the air. I thought this was hysterical and I agreed!

We set off for Zapata’s. The parking lot was packed and we had to circle like vultures to find a parking space. The restaurant was busy, but our service was great. They tucked us in to a small corner table. I like having my back to the corner so I can see the shooter when he comes in…so the table was perfect! The meal begins with baskets and baskets of chips. They also deliver large carafes of salsa with individual dipping bowls. They did this even before H1N1 (pronounced “Hinny Virus”, as in bum). Individual bowls are perfect because one does not have to fret about viral transmission routes during their fine Mexican meal.

I ordered the Vegetable Enchiladas. My guests ordered the fish special and the chicken fajitas. My meal was probably the least healthy meal on the table. The vegetables were fresh, but there was a lot of cheesy yumminess slathering those veggies. Those who chose the fish were delighted and admitted they order the same dish every visit. Those watching their waistlines were very pleased with the fajitas. The chicken was high quality breast meat with no skin. The veggies tasted fresh and crisp.

I like Zapata’s. It’s not Rosa Mexicano, but Texarkana is not DC. The ginormus dead animals hanging in the bar are a little over the top, but Texarkanians (???) love their carcasses, so this outsider can hardly complain.

The cost for lunch for 6 with a generous tip: $89. I say go.

Vegetarians routinely rely on too much dairy for protein. In an attempt to scale back on dairy, I stopped drinking animal milk this year. Prior to giving up cow milk, I was drinking at least 12oz of moomilk every day in a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte-sugar mixed with more sugar. With my new focus on skincare and continual interest in healthy living, I began to investigate the impact of cow’s milk on skin health. I was specifically interested in how it may affect tweens and teens who are pushed to drink milk by their parents and who also fight acne…and never seem to win.

This is what I found:

Acne occurs when steroids (androgens) stimulate the sebaceous glands within the skin’s hair follicles. These glands then secrete an oily substance called sebum. When sebum, bacteria and dead skin cells build up on your skin, the pores become blocked, creating a zit.

What do you expect? When teenagers combine their own surging hormones with dietary saturated animal fat, cholesterol, steroid hormones, dead white blood cells, and cow pus, they’re gonna get zits. The good news: The cure is an easy one: Stop drinking milk. (from www.notmilk.com)

I gave up milk after I read Skinny Bitch and realized how much cow pus drops into milk during collection. That little nugget of disgusting information was all it took to inspire the big change. Knowing that the change to soy milk is benefiting my skin is a nice added bonus. Also, milk is full of sugar. My Dad can’t drink it because he is diabetic. This is not the healthiest of beverage options as the dairy industry has begged us to believe. Try soy milk. It’s not the same as moomilk, but it’s a yummy, healthier alternative. Silk Light Vanilla Soy is my favorite.

My parents rejoiced the day my first tooth came in. From that day on, I was a jerky eating girl. They would buy me little plastic baggies of homemade beef jerky from the dime store in Elkton, MI. I have fond memories of that jerky and I still consider it the gold standard of desiccated smoky cow goodness.

Ok, desiccated cow is disgusting. Norm, however, is a jerky connoisseur. Jerky is a major component of Norm’s Zone Diet food pyramid. Upon crossing the Michigan border, we saw a Beef Jerky Unlimited billboard. For the rest of the weekend, Norm was having Jerky fantasies.

We decided cutting off the "Y" would be funny.

On our way out of Ann Arbor, I had Norm query BJU on his Jesus phone to be certain we wouldn’t blow by. We hit the jackpot when we found BJU in Dundee, MI. It’s a short distance from Massacre Central-Cabela’s. This was very smart on the owner’s part…because placing a Beef Jerky Outlet next to a tofu factory just didn’t seem to make sense.

I’m tough Midwestern stock, so I rolled in to Beef Jerky Unlimited just so I could see how excited Norm would be in the midst of more jerky varieties than one normally encounters in a lifetime. The first thing I noticed was the sign that stated “NO PHOTOGRAPY”. Apparently, dehydrated cows don’t feel photogenic because of their deep wrinkles.  We found the staff to be very friendly and they explained how to sample and bag our meaty treats. I glanced at the sauces and dead trophy animals hanging on the wall, inhaled the meat-locker/slaughterhouse aroma, and proceeded to bail.

Norm continued the hunt for the perfect jerky. In a flash he stepped out with a hefty bag of meaty deliciousness. He said it was a bit pricy, but worth it for tasty high quality meats. On the cow breath scale, I give Beef Jerky Unlimited a 10!