Restraurant Review: hmmmm

We had been dying to try out the restaurant, Citrus, in the Hotel Valencia downtown. As we left the restaurant last night, the jury was still out on how I felt about the experience as it was a lot like a roller coaster ride of up and downs. About thirty minutes after our departure from Citrus, the final minus came in. Let me start from the beginning...

Hotel Valencia is in a good location, down the street from the Majestic Theater, and they offer complementary valet-- yay the first plus. The entry way is less than impressive and the smell of an old hotel fills the air--minus. I thought I'd let that slide because B didn't seem to notice a smell and the entry floor wasn't even the main floor. We walk past the bar/lounge which seemed lively (plus), but when we get to the small restaurant the hostess asks if we have a reservation. We say no and she says, "well let me go ask the manager if we will be able to accomodate you." "Umm lady, there are eight people in your restaurant, do you really need to ask permission to seat us?" Minus. The woman finally comes back and miraculously shows us to our table. The decor was really pretty--plus. I am not crazy over the color red, but I liked the tall vases with calla lillies and the romantic atmosphere. Not sure if this is a plus or a minus, but as B said you could hear a pin drop in that place. Minus because there was no music to help set the mood, but at least it was quiet enough to hear each other--plus.

So we are seated and get complementary bottled water--plus. We also got fresh warm bread with butter--plus, plus. Our waiter Michael (Hispanic Dana Carvey) was very nice and helpful in describing the dishes. I ordered Riesling and B got a Shiraz and waiter Michael filled these bad boys up to the brim-plus. We enjoyed the bread and wine, but it took a while for Michael to come and get our dinner order. From the reviews I read online people seemed to enjoy that the waiters were not all up in their business so as not to rush their dining experience, but I was just feeling flat-out ignored at times-minus.

Eventually I ordered the broken arrow antelope with blackberry goat cheese sweet roll and sauce poivrade for my first course and eggplant mousakka for the second. B (okay his name is really Ben and calling him B is getting weird, he says he doesn't mind) ordered the crab cake with toasted pumpkin seed, avocado and mesclan salad and the
crisp rack of karabuta pork with seared cheddar grits and glazed mango. We twiddled our thumbs for an hour before we ever saw our food--minus, minus, minus.

When the food finally came it seemed like everything was worth it. The textures and flavors were amazing. We actually filled up on our first courses--plus. I mean we sure should have filled up, that single crab cake cost SIXTEEN dollars-major minus. The second set of dishes came out and we couldn't even make a dent in them. Ben's pork was cooked to perfection, juicy with a crisp sweet outside, and I joked that pig was a sinful, dirty meat. It was my first time to eat antelope, but I was sure loving it, plus.

We took the rest of the main courses to-go and finished the dinner off with the cinnamon croissant bread pudding and two decaf coffees. Dessert was a big plus and we were feeling pretty content. I visited the bathroom and thought it was better decorated than the rest of the hotel, which was minimalist in a bad way. The best part of the bathrooms, beside the terry cloth hand towels and bowl-sink things was that there were mirrors in every stall! Plus! You could stare at your hair and outfit for as long as you want and no one would notice! Uh, or so I thought. On my second trip to the bathroom I really got into my secret-stall poses. As I walked out of the stall this girl was mad muggin' me and at first I thought she was non-verbally acusing me of the foul odor lingering in the area, but then I noticed the opaque glass pannel on the stall door. Although you cannot completely see in, that girl was most definitely aware of my private runway, probably from the shadows coming through the door. oops.

The nice guys at valet held on to our leftovers and told us the next place we wanted to hit up was within walking distance and we could leave our car at their hotel--plus. We briskly found our way to the Riverwalk's best kept secret, Delores del Rio. This place is only about as large as a post office waiting area and it looks like from the interior that it was never supposed to be an indoor space. This place is so quirky--there isn't really a normal menu and you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the bathroom. There were two guys playing live music and after a couple of songs they actually got taken over by a group of Toddler's in Tiaras contestants (there had to be some kind of convention going on because I saw lots of little cheerleaders) who sang acoustic versions of I Gotta Feelin' and Boom Boom Pow. When I have been to this place in the past there was cajun music and belly dancing.

Ben and I each get a glass of Chianti after the friendly manager guy jokes with us about Ben being a "soulja" who he would gladly accompany to Iraq and that behind every good man was a good woman--me. We didn't really get it, but he was just so nice and giggly we went with it. Just when we are really enjoying ourselves, being all romantic and vibbing the music, I feel a tight pressure/ache in my lower abdomen. I attribute it to all that I just ate and maybe a little feminine troubles. I look over at Ben and he is looking a little more pale than usual. His eyes start to water and he bolts for the bathroom.

Turns out Citrus rears its ugly head for a final minus. A la Charlotte and Harry and their "f-ing fromage" the rest of the night was spent taking turns in the bathroom, with Ben bearing most of the burden. It had to have been the dirty and sinful pork because I only had a taste. Looks like we will not be eating our leftovers nor will we be paying an arm and a leg for food poisoning ever again.

P.S. I totally saw the lastest Millionaire on Millionaire MatchMaker on the Riverwalk!

Weekends make my life.

So since my last entry was a little hefty and because I love, love, love exploring and restauranting, here's a little recap. Friday was a very productive day at school--didn't get scolded by any professors (only got the stink eye once) and I actually felt like I was doing a great service to my patients! I was delighted to find out last week that I will be the Maid of Honor in a wedding in March (on a boat!!) and got to go try on my dress after school. Since I haven't been in any weddings since I was a flower girl for my mom's cousin and got such bad stage fright that I didn't throw a single petal--my one job--I am looking forward to making up for that come spring.



B and I had dinner at Paesano's out on 1604. I really love their decor and wish I had a better decor vocabulary so that I could explain what the place looks like. Lots of stucco, copper, polished nickel, and orchids set in the Hill Country. It was warm enough to sit outside next to the coy fish pond and pleasing-to-the-ears waterfall. I was having a hard time deciding what to order because all of the entrees sounded fantastic, but ended up copying B because one of our classmates, and subsequently the waiter talked up this dish so much--Jalapeno Pesto Fazzaletti with Peroni Post Roast, Cipollini and Goat Cheese. [pictured at top of post] Gah, it did not disappoint. Pair that was a bottle of Chianti and two decaf cappuccinos--we were in heaven.

Saturday was a beautiful day and we decided to try Liberty Bar for brunch. I have been meaning to try this place for like two years now and wish I'd gone sooner. The building itself is an architectural marvel and I am surprised the entire structure hasn't fallen over yet (think leaning tower of Pisa). The atmosphere is plain but soothing as you walk past a table with loaves upon loaves of fresh baked bread to seat yourself "anyplace you like." I started with a limeade and then devoured my french toast as it came merely TEN minutes after we ordered. That is my kind of service.

B ordered the Chilaquiles Nortenos, what I originally spotted on the menu, but decided it would be lame to order the same food as he did again. My french toast was enjoyable, but--I. kid. you. not.--that was the best plate of chilaquiles I have ever tasted. For those of you unfamiliar with tex-mex cuisine, chilaquiles and migas (as far as I am concerned they are the same thing) are a compilation of eggs, cheese (in this case creme fraiche and feta), tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc cooked in with corn tortillas paired with pico de gallo and beans. The tortillas really end up more like soft chips. The flavors and textures of this dish blew me away. It's very hard to achieve the right amount of crispy and soggy with the corn tortillas, so kudos to Liberty Bar!



After we ate, B told me he would give me $100 if I ate a stack of jalapenos he had put on his fork. Never one to be tempted into doing something stupid for a bet I immediately said no. Then he said, "oh come on, I've never seen you really step up to the plate and do something courageous." I don't know if it was his comment--insulting my ganas, or the fact that I recently became financially challenged, but I daringly ate the jalapenos. I immediately regretted this decision and remembered why I never play these childish games. Jalapenos are serious people! I didn't win a hundred bones, but B ate some too so we could be "blood brothers" and suffer together.


The time came for the bill and it never fails--I always get stuck with the extra penny! A little side note about B, he is the sorriest excuse for a conservative West Texas Cowboy you've ever seen. He thinks large trucks are "idiotic," he takes canvas sacks to the grocery, he thinks gays should marry and, AND, he gladly lets me pay for half of everything we eat or do. Word better not get out in his hometown that he supports stem-cell research, but anyhow, 9 times out of 10 we give the waiter two credit cards and if the bill is for an odd cent amount, I am always paying more. It's kind of become a joke and I really don't mind. I like that we are equals and I always end up ahead when it comes to birthday/channukah time--hello David Yurman.


I've received a complaint that our posts are too long, so to sum things up, amazing weather for the rest of the day saturday= Brackenridge Park, Sunken Gardens and Japanese Tea Gardens. We got yogurt at Prime Cultures which is a locally owned fro-yo shop run by a somewhat geeky, but friendly twenty something. We are usually the only patrons but enjoy the yogurt and the quirky style of the workers, who on Saturday delighted us with some acoustic guitar. B also completely, voluntarily rented SATC (seriously, you grew up in the Texas panhandle?) even though I was totally down with something called, We Own the Night. Saturday night party here and here for Megan's birthday and a relaxing Sunday. Waiting on Brigid and Yasi to return to SA so we can be fancy-indie-movie-watchers tonight.

Got me thinking about the holidays...

Well - when the three of us decided to start this blog together, we thought because there were three of us we might avoid the beginning awkwardness of not posting enough and figuring out what we would write about. Probably not so. With school craziness happening its harder to find time to post than I thought. We can't wait until we are well into the swing of blogging, have bloggy friends to comment on, and have our own blog-followers! So, if you are one of our first followers - don't give up on us yet! We promise…this will get going.

So, it's Sunday night, Thanksgiving is over and I'm back here in SA dreading the return to clinic/school in the morning. While I'm trying really hard to study for my final on Tuesday, instead I'm wishing for one of the leftover bottles of Prosecco from this past weekend and drinking Famega (Vhino Verde) instead.

[I am not a fan of many white wines - but this is one I will always buy again and again. Crisp, it has just enough bubbly and lightness that it feels almost celebratory, but substantial enough to drink with dinner.]

Anyway - why not a little upcoming holiday season pondering instead of studying ---

DIY gifting: Year after year and I'm still searching for perfect, original, one of a kind homemade gifts to give to friends. I'm never completely happy with what I come up with every year. Last year I put together some red glass ware with a gingerbread mix. I had so much fun for a full weekend playing with recipes and super dark molasses-rich brown sugar until I finally came upon a mix that would deliver both gingerbread and gingerbread pancakes. I liked this because it didn't matter if the person I was giving it to celebrated Christmas or not - everyone still loves gingerbread! This year my family decided to draw names for our Christmas gifting, so my usual 15+ person Holiday gift list is now cut almost in half. This calls for more creativity for the remaining! (Plus further spreading joy?) Any original DIY gifting ideas out there?? (Do we even have any followers yet?)

Au revoir! I'm off to pick up Jamie and (her) B at the airport.