Eating through Chains - AZ

Scott and I hit the road late Monday night for Arizona for a 5 day horse show. While he drove I curled up as best as I could and napped during our drive into the desert. As soon as Scott decided to pull off the highway for a break, I instantly woke up and jumped out of the truck.

He pulled into a McDonald's and I was starting to configure what I was going to order before I even got out of the truck. I knew for sure I would grab one of their delicious Coca Cola fountain sodas. What made them extra delicious anyway? The hash browns are a salty treat, so I definitely would grab one of those but what else...

I had never had a Bacon McGriddle so I decided to go for it. It was sweet and salty with the bites of egg, cheese and bacon. I was throughly impressed with this breakfast sandwich! I am not much of a breakfast lover so this made our stop pretty much a success. Have you tried a McGriddle?

In Arizona where we are staying, it is like chain restaurant city and there is nothing wrong with that. As much as I enjoy fine dining, I also like to eat at everyday type of restaurants. They aim to please and are affordable. I hadn't been to an Applebee's in awhile so I was actually looking forward to it.

Ah, the good old Oriental Chicken Salad with extra dressing. This salad has ben on their menu for as long as I can remember and it always has been good. The dressing is creamy, but totally unique. They could bottle it and probably survive off the profits of the dressing alone. The crispy chicken with bites of shredded carrot, sliced almonds and crunchy rice noodles are just to die for.

Who doesn't love Texas Roadhouse? Have you been to one? They are the restaurant responsible for teaching your children to just throw their used peanut shells on the floor. I never understood the concept but maybe it made people feel like they were at home? Who throws peanut shells just on the floor? Ok. I am done ranting about the peanut shells, but I enjoy the salty snack waiting for me at the table as soon as we are seated. 

I was in the mood for a frosty beverage and thought a frozen margarita was just the ticket. The margarita itself was blended perfectly smooth but the mix itself was much too tart. A couple sips of the frosty concoction would leave you puckering your cheeks up tight.

My meal at the roadhouse was a very simple one. Grilled Salmon, buttered corn and loaded mash potatoes not pictured. The salmon itself was nicely cooked, maybe a little touch over done to my taste but it was nicely seasoned so it made eating it very enjoyable. The bites of corn and mashed potato were great sides and I couldn't have left more satisfied.

What chain restaurant do you just love? 

Cactus Cooler Time!

So I have to come clean, I love soda. I have a whole refrigerator in my house dedicated to the bubbly cans of sugar. It is called the "soda fridge" and is stocked regularly. When I have mini visitors come to the house they marvel at all the selections they can choose from. I like mixing it up so I bought "Cactus Cooler" - an orange and pineapple soda that is quite refreshing. 

I did a little bit of research on the soda and found out it is owned by the Dr. Pepper Company and is based mainly in Southern California for distrabution. A random fact about Cactus Cooler is that it was the favorite drink to Fred Flintstone on the cartoon The Flintstone's as a promotional ploy to introduce the soda in the 1960's.

You learn something new everyday!

Azu Anniversary Dinner - Ojai, CA

Our Anniversary dinners are always special to me. We usually spend them at The ranch House but due to a last minute plan change we ended up at Azu. I had been there with Dana for lunch not to long ago and enjoyed it so I was very excited. We ordered a celebratory cocktail and cheers to many more years!

Our starters came up and I was excited to dig in to my Beet and Burrata Salad. The cheese was lovely but the beets shared a plate with pickled carrots hat shocked the soft texture of the cheese and beets. I could have done without the carrots and just sunk my teeth into the creamy cheese and vibrant beets. The waitress talked Scott into a Kale Caesar that he absolutely loved. 

We both ordered the Fish of the Day and were both equally disappointed in the dish. When we ordered the halibut we both assumed it would be served in a small, thick cut as that is the way it usually served. Instead it was a razor thin, flat piece that took up 3/4 of the plate. Halibut is usually flaky and easily eaten with just a fork. I had to pick up a knife and saw up a piece to put in my mouth each bite. We should have sent it back and got something we enjoyed but we were so bummed out we just sent it away after several delicious bites of mashed potato. FAIL.

I thought a dessert might turn this night around and the Flourless Chocolate Torte at the very least put a better taste in our mouthes. It was nice.

I know better than to suffer through a meal without speaking up to the waitress but it is hard to complain n a special date night with the husband. You want to appear kind, sweet and demure not a bossy lady who complains about her meal. So, we took this one in the shorts. 

Maybe I should have stuck to my favorite bacon wrapped dates and honey baked brie for dinner...

Lure Seafood Restaurant - Ventura, CA

I took my family to my favorite place in Ventura to chow down. Where everything is fresh, plentiful and all seafood, Lure! Come virtually enjoy our lunch...

After a morning playing with the horses we all declared ourselves first and foremost, famished but also a little wiped out. How about a little cocktail to treat ourselves after the hard work of plating hard? The Bloody Mary proved itself to be highly potent and a good choice if you want a little seafood snack with   a leaded cocktail. I ordered the Blood Orangtini, it was sweet and lovely. 

For the table we ordered Guacamole and Chips to start and they came out fast. It was a good thing too because we all tore into it like it was the last plate of food on Earth. We also ordered the Lobster Spinach Dip served with crostini and it too was tasty. We just kept chowing down and happily enjoying each others company.

Charbroiled Oysters! I love them. I was excited to order two plates and they all went down the hatch once they were cool enough to handle. They are always so big and tasty. Today was no exception! 

As our entree's arrived person to person I became jealous of everyone's order! First up, Sand Dabs lightly breaded with panko and sauteed with a lemon butter caper sauce. She chose her side as rice pilaf as well as a side salad that came out before her main meal. 

Look at this Louie!

The seafood on this salad was so gorgeous and plentiful. The salad itself was a large portion and did lack dressing, but they gladly will bring more on request. It was ordered x2 at the table and not one left the table without food on it. It is a large portion so beware you salad orderers out there!

I ordered this Idaho Trout Almondine and loved every bite of it! The butterflied, boneless fish is pan seared and served skin on. The almonds and parmesan coating gives a crunch to the otherwise soft delicate fish. My side is the Cilantro Corn Salsa packed with jicama, onion, red pepper and jalapeno. I love this stuff! I couple eat many more cups full! The Parmesan Potato Cake was a great second pick of sides because the smooth creamy red potatoes seared flat with butter, parmesan was a perfect pairing partner to the fish. I loved my lunch, loved, loved it! 

I left feeling stuffed but in a good way. The way that makes you feel satisfied but still comfortable enough to walk and shop. And that is exactly what we did. The weather could not be any more gorgeous in Downtown Ventura so we took advantage of the sunshine!

Fish Gaucho - Paso Robles, CA

Hello Baseball fans! While Scott, the horses and crew and I are at the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Futurity in Paso Robles we are also cheering on our favorites, the San Francisco Giants. My Mom and I wanted to go out and celebrate a good first round for our futurity horses but Scott wanted to stay in and watch the first round of the World Series. So we called a truce and the ladies went out and he stayed in to watch the game.

We decided to have dinner at a place we have never been before, Fish Gaucho. It is owned by a friend of our's son-in-law so we were anxious to give it a go after hearing many good reviews. To get our meal started night we decided to try their signature margaritas: Watermelon Mint and Blood Orange. They were both fabulous, totally worth giving a shot. the menu is described as California Mexican so I was muy muy excited to give it a try... 

 My mom went the surf and turf route and ordered the Filet, Shrimp and Scallop plate. The 6 oz filet was cooked to her desire of a perfect medium rare, two shrimp totally plump and scallop seared just like perfection. The proteins rested on a bed of jalapeno mashed potatoes and a warm ranchera salsa. She described it as "the best meal she has at a restaurant in a really long time..." 

When I saw Scallops on the menu you know I could not pass it up. The Crusted Diver Scallops complete with chorizo brussel sprouts, poblano crema and mashed potatoes made my day. I literally licked the plate until it was totally clean.

Our dinner was perfect. I rubbed it in to Scott so bad when I got home that he wanted to go for an early dinner today. This is how my second visit went...

I knew I immediately wanted to try the chips, salsa and Morro Bay guacamole when I came on this visit so we put in our order fairly quickly. The pineapple pico de gallo was Scott's favorite, while i favored the watermelon chipotle. The guacamole was totally fine too.

We were greeted with a gift from the chef (being a food blogger has its perks...) to kick off our meal. It was a pork belly taco, with crispy onion strings, spicy salsa and served with a slice of blood orange to squeeze over the corn tortilla blanket. I loved it. In fact, I was feeling quite full from all the chips and taco at this point. The taco will be featured on an upcoming menu and I felt pretty cool to get the inside bite.

Feeling already pretty full, I decided to solider on with the Oysters Oaxaca. Six Blue Point Oysters topped with what they have described on their menu as chorizo and cotija crumbles. It actually was topped with a thick layer of thick cheese that took over the delicate taste of a baked oyster. I literally took off the layer of cheese before eating so tasting an oyster could be detected. I think these need to be switched up a bit. 

Scott is a Lobster Enchilada fan so when he saw it on the menu I knew he was old on it. Let me start off my saying, the portion size is huge! You get a lot of food. He noted that the lobster meat was only claw meat and would have been excited to get a piece of tail meat. He could only finish two but did enjoy the zesty tomatillo sauce.  

As I explored the menu on my second visit it obviously was not quite as successful as the first but I do believe the third time will be a charm as we have to go again to let Cowboy Ron have a turn at bat!

Bell Street Farm - Los Alamos, CA

On the drive home from the Madonna Inn last week I made a few pit stops on the way home. Most were fashion shopping related but one of them was to the Bell Street Farm in Los Alamos. I had heard any exciting things about their food and concepts so I decided to wheel in and see for myself. It is an order at the counter joint, that gives you a number and then they walk out food. They ask for a tip but I am always confused on how to tip them, considering at that point I was not given any service and have no idea on what they truly deserve.  

I ordered a real Coke and asked for water on the side. I was never given a refill on the water. So I guess the tip I left was pretty hefty given the service. You got me Bell Street Farm, you got me. 

I always love a good soup, you know that. This was ok. Minestrone was fine but in my personal opinion I prefer my vegetables cut into much smaller pieces. I don't want a knife and fork soup, I want soft and silky. The flavor was good despite needing a shake of salt, that was not on the table.

I was torn on what salad to order, on paper they all sounded good but I was talked into the Rotisserie Pork Salad by the cashier so I followed his lead. The menu read"Hot and Crispy Pork belly wrapped Shoulder" and I would love to say it was really that but a more accurate description would be "Warm and Chewy". The butter lettuce was fresh, onion fantastic and roasted potato was just fine.

Did I love Bell Street Farm? I wanted to, I really did. It was darling and the owner greeted and waved goodbye to all the patrons. The food was ok. Maybe I ordered bad, I would give it another shot but it had better deliver!

Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro - Santa Barbara, CA

Today was a really beautiful day in Santa Barbara, almost to the point of being too warm. Dana and I tried to shop but felt that the heat was really wiping us out so we decided to break for lunch sooner than later. I had never been to Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro so when she suggested it I was game on. The seat outside was worth the price of admission, the people watching was totally entertaining.

I am sure something was amusing me at this point... 

Like I said above I was hungry, a little lunch salad was not going to quite cut the mustard for me. I settled on the Roasted Beet and Farro Salad complete with arugula and goat cheese and the addition of Salmon. It was plenty and did the job right. I left feeling satisfied but not too full. This would for sure be something I would like again. 

Dana went for the Cobb Salad and I am not going to lie it was something that caught my eye. Chocked full of chicken, bacon, tomato, avocado, egg and olive it certainly ate like a meal. I knew it looked good but I was happy to have my salmon.

What a pretty place to sit and have a meal with a wonderful friend. I have walked passed it a bunch of times and was glad to have had the opportunity to have dined there today. It gets a "yes" from me.

City Bowl Express - Ventura, CA

My girlfriend's were in Ventura doing girlie, fun things so they called me to meet them after I was finished up with the horses. After my chores were done I slapped on some make-up, pulled on the sportiest clothes I had hanging in my closet and bee lined for Ventura. Yee-haw!

Next to the nail salon the girls were in there was a place called City Bowl Express that sold fast food Chinese. I was curious if they possibly served Boba Teas and to my delight they did! Score! What is a Boba Tea you ask? "Boba" are large, chewy tapioca pearls that rest at the bottom on the drink. You are given a large straw to slurp up the boba and drink at the same time. It is weird but really cool all at the same time.  

While they made my Boba drink I looked over the day's selection of Chinese Food. Nothing caught my eye...

But my outfit did! I was surprised I put this fun look together so quickly! The restaurant had a wall of mirrors so selfies were totally easy!  

 And here is my Boba! I ordered the Strawberry and it came out like a smoothie with the boba on the bottom. The drink itself was very refreshing as it was hot in Ojai and I did not drink near enough water.  The boba were plentiful and required lots of chewy mid drink. I thought it was fun for about 5 minutes and then the novelty wore off! Ah well, it was fun while it lasted!

Reservoir - Fort Worth, TX

 

Hey y'all I stumbled across this review that I did in Texas last month and wanted to share it with you here! The Reservoir is a bar, patio and kitchen located on Foch Street. It is one of many upcoming cool places to hang out. Fort Worth has been growing, growing and plans on even more restaurants and bars coming to the area.

Our bartender was a cool chick with a modern mohawk, she could really pull it off. I, on the other hand, would have looked ridiculous... some people just can look good in any style. I had the Tito's Punch, it was lemon and orange juices, muddled with black berries and mixed with Tito's Vodka. It was very refreshing!

As Scott and I hung out at the cool bar we decided to get some bar snacks to have with our cocktails. I ordered the Chicken Tortilla Soup based on our bartender's recommendation and it was good. Totally cheesy tough, so every bite there were strands of cheese stuck to my chin. That would be my one complaint as it was delicious tasting! 

Scott was eyeing some pizza as they were leaving the kitchen and I didn't blame him, They looked great! We opted for The Balboa pizza complete with Genoa Salami, and Tito's Vodka Sauce. Do you notice a theme here with Tito's Vodka... Lol, they must have a good relationship with the Vodka company! Anyway, the pizza was great the crust made for very good bar food. 

The Reservoir was a cool place to kill sometime and visit with friendly bartenders. I would give their service an A for effort that is for sure!

Mar Meadows - Channel Islands, CA

Up way before the sun, I anxiously got dressed and threw on my favorite suit. Today was the day I was going to get to go to the Channel Islands! Technically, we were going to Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the collection of islands. It is 22 miles long and 6 miles wide. Full of caves, beach and volcanic rock! Also home to some really cool surf spots...

My Captain!

My view of the sun rising up over the Pacific Ocean, so beautiful! The ride from the Ventura Harbor to the islands in our little C-Dory is about an hour and a half. The ride out of easy, maybe a bit chilly but nothing more than a sweat shirt and sweat pants could not handle.

We have arrived! We anchored the boat at Mar Meadows, a surf spot that is known for it's easy riding wave. We anchored in front of the wave break so I couldn't grab any cool surf action shots.

I loved the cool foggy photos because it was such a neat place. I felt like I was in a different part of the world. When you are at the Channel Islands you feel so far out of touch, yet you truly are not that far away at all. 

The crest of a wave that Scott was probably surfing on!

I had a pretty cool suit to rock while at the islands and splash around on my foam board but to be perfectly honest, it was pretty chilly! The suit is made by Seea, a super cool suit company. I opted to stay snuggled up on the boat and try to read my new book...

I got through the first chapter nodded off and seriously napped. This was the first day nap that I have taken in a long, long time. I woke up feeling totally refreshed and happy. Boat naps are the best!

The boys came back on the boat and I served up sandwiches that I had made the night before and put in the cooler. Milton's bread, swiss cheese, turkey, avocado, tomato and sprouts were the perfect fuel for the two surfers.

Vanilla Cream Soda's are my new favorite thing. So I supplied these to wash down the sandwiches. If you have not tried them yet please do!

I cannot express how relaxing, breath taking and just how special my day was. It was just a short little half day trip but it felt like I went around the world. I feel blessed to have experienced the joy of the channel islands, hopefully with more adventures to come!