Dinner c/o Isabel with CP

It's been a few months since CPM and R's wedding. And I hadn't gotten the opportunity to see CPM since, which was sad making. She's doing a serious weekly commute to Maryland for graduate school, so the amount of time she's actually in Philly - and in a position to hang out with the likes of me - is limited. So I was glad when we began forming a plan to have such a face to face. In the end we took advantage of a Groupon I purchased a while back for dinner at Isabel. I enjoyed my last meal and dining experience at the establishment, but I hadn't found the opportunity to return so the deal (one appetizer, two entrees and dessert for $25) was tantalizing. CPM and I met up at my apartment before walking over to the restaurant. Almost on cue, it began torrentially raining. While we shared an oversized umbrella, we were both quite damp and dripping by the time we safely arrived at Isabel. We were quickly seated by the front window, which gave us a lovely view of just how rainy it was going to be (very rainy).

CPM supplied us with tequila for margaritas. We were curious about a few different options that Isabel provides, but took the advice of our server and ultimately chose the guanabana variety. We both struggled to describe what it actually reminded us of as far as taste, but we were in agreement that it was to our liking. Sweet, but not too much, and a nice mixer for the tequila.

We went with the mushroom and chorizo fundido, which I pointed out had many a similarity with our erstwhile pizza fave, just without the bread. It was a shallow bowl of melted cheese with plenty of chorizo and mushroom chunks, served with tortillas. So ooey gooey.

I debated what entree to choose and, again, took the advice of our server and went with the scallops.

This was a goo choice. I was surprised by just how many scallops I was given and the mango salsa accompaniment was bright and lively. The scallops were also nice and tender. I haven't tried cooking scallops in years, but I recall that when I did, they often ended up rubbery. These were nothing like my sad attempts.

And for dessert we shared the bread pudding, a warm sweet mess of tastiness with malted vanilla ice cream. Rich and hearty, a good dessert for such a rainy night.

It was great to catch up with CPM, and good to go back to Isabel.

Dinner and Margaritas c/o Isabel

So a few weeks back BC expressed interest in creating a plan that involved brunch and the Zoe Strauss exhibit at the Art Museum. I then sent her perhaps too thorough a list of all the different brunchy spots I'd like to try. Then it was decided that instead of brunch, it should be dinner and it should be followed by one of the museum's Art After 5 dance parties.
This basic plan was further fleshed out once we narrowed down our dinner destination to Isabel. Due to the relative early hour that the Museum broke down its entertainment (8:45) we went with an early reservation time of 5:45. This was a good plan. We all won, really. AS was nice enough to pick up the nice bottle of tequila we would end up completing after two pitchers of limon margarita mix. BC and BA came with red lipstick and sequins. Ok. Anyways. We started with the guacamole, which was a nice serving and I appreciated the slightly chunkier style than my other recent guac experience. Next up we tried one of the many specials of the evening. Fried cheese. Mmmmm. Fried cheese. Nice and hot, oooey, but not too gooey.
AS and BA both went the way of the enchilada. I enjoyed taking a little taste of their jalepeno cream sauce. Definitely a different approach than your typical red/green/mole. BC chose the special that included cubed pork shoulder, fried plantain, pickled onions, rice and beans (and maybe something else, there was a lot of food on her plate). I took a bite and the pork was certainly flavorful, but BC felt like it was a little dry and I have to agree. It wasn't terribly dry, but pork shoulder is a cut that so often lends itself to fatty, juicy, tender results that even a slight lessening of that effect does impact the whole.
I chose to try their chille relenos. I enjoyed the light red tomato sauce that smothered the peppers themselves. It was mild, not much of a kick, but fresh to the tongue and not flat. The peppers and the magical cheese within them were good. Nothing too revolutionary or unique about this presentation. I didn't care too terribly much for the rice, and the beans didn't strike me as 'wowza' material.
I'd say that the meal on the whole was a success. And enough of what came out of the kitchen was above average enough that I'd go back to try a different set of dishes. And the waitstaff was also friendly, if a little bit off with timing.

Margarita, Guacamole and Elote c/o Calaca Feliz

A little while back it was National Margarita Day, and I learned that Calaca Feliz was offering its signature margarita at a discounted $5 a glass price. It opened pretty recently in the neighborhood, and it was on my resolution list, so the holiday seemed the like the perfect excuse to check it out for the first time. I was seated quickly and soon a margarita was in front of me.
There were a few things on the menu that I wanted to try, but for this inaugural experience I went with the guacamole appetizer and the elote side. The guacamole was nice and fresh and I ate it all.
Their salsa was really quite good. Smoky. Different. Good. The elote was also satisfying, though I could have done with just a little more lime and a pinch of salt.
Pig bowl!

Brunch at Khyber Pass

At some point before my recent vacation I went on a second date. I won't really get into that, but I did take the suggestion of brunch as an opportunity to cross one of the restaurants on my New Years Resolution list off. We started with the beignets, all hot and sugared up.
I debated between a po boy and the fried green tomato BLT and in the end I followed the call of the green tomato, with a side of collard greens. There were a lot of other things on this menu that I'd like to try - fried chicken, the aforementioned po boys, grits etc. The beer list is also no joke. I will return.
Afterwards I met up with BC and enjoyed a mega margarita at Applebees. Our bartender gave us some interesting advice and perspective on the dating game.

Restaurant Week at Tequila's

So for months now L. and C. have told me about the glories of dinner at Tequila's, but we've never quite gotten our acts together to go. When we last met up we went to Cochon because they had plans to go to Tequila's with another set of friends later that week, which was fine by me but I still wanted to go. I asked my most stalwart of eating companions LW if she wanted to go. She did not. I called up Mr. Ass last minute to see if he was interested. He was not. So I decided to ask this guy I'd been communicating with online if he'd like to make the segue to actual face time over Tequila's three course meal. He did. It was a rainy evening, but Tequila's was warm and friendly, definitely bustling and celebratory in its overall vibe. Maybe not celebratory. Convivial? In any case, we both started with margaritas.
The chips, salsa, pico de gallo and pickled veggies that came at the beginning of the meal were definitely above average. The pickled veggies were surprisingly spicy, that kind of spicy that makes your eyes widen and for a minute you're not sure that the burning feeling in your mouth will ever go away ... but then it does and you're left with a perverse desire to do it again.
For my first course I ordered the ceviche, but the photographs I took were atrocious, so no proof for you. It was a generous portion and I liked it on the whole. For my main course I chose to go with the breaded and fried fish stuffed with guacamole and finished with a mango sauce. I liked the fish and the guac, but the sweetness of the mango weirded me out a little bit. My eat mate ordered the surf and turf of steak and shrimp and seemed to enjoy it pretty well.
For dessert I went with the tres leches, which looked and tasted nothing like I expected.
It wasn't a bad meal, but I think I went against some of my natural preferences in an effort to try new things to my disadvantage. I think I probably should have gone with their chile relleno entree and flan dessert. For never having spoken and knowing very little about one another, I'd say that the dinner as far as being a kind of date went pretty well. Though we haven't seen each other since. Hmpf.

Dollar Tacos c/o El Rey

After work at some point last week a bunch of coworkers and I went to El Rey to take advantage of their pretty awesome happy hour deals. $4 margaritas, $1 tacos, $1 mini nachos as well. I ordered two fish tacos and one steak taco, and ended up ingesting two margaritas and a sampling of mini-nacho. The steak taco was the winner of the taco bit.
The lighting in the restaurant is very weird and I couldn't quite color correct for it. Oh well.
Definitely a deal to take advantage of.

Deviled Eggs c/o Tank Bar, Crowds c/o El Rey, Margaritas and Fish Tacos c/o McCrossen's

On the fifth day of May I noticed that El Rey has a pretty good happy hour and asked L. and M. if they might not want to go down thataway and partake. We arrived not soon after five, but the place was already a mad house. We were told that there would be a 45 minute wait, we gave them our phone number and then went off to look fo a place to kill that time. We ended up at Tank Bar. They have quite a good happy hour and M. said that their deviled eggs were good to boot. So I ordered them, and they were good. I like when deviled eggs are dressed up with wasabi.
We returned to El Rey and waited a while more. I had one margarita. In the end, by the time we were seated M. had to meet up with someone else and I was about ready to sit on my deck and read a book or something. L. and I took a shot of tequila and went on.
Before actually returning home, we stopped off at McCrossen's and had margaritas and their fish taco specials.
Fish tacos.

Birthday Celebration Dinner c/o Cantina Los Caballitos

Since winter hit I haven't seen much of A.S. Her work, sadly enough, also has a busy season. And since most of her clients are homeless, winter becomes quite busy. Anyways. She recently turned 27 (youth!) and I met up with her and some other friends at Cantina Los Caballitos. Soon after sitting down we ordered pitchers of margaritas and chips came out with green and red salsas. I spoke to B., a girl who went to the same high school as I did, but with whom I wasn't overly familiar. It was nice to meet her, or re-meet her. There were others, but the space was loud and I didn't manage to circulate. I liked the margaritas just fine.
I'm not sure if these look appealing or not. They are nachos, and in actuality they were quite good. Though - like many nachos before them - their bottom layer of chips did not benefit greatly from the presumed trickle down effect of strategic topping placement. If you know what I mean? The whole balance of chips that get equal opportunity topping smothering. If that makes sense. I think I'm going to move on from the nachos.
Cantina Los Caballitos is the sister restaurant of Dos Segundos, which I consider a good thing; every time I have been to the restaurant I've had a good time, even if sometimes I haven't liked my exact menu choice. I ordered the goat tacos, still remembering how much I enjoyed Dos Segundos' version when Childhood friend visited in ... oh man, it's going on three years ago? Almost. I added guacamole and pico de gallo to my tacos, I kind of feel like charging for those things is sad. But they were really good and I didn't want to go without. Somehow my angle and the flash led to an unfortunate (and avoidable-for-someone-better-than-me) shadow issue in most of the taco images. It's my looming mouth and stubby hands bearing down upon the tacos. They were ready. They knew it was their time.
I can't wait for the season to change, and the farmer's markets and the fresh green beans and radishes. And strawberries! Oh man. Tomatoes. Tomatoes with real dirty realness. I really need to grow tomatoes this summer. I have a deck. It gets sun. I can fight off squirrels with my superior intellect. I have an MFA, you know.
So happy birthday to A.S.!

Enchiladas c/o U.S. Border Cantina

For dinner that Sunday, we went to U.S. Border Cantina. I ordered and drank a margarita. We shared chips that were good, though not as salted or warm as one might hope.
I suddenly had a hankering for queso as I understood it from T. and C.'s preparation, so ordered some of it for the table. This was way different, in color and obvious ingredients, but for looking so bland it actually had a nice little kick to it and actual cheese flavor.
I ordered a combination plate of one beef, one chicken and one cheese enchilada. Satisfying, if not revolutionary.

Company Team Event Dinner c/o Dos Segundos

Last week my office-mates, a number of off-site coworkers and boss-men had dinner at Dos Segundos as a team event. We sat in the back at one long table. Earlier in the afternoon it had rained, so the patio was closed. From my indoor perspective it looked like a pretty outside spot? We started with the chips and salsa, I stuck mainly to the green salsa because it was right in front of me and had a satisfying taste, sweet not too hot. Green. Photoshopped.
The margarita consumption, or possible consumption, was out of control. At one point our side of the table had finally gotten down to one pitcher (none of which we ordered, they would just appear) when one of our boss-men came and transferred the majority of one of their pitcher's contents into our pitcher. They varied in goodness, they were sometimes very sweet.
I ordered the fruit gazpacho in order to try something new. A mixture of grapes, shredded coconut, cantaloupe and apples in a one part o.j. broth (and maybe other juices) and some really sneaky pepper. It was a sweet soup but it had a slow heat that came on without a fuss but could build itself up. I ate half. All the ingredients combined, though light and freshing, were a little rich for me.
Oh Photoshop, sometimes I do like playing with your features. Look, everyone is lit up all neon like.
The last time I dined at Dos Segundos I ordered and thoroughly enjoyed the goat tacos. I recommended them to others but when it came my turn to order I went with one of the specials, the barbequed salmon tacos. This, unfortunately, was not the best decision I could have made. It just, I don't know, didn't really work. The flavor of the fish wasn't all that enticing and that had an impact. I did try C.'s steak and it was de-licious. And another C. ordered the goat tacos and really enjoyed them. Sigh.
Even though the tacos weren't my favorite I'm not going to hate on them too much. It was still a really lovely meal, and it was nice to see all my work people in a slightly less worky atmosphere. I thank my two boss-men, who are also the founders of the company, very much for the meal, and for the job I actually like doing.