Sunday, March 27, 2011

Our Very First "Restaurant Tour"!

This weekend Marty and I decided to spend our Saturday afternoon visiting various restaurants and trying an appetizer at each one!  It was a fun little twist for a typical weekend!  We want to do another "tour" and welcome all friends to join.  This time we visited:  the new Rococo, West, Pachinko Parlor, Ludivine & the new Louie's in Midtown.  Also, to warn you, we tend to be kind of picky about restaurants, so I pay attention to the little things (i.e., the bathroom & silverware :).  Here are the apps we tried! Oh, and I apologize for the not-so-good pics...I had to use my phone for all of them.

Rococo's Gangster Cookies.
We used to live near the original Rococo and went there all the time.  It is one of my favorite restaurants, so we decided to try the one in NorthPark Mall.  It didn't have the classic, old feeling like the original, but over all we were pleased (minus all of the Hobby Lobby decor).  I was disappointed with the bathrooms though...very cheesy/girly.  Their food on the other hand is awesome.  I love the huge menu!

West's Zucca Chips (fried zucchini chips.
These were AWESOME!!! Just the right amount of salt and other seasonings.

West's Puree Trio- red pepper/almond, spinach/fennel, truffled white bean  HUMMUS with grilled bread.
The truffled white bean hummus was our favorite!!  This was our first visit to West and I have to say, it exceeded our expectations!  The modern design and decor of the restaurant was very well done.  Oh, and the women's bathroom was one of my favs- most of all because you have your own little mirror in each stall!  We will definitely be going back!


Spring Rolls at Pachinko Parlor.
This was our first time to eat at Pachinko.  This was not one of my favorite spring rolls, mostly just because of the texture of the wrap.  The chicken goodness inside was yummy though!

Beef Tenderloin Roll at Pachinko Parlor.
This is their most popular appetizer and for good reason!!! It was delicious!! The wasabi mayo was divine!

Ludivine.
Marty was debating between which appetizer to get.  Our waiter and the chefs told us to get the Tete de Cochon because they usually have the bone marrow on the menu.  So, we go the pig's head!  Yes, I was VERY worried about trying this appetizer, but I did and was super proud of myself!  

Bees Smashed Kneecaps at Ludivine.
This is one of Marty's favorite cocktails at Ludivine.  I will edit this post when I find out exactly what is in it!

I love the silverware at Ludivine.  You don't see restaurants in Oklahoma pay much attention to this sort of detail, but I want some of these for my kitchen!

We got lucky and got seats at the bar that overlooks one of the kitchens.  It was so fun watching them make all of their FABULOUS dishes.


This is the pig's head!  I was worried it was going to come out with the snout and eyes!  It was actually very tasty, but I couldn't bring myself to eat the more "gooey" bits of the pork inside.

And finally the Veal Chop.
Yes, I know I said we were going to only eat appetizers, but the waiter told us this was one of their best sauces ever.  So we had to get it!  The sauce was a black quinoa, brandy mustard sauce and it was hands down awesome.  The veal was delicious and the asparagus had the perfect crunch!

If you haven't been to Ludivine yet, GO!  The menu changes every week, so look on their website before you go!  I like more traditional menus, so if you are like me, you might be scared to try some of the food :)  If you are more like Marty, this will be your new favorite restaurant!!

Marty's Current Beer of Choice.

Tulips, Tulips & More Tulips!

A few posts back, I showed you the tulips that were starting to sprout in our front and backyard.  Well they have all bloomed now and beautifully ORANGE!  Some look like they may turn out to be yellow and some look a bit pinkish-redish.  Thanks again, mom!



backyard




front


SOOOOO PRETTY!!

Chicken Fried Steak!


 So for those of you who know me, know that I am a meat and potatoes girl! I love chicken fried steak, but have never made it at home...I know, I can't believe it either!  So for dinner the other night, we decided to make the Pioneer Woman's chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and my veggie dish (that I haven't made in forever!).  Everything was very tasty and hit the spot!!

First off, nothing screams iron skillet like chicken fried steak! This dish definitely made my iron skillet even more "well seasoned"!

Squash for my veggie dish along with...

...zucchini....

...carrots...

...and onion, garlic, bay leaf and chicken stock.

Breading pans with milk + eggs and seasoned flour.









Now doesn't that just look delicious?!

For the chicken fried steak recipe, please click on the link at the top of the page.

Here is my veggie recipe [which I apologize for not taking a pic of the final product!]:

- 1/2 C yellow squash, sliced & quartered
- 1/2 C zucchini, sliced & quartered
- 1/2 C chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 C onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- S&P to taste, about 1 TBSP
- baking dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add vegetables and herb to the baking dish.  Pour chicken broth into the dish. Add S&P to the vegetables.  Cover baking dish with foil and put in oven for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve and enjoy!







Saturday, March 19, 2011

Last Stop...Animal Kingdom!

Beautiful view.


Waiting in line for the safari!


Bamboo

Hey guys!

We saw this newly wed couple EVERY day and EVERY day they were wearing those stupid bride & groom mickey ears.

Super scary birds.














Baby elephants




If you look closely, you can see a lion in the rocks.



The whole gang!


Hey Mr.  Monkey!

The "Tree of Life"




Waiting in line for "It's Tough to be a Bug" wearing 3-D glasses.


This show was hilarious and very good!

Expedition Everest.


I couldn't ride the coaster, so Marty took pics when he was on it.

View of Asia from the top!

UH OH- the railing broke...this is when the coaster went backwards.


Travel Tips:

- We went to Animal Kingdom on a Friday.  Our flight left around 9:00PM that night and we had plenty of time to do what we wanted at the park and get to the airport with plenty of time.

- If you go on the safari, I would recommend riding it first thing in the morning.  We got there after the animals had probably eaten and were being a little more lazy :)  The safari was still amazing though!

- If you think "It's Tough to be a Bug" is just for kids, guess again!  We loved it!