Friday, September 18, 2009

Holy Moly, Guacamole!



I have a confession. I am a whore for mexican food. I mean, if I could smear guacamole all of myself and then dive into a giant bath of margaritas...well, let's just say, that would be bliss. My husband shares my passion. So much we do love Mexican food, that we actually got married in Mexico. For weeks before the wedding, we talked about the food we would be eating while in Mexico. And the guacamole. Mmmmmmm, the guacamole.

And this is why we love Rosa Mexicano. Yes, it is a chain and comes from New York, not Mexico, but still, they know what they're doing over at Rosa Mexicano. And they have the best, the very best, (even better than in Mexico) guacamole on earth. I could literally eat the whole bowl myself, but my husband insists on sharing it with me. (Why doesn't he get his own???)

While we crave Mexican food generally, and guacamole more specifically, let's face it: no matter what you eat, Mexican food is never not fattening. So we're quite judicious about frequenting our favorite mexican restaurant in the city. We wait til we can stand it no more. Til we're dreaming about guacamole. Til our stomachs ache for it. Til I find myself caressing avocados in the grocery store in a trance...with visions of Sunday brunch at Rosa Mexicano dancing in my head.

It's not just the guacamole that's good (although we can't get past that). Everything is good. The queso fundido...cheesy and chorizo deliciousness. The chile aquiles..more cheese/ham deliciousness, only with eggs. The shredded pork tacos....ohhhhhh, to die for.

Oh, I can't take it any longer. I'm off to rendevous with Rosa....

Friday, September 4, 2009

Nightclub Dining



Back in the day, I spent most of my weekends hanging out in nightclubs til the wee hours of the morning, and sleeping all day. Way, way back in the day, I spent my weekends hanging out at in the rock clubs sustaining hearing loss while listening to loud rock bands.

But that's all changed. Frankly, I'm too old for either of those scenes. Plus, as a mom to a two-year-old, I can hardly stay out all night and sleep all day. Truthfully, it wasn't the child that changed my lifestyle. It was the relationship that preceded the child. When you're in a relationship, hanging out in the clubs til dawn loses its allure. The man in question, my husband L, is passionate about food and works in the restaurant biz. Hence, our foodie lifestyle.

I wasn't on board immediately with the whole parade of endless restaurants. What made it click for me is, at the same time that my lifestyle was changing, so was the dining scene. Suddenly, restaurants became the new hot spots; the "it" places, the places to see and be seen, where all the cool kids went. I dubbed this new scene "nightclub dining." My dear friend Brad was more candid in his observation. After having dinner at a new Atlanta restaurant, he said "it's for people who are too old for the clubs, but don't realize it yet." I remember when he said that, I blushed. I felt...exposed.

On a recent Saturday night, I had dinner at RA Sushi, a new sushi restaurant here in town. Sadly, I think was too old for the scene. Alas!

RA Sushi takes nightclub dining to a whole new level. My friend and I walked into the restaurant and were greeted with loud, thumping music courtesy of a DJ in the corner mixing the beats. The cocktail menu included a section of shots. Seriously. Shots. The bar area was packed with hot women and guys on the hunt. There was even a bachelorette party at the bar. Here, the emphasis was definitely on the "nightclub" and not so much on the dining.

Except that, the food was good. And plentiful. We ordered lobster egg rolls and the appetizer came out with 4 eggrolls. Have you ever seen that? Usually, you get two, sometimes only one that you have to split in half. The sushi rolls, although a little odd in their descriptions, were quite good. So, while I probably won't go back for dinner. I'll definitely go back for lunch.