Day 4 –Mt. Helena, a Movie, and let’s get Chubby!

View from Top of Mt. Helena

Monday morning we chose to take our young cousin Peanut and our two dogs on a hike up Mt. Helena to get some exercise and a nice view of the town. It’s definitely a good trek up with a nice mixture of shade and sunshine, along with a good stopping point half way at “the cave”. The path isn’t too extensive, so it’s a trail for just about everyone, and the view at the top is completely worth it. I do suggest wearing sunscreen, and bringing a backpack with few bottles of water in it. You could even bring your lunch and have a nice picnic at the top! After our hike, we were starving, and I’ve been wanting to try Planet Gyro’s, so we stopped there for a quick bite to eat on our way back to Grandma’s house. Then, having more time to kill between lunch and dinner, MT and I settled on going to see the movie Inception at the only theatre in town. If anyone knows me well, they are very familiar with the fact that I continuously criticize two major subjects that are significant in my life, food and movies. As you can see, I have already analyzed food, so now look forward to your first movie review! Following the movie, we went back to Grandma Don’s house to meet up with one of his aunt’s, his mom and a good friend. Then we made our way to another restaurant/bar that I’ve been hearing good reviews about…..Chubby’s in Clancy, which is about 10 minutes outside of Helena, and any Helenian would say that’s far!

Cave on the hike

Walking Down Mt. Helena

Movie: Inception

Rating: Not too shabby…..but long!

Category: Action/Drama

Comments:

I thought the overall idea of prying into people’s dreams to extract secret information was really clever, and the actual Inception, which is planting an idea in someone’s head that they think is their own by intercepting their dreams was sheer genius, and I followed the movie most of the way…. up until the very end…..if you are still watching it by then because it’s long….., which is never good for MT because his ADD kicks in. Nevertheless, I was enticed because I was trying to figure out what the frick was going on. On another note, this movie is definitely worth seeing at the theatre because the graphics are incredible and the acting is quite good, but the plot was a little confusing, and man did I just want the movie to end after the second hour! I have to say that DiCaprio, who plays Cobb, is consistently placing himself in good movies and is it me or does he look better as he gets older? Maybe because he resembles more of a man than a skinny boy, like he did in Titanic. Also, I love the always gorgeous, Marion Cotillard, who plays Mal, Cobb’s deceased crazy wife, who keeps sabotaging his dreams and, therefore, missions. She definitely is superb in that role! Ellen Page, the Architect, even still impresses me with her young talent, but I didn’t like her character as the one who “understands” Cobb and steers him away from Mal’s evil tendencies to destroy operation Inception. What a joke…..she basically just enrolled in college for crying out loud. What the heck does she know about love and the inner demons that it can create?  On the contrary, I was quite amused by the Eames’ and Arthur and Saito even got a warm place in my heart in the end. Overall, I enjoyed the movie because of the brilliant story, but they dragged it on way too long!

Chubby’s

Rating: Ehhh…..Not that great

Location: 9 N Main St, Clancy, MT, 59634

Category: Bar and Grill

Pricing: Inexpensive

Comments:

MT and I have been hearing about this place from his relatives for a little while now, and we tried to go this past Christmas trip, but were shooed away when we arrived because of a work party that was reserved there for the night. We finally were able to go this time around and I was pulled in two different directions by the experience. The inside is definitely your typical bar atmosphere, so nothing to go into detail there, but the food is what we were there for. MT and I ordered the Jalapeno burger with Onion Rings and MT’s friends split the Prime Rib with French Fries. Both meals came with a salad, which wasn’t anything to brag about, some Bibb lettuce with shredded cheddar on top, and a side of dressing. The burger came out and I was so excited because it looked really appetizing with the Ciabatta bun and the massive burger patty. I cut it in half to split with MT and was sorely disappointed because no juice came spilling out and it was almost well done. There is almost nothing worse than getting a piece of meat or burger that’s overdone. I was so upset, but I still ate it because I was ravenous from our eventful day. On the other hand, the giant sized onion rings that came with it were delicious! The sweet soft onions were a nice contrast to the crispy fried bread on the outside. MT’s friends seemed to enjoy their prime rib, and by the looks of it, their meat was cooked medium rare, which is perfect for prime rib. They were generous and gave me a bite, and I was hitting myself over the fact that we ordered the burger and not the prime rib. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was better than the dry burger. Oh well….we drank our food sorrows away with some great beer and ventured outside to enjoy the cool crisp Montana air. It still ended up being a great night with good some friends!

Burger and Onion Rings

Prime Rib with Mushrooms

Day 2 - Fine Dining at Lucca's

Lucca’s

Rating: Yummm….Impressive!
Location: 56 North Last Chance Gulch Street
Helena, MT 59601
Category: Italian
Pricing: Pricey
Favorites: Lamb Chops, Roasted Chicken, Wine List

Comments:
If you are ever in Helena, Montana and want to impress your honey by wining and dining the night away…..well Lucca’s is the place to go. The ambience is quite romantic with the faux candle lighting, small intimate tables, and attractive Tuscan décor. On top of that, the service is impeccable. It’s a beer and wine only establishment, but have no fear because the list is quite extensive. Foodie??? This place is perfect for you! They start you off with an Amuse Bouche, which is basically a complimentary petite bite from the chef to “amuse” the palate. During this visit with MT’s parents, it was a mini goat cheese and tomato relish bruschetta….mmmm…..we were very amused! After choosing a bottle of wine, we ordered the Spinach Artichoke Dip as our appetizer and our waiter brought us some fresh bread made from Park Avenue, a local bakery nearby, accompanied with a balsamic dip and herb butter, all of which were quite tasty. The second you grab a spoonful of the dip you are hit with the wonderful aromas of garlic and parmesan, essentially enticing your taste buds before it touches your mouth….yum. Moving on to our entrees, MT’s parents ordered the Lamb Chops, and we chose the Roasted Chicken, both of which were split between us two couples, respectively, but before I delve into the flavors of our entrees I must digress about the salad that comes with your meal. After setting the table with chilled plates and forks, the waiter brings the salad out in a large bowl with tongs for everyone to serve themselves. It was a toss of mixed greens, dried cranberries, and candied pecans with a balsamic mustard dressing. Absolutely fantastic, but we had to save room for our main course. Our chicken was incredibly juicy and tender inside with a ton of flavor, and served with a side of Cremini mushroom pan jus, which was to die for! I couldn’t stop dipping my chicken into it and my side items, which consisted of steamed veggies, and crispy grilled polenta! My one and only complaint about the chicken was the fact that I yearned for a more crispy skin. It was a little too limp for my taste. I didn’t try the lamb chops because MT and I ordered them during our last visit to Montana in December, and they were extremely good. Perfectly tender, moist, with a nice drizzle of the feta-rosemary dressing to compliment the flavors. After our main course and completely stuffed, we reluctantly decided to order a dessert to divide amongst the table and coffees. When at an Italian restaurant you always order the tiramisu, so we did. The layered flavors of coffee, cream, and chocolate were all there, but I thought the cake was a little dry. Yes, they used yellow cake instead of lady fingers, which is fine by me, but it just didn’t cut it. The coffees were incredible because they bring each person a mini-French press for each cup of coffee, and it was goooood! Just don’t expect to fall asleep anytime soon after that cup because it’s strong as well, but don’t order decaf because it’s just a sin, so suck it up! Overall, come hungry, thirsty, and hopefully tired, so you can catch some Zzzzz’s after that Cup o’ Joe!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Roasted Chicken

Lamb Chops

Tiramisu

Day 3 – A Patio of Cheese and a Family Meal

On Sunday afternoon after making our usual route around town to discover any new retail or old business that closed, MT and I had some time to kill, so we decided to grab a drink and a snack at Bert and Ernie’s because it was a beautiful day and they have a great patio. Later that evening, we enjoyed a wonderful family dinner at MT’s sister’s house in East Helena, which consisted of his moms’ absolutely incredible Cowboy Caviar and my favorite Broccoli Salad. Then his sister made delicious moist and tender roasted bbq pork. For dessert, MT’s mom had gathered some fresh raspberries from their cabin up in Wolf Creek, and made a Raspberry Crumble….yummmm….I couldn’t stop eating the crust! Everything was so amazing! MT’s family has such a wonderful talent for cooking and all of the dishes had me begging for more!

Bert and Ernie’s

Rating: Mmm….Not too shabby!

Location: 361 North Last Chance Gulch Street

Helena, MT 59601

Category: Bar and Grill

Pricing: Affordable

Favorites: Outdoor Seating, Wine List, Cheese board

Comments:

We ordered a half bottle of Prosecco and a Mini-Mega cheese board. After a few minutes, the waitress came back to tell us they were out of the Prosecco, so we ordered a half bottle of Gruet Sparkling Wine, which wasn’t too bad being from New Mexico. Our cheese board, on the other hand, was a massive smorgasbord of cheeses, meats, bread and a blue cheese dip on a large bamboo cutting board. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw this gi-normous concoction. All of the cheese were quite colorful and very pleasing to our taste buds. I highly recommend ordering this, but bring another couple with you to finish it….not the Gruet!

Mini Mega Cheese Board

Patio

Day 1 and Day 2 – Six States including Texas

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana ……Oh my! Yep, these are all of the states we hit while driving to Montana, and these aren’t small states either. The most ironic part is that we spend the least amount of time in Texas because we live in McKinney, which is about an hour from the Oklahoma border. We left after MT (now a shortened version of my husband’s nickname, so I don’t confuse you) got off work, which was around 6:30. We started to get hungry soon after we left, so we grabbed a quick dinner on the way out of my home state in Gainesville, TX at Rumpy’s German Bakery. Then, we continued our long excursion across the plains. I always forget how close we live to those Casinos at the Oklahoma border. We should go gambling there sometime with a big group! Once one of us starts nodding off at the wheel, we will switch to take over the driving. At around 7am I was at the wheel just outside of Denver and ate beef jerky for breakfast to keep me awake, and then we stopped to fill up on gas, and to let the dogs do their business. For lunch, we took a break at a rest stop near Kaycee, Wyoming, which is in the northern area, and I made peanut butter and banana sandwiches, yumm…..my favorite! The scenery wasn’t too bad as well. Finally, we made it to Helena around 6:30pm a little tired, but wired up because at long last we ended the lengthy journey, just in time to chat with Don Betty, which is where we are staying for most of our visit in Montana, over a few beers and champagne (my favorite) outside in her backyard because the weather is absolutely gorgeous….not the sweltering 107 degrees that we left back in Dallas.

Don Betty is MT's Grandmother on his Father's side, and I give her that name because among the Mafia the crime boss would claim the title "Don" for themselves as a sign of respect, which was traditionally granted to them in Italy for nobility, and although she is not in the Mafia nor a crime boss, she is definitely a very respected and noble woman within MT's family.   She is also this amazing woman who literally is the glue that holds the family together, and her house is Grand Central Station to all of them in Helena. Most of his family will make it over to her house for a lunch break sometime during their work week, and they are always helping her out in any way shape or form. I would also like to mention that the rest of MT’s family is so very incredible, as well. I remember the first time I came to visit as MT’s girlfriend, and I had never felt more welcome and comfortable than I did with all of them. They are such wonderful people and that’s another reason why the 24 hour drive to Helena is so worth it! Lastly, the greatest way to end the day was to have dinner with MT’s parents at one of our favorite Italian restaurants here called, Lucca’s.

Rumpy’s German Bakery

Rating: Hmm…Not too shabby

Location: I-35, Gainesville, TX

Category: German Bakery

Pricing: Super Cheap

Favorites: Baked Goods

Comments:

This was quite a cute little place inside of a gas station, and believe it or not I actually ate there. Sometimes gas stations surprise me…..Buckees!! Anyway, everything there was freshly baked and they had all sorts of goodies from kolaches (sweet and savory), donuts, turnovers, pecan bars, Rice Krispy and Fruity Pebble treats, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, a variety of breads, and a plethora of strudel. Their sandwiches are not too bad for a gas station and they will even toast it for you! I definitely recommend this place if you are ever heading north out of Texas…..maybe on your way to the casinos!

Trip to Montana and the No Chain Gang

My husband and I usually try to visit Montana to see his family and friends at least once a year, but sometimes twice, which is most likely around Christmas and then again in the summer. If we go up there during Christmas we fly because we never want to chance the roads being closed from snow or ice, but in the summer we always drive, so we can bring our two dogs. It’s a long 24 hour trek, but it’s completely worth it, and to allow for more time in Montana, we will drive all of the way through without stopping for the night. What is the No Chain Gang?? Well, MT and I made a vow to not eat at any uber national chain restaurants on this trip. You may think it’s easy, but our drive consists of mostly Subway and McDonalds, so it’s not an easy task on the way there and back. Once in Montana though, it’s quite simple to avoid the chain restaurants. Without further ado, these next few blogs will be an assemblage of our voyage to, from and within Montana!

Day 7 – NYC flies back Home

We hope that you enjoyed our excursions, reviews, and recipes throughout NYC’s trip to Texas. Feel free to leave comments and any other ideas for us to do when her and her husband return to Dallas for Texas OU weekend!!

Day 6 – Back to Dallas and Pizza Night

As NYC and I were making our long 4 hour trek back to Dallas, we decided to make pizza that night and invite over the usual duo, Paris and Valpo. We went to the store, bought our ingredients, got home and each pounded out our own amazing pizzas. NYC - you will have to add your delicious pizza recipe to this blog posting.

Big D’s Sausage and Pepper Pizza
¼ of Pizza Crust Recipe
2 links Italian sausage, casings removed
3 tbsp olive oil
½ cup sliced red onion
1 cup sliced red bell pepper
2 jalapenos, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ can Don Pepinos Pizza Sauce
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped for garnish

2 cups shredded cheeses, fresh mozzarella, smoked cheddar, fontina, asiago (or any cheeses of your choosing)
With the pizza stone (if you have one) in the oven pre-heat to 500 degrees F. In a sauté pan cook sausage on medium heat until brown, put on a plate, cover with foil and set aside. In the same pan, on medium heat, add the oil, onion and bell peppers and cook for 2 minutes. Add the jalapenos, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Take off heat and set aside. Roll out pizza dough, place on a pizza pan, or cookie sheet or a pizza paddle and spread on pizza sauce. Top with half of the cheeses, all of the sausage and peppers. Top with remaining cheese and bake in oven for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and crispy. Add cilantro for garnish. Cool and Enjoy!

Day 5 – A Day for Mom: El Tiempo Cantina and Mi Luna

Our Mom’s birthday also fell during this week, and it’s a rare event to have all 3 of her daughters together at one time, so NYC thought it would be a great idea to find her a new clothes because she never does that for herself, and then give her a little make-over for dinner that night. To fuel us up for the long shopping spree, we took her out to lunch for some good Mexican food and margaritas at El Tiempo Cantina on Richmond. Then, after we were able to locate and put together a great looking outfit at Chico’s for my mom, we brought her back to H-Town’s house, and dolled her up for the evening. She looked amazing! I’ve never been fond of shopping because it’s extremely tiring, and consequently, always makes me ravenous, so I was ready to eat (and drink heavely). NYC had the perfect suggestion for dinner, which was Mi Luna in Rice Village for tapas!

El Tiempo Cantina
Rating: A
Location: 3130 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX
Category: Mexican, Tex-Mex
Pricing: $$
Favorites: Margaritas, Fajitas, Outdoor seating
Comments:
If you need a place to satisfy that hankering for Mexican food then El Tiempo is your spot. I can never find a Mexican restaurant that completely fulfills my every desire with all of the dishes, but this one is not too far behind. To start, the chips are fresh, thin and crispy, the salsa has the right amount of kick to it, and the big highlight is they have green sauce!! Not too many places have it and theirs is fantastic with the perfect green tint, creaminess and a slight tang. The margaritas are great and quite strong in my opinion, but they could never beat El Patio’s, which I’ll have to review another time. Our family is huge avocado lovers, so we had to have some guacamole, which was ok in my opinion. I like the fact that they separate the ingredients and then you get to mix them together, which makes a fun task for the table, but I didn’t think the avocados were that fresh. I am convinced they buy the vacuum packed bags of mashed up avocados instead of fresh whole ones. I love fajitas and they are such an ideal dish to share, so we usually order about a pound of them as our entree. Mixed beef and chicken, of course. I was really impressed with the presentation of them! They came out in a heaping pile on this really tall and raised chaffing dish looking thing, with a parade of sides including the grilled onions underneath, charro beans, rice, pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and tortillas. The meat was perfectly grilled, including the onions, and very juicy with a good amount of spice, the charro beans were excellent and nicely seasoned, and shockingly, the rice was really tasty. I’m not quite sure what was in it, but it had flecks of green, which I think was cilantro, and then it may have been cooked in chicken broth and finished off with some Mexican white cheese. Whatever was in it….it was good! We had a wonderful meal and left completely stuffed, and my mom was a little toasty after 2 margaritas!

Guacamole

Chicken and Beef Fajitas

Mi Luna
Rating: B
Location: 2441 University Blvd., Houston, TX
Category: Spanish Tapas
Pricing: $$$
Favorites: Pincho de Carne (Beef Skewers), Garlic Marinated Mushrooms, Plato de Queso
Comments:
Tapas are always a fun and an interactive experience because you get to order a ton of dishes and share them all with the table. I am the type of person that enjoys trying a little bit of everything, instead of hording in on one dish, so this restaurant was perfect for me, and for our big group, which was added by H-Town’s boyfriend and our stepfather. As we arrived, my mom, H-Town and I began with mimosas to refresh our senses, and get us off to a good start before the meal, and NYC ordered a bottle of wine, which we had no problem helping her finish after our starter drink. Next, I have to say that our make-over on my mom made quite an effect because her husband was taken aback when he met up with us and saw her. He made a little sound that started off in a low tone, then went up a notch and then down again. It was a sound of impression, and we were rather proud of ourselves and very happy for her. After that reaction, we proceeded to order about 10 dishes ranging from Plato de Queso, Marinated Mushrooms, Scallops, Beef Skewers, Empanadas, Patatas Bravas, and Salmon to get us started. The server brought us some bread and dipping oil, which was fantastic, while our dishes came out one by one. We polished off those first 10 plates pretty quickly, and ended up requesting the Spanish Potato Omelet and Meatballs to finish us off. Most everything was especially appetizing, but my favorites were those Marinated Mushrooms and believe it or not that bread dipping oil! Both of which had great garlic flavor leaving me with bad breath for the night, but that was okay because my husband was at home in Dallas.

Plato de Queso, Patatas Bravas, Mushrooms

Beef Skewers

Salmon

Day 4 – Eldorado Jacks on Lake Conroe & Hillstone

NYC and SC’s good friends from nursing school, who I’ll call Couple OU, live out on Lake Conroe, so we decided to take a day trip out there to visit them and their 1 year old son. First, we met up with them at Eldorado Jack’s right on the lake for lunch, and then we headed over to their place to coo over the little one for a while. Our last destination for the day was Hillstone, formerly called Houston’s for an incredible dinner with our other sister H-Town, SC and another good girlfriend, who we’ll call Grave because she’s a Forensic Photographer.

Eldorado Jacks
Rating: B-

Location: Hwy 105, Lake Conroe

Category: Sports Bar and Grill

Pricing: $$
Favorites: Outdoor seating and Waterfront View

Comments:

I can be placed at the dumpiest restaurant or bar in Texas and it would be absolutely amazing to me if it’s on the water. I love being near just about any body of water and Lake Conroe is no exception. Eldorado Jacks has a great view of the lake, and you can even get there by boat. Yep…if you want to show off your ski boat, fishing boat, yacht or better yet … canoe, you can pull right up to one of their docks and walk right up to the bar. In my book, that’s awesome! I don’t care what kind of boat you own, I love having that option. The food is also not bad as well. I was hankering for some guacamole, which was waiting for us when we arrived….Thank you…and I was quite satisfied with it. The margaritas were also pretty decent and most of the food seemed up to par. NYC and I shared a burger, which was mediocre, but everyone else’s, especially the fish tacos, looked really appetizing, and big portions at that. If you are more into watching sports on the big tube rather than gawking at the boats going by, well you have a place there too, even outside on the patio. It’s a place for anyone who enjoys the outside air next to a carefree lake while sipping on some adult libations. That’s heaven!

Hillstone (formerly Houston’s)

Rating: A
Location: 4848 Kirby Dr., Houston, TX
Category: Modern American, Romantic
Pricing: $$$
Favorites: Seared Tuna Steak, Crab Cakes, Wine List, Buttermilk Salad Dressing
Comments:

Salad w/Buttermilk Dressing

If you know me at all I usually despise National restaurant chains, but this place is my one exception and it’s a good one. I can’t tell you how much I crave this place every time I come to Houston (I never go to the one in Addison because it wasn’t that great when I tried it). NYC was the one who introduced me to Houston’s and I was reluctant at first, but she has great taste, so I gave it a try. I was fixated immediately and now it’s become an addiction. Foremost, the ambience is immensely romantic with dim lighting and their snuggly private booths. You can also watch the kitchen pound away at the dinner rush, which I always find so exciting, and is largely due to my passion for cooking. The wine list is quite limited, but they have some really good selections, so being the Wine-o’s that we are, we dove in and ordered a bottle. As for the food, NYC suggested to start with a side salad topped with Buttermilk Dressing and then the Seared Tuna Steak as your entree, which I ordered, and I haven’t steered away from either ever since. The Buttermilk Dressing is definitely the star of their traditional salad with it’s creaminess and just the right amount of tang. Then the Seared Tuan Steak….oh my goodness…Magnificent! The tuna is always super fresh, perfectly cooked with a nice sear on the outside, and, shockingly enough because I’m not a fan of this dish, but their coleslaw is brilliant! It’s not swimming in mayonnaise, but instead I think they use yoghurt and then they add an unexpected ingredient…coconut, which really gives it a nice sweet but not too sweet ending. Now, this trip to Houston with the girls I have a new dish that I just might order next time. H-Town ordered the crab cakes, which are just like finding a good Bloody Mary because they are so hard to find, but when you do, you can’t stop thinking about them, and that’s just what these crab cakes did for me…after I snuck a taste. Wow! They actually tasted like crab and it had succulent fresh huge chunks of crab with a perfect thin crust of breadcrumbs on the outside. So freakin’ good! I have dreams about them now! SC and Grave stayed on the top side of the menu and ordered the Thai Steak and Noodle Salad and Sashimi Tuna Salad, respectively. I tried both, and they were really very good, but not good enough to be in my Zzzzz’s. Largely, it’s a brilliant place to dine!

Seared Tuna Steak

Crab Cakes

Day 3 – Surprise Birthday Party (Houston) and 13 Celsius

I know…another trip to Houston so soon, but you will have to get used to it. Being from there, I visit all of the time. Now, for sister NYC’s surprise she’s been waiting to do. Actually, Sota doesn’t even know that NYC is coming, so she must be our first target since she is hosting the party at her house. When we arrive I tell NYC to go hide next to Sota’s garage and I’ll show up at the door by myself to extinguish any inkling of hope that she had that NYC was coming. Then, I tell Sota that I need to put some things in her garage for the night, so she opens the garage door, and bam….NYC pops out from around the corner and scares her half to death….she sceams, but then realizes that it’s NYC and screams a little more. It was a good surprise! Next, we help decorate, bring out the alcohol and put out food, including the Blunt cake, Baked Plantain Chips that I made and the Mango Salsa that NYC made (recipes will be included below). Everything looked very Jamaican, especially our paper towel joints and the parsley and basil filled snack bags made to look very similar to dime bags. I was proud of our decorations. Soon friends started showing up, equally shocked that NYC was there, and we were ready for the Birthday girl to arrive, who I will call SC (short for Sacred Heart, which is the school where her and NYC became best friends). To make the event even more exciting we had NYC hide upstairs, so SC couldn’t see her after her first stunner, which is the party. She finally arrives, completely flabbergasted, but after a few minutes of thanking everyone, NYC comes out wearing a dreadlock wig, and SC completely looses it. Amazing! We really got her good. Since SC had gotten there much later than everyone else, she had a lot of catching up to do, so most of her friends were shoving shot after shot down her throat, and before we know it, she has Chunder Falls in the bathroom. Now that’s a party! SC didn’t leave too long after that, but it was pretty late. For the rest of us stragglers, we didn’t care, so we headed to our favorite wine bar within walking distance, 13 Celsius, and closed it down!

 
13 Celsius


Rating: Impressive!
Location: 3000 Caroline St, Houston, TX 77004
Category: Wine Bar
Pricing: Affordable
Favorites: Wine list, Service, Ambience, Convenience
Comments:
This little wine bar is within walking distance to Sota’s condo, so we frequent there quite a bit after a night of drinking. I love the rustic looking ceiling and the giant L-shaped bar that fills up most of the place. The employees there are always super friendly, they have a great selection of wines and many of them are decently priced. The best aspect is we can stumble home to Sota’s place!

Baked Plantain Chips
4 green plantains, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp all spice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl toss all ingredients together until well coated. Spread on 3 cookies sheets lined with foil with no overlapping. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp. Cool and serve.

Mango Salsa

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 mango, chopped
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped cilantro
1-2 jalapenos or habaneros, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and serve.