A Belated Weekend Rundown

Amigos, my apologies for being so quiet! We've been suffering from a bout of insomnia and literally are walking zombies at this point. If this post goes off the deep end, you'll know why!

So this past weekend I went to Galveston to visit a dear friend of mine. We nommed, we danced, we girl-talked, and sat in the sun and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was glorious.

Crab tower at Olympia Grill. 

Saturday consisted of driving back into town and eating Vietnamese crawfish and shrimp with my Mama for a pre-Mother's Day celebration. We tried 88 Boiling Crawfish. It's way out West, and we ordered to go. I highly recommend. 

#nomcity

Sunday morning I snuggled up with my sweet sweet puppy and Mama and I had Mother's Day Brunch. We picked up authentic deliiiiiicious Mexican Carnitas and I surprised Mama with one of our favorite desserts. The fruit tart from Central Market. It's super fresh, and the crust is almondy, and if you don't know how much I love anything almondy, then you don't know me well enough. 

Central Market Fruit Tart

Sunday afternoon was lazy and perfect, it included Pondicheri, pool time and catching up on cleaning and organizing (one of my favorite things). 

Iced latte and a delightful confection with blackberries, orange and quinoa. 

Anywho, this week has been an insomniac whirlwind as I start revving up for my big trip! I'll keep it a secret till it's time...Gotta keep y'all interested, right? 

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a wine recommendation and a playlist that'll keep you light on your toes. Click here for the list! 

Stay awake Sizzlers, I'll be back tomorrow with the most delicious dinner spread you've seen in a while. Send me sleep vibes!

Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette

Bonjour Sizzlers; it's finally Thursday. I am so so ready for some sunshine, cold bevs and shorts. 

Yesterday afternoon, after I almost fainted in the streets of Houston while attempting my first hot weather run; me and Foodie Photo Blog decided to treat ourselves to mani/pedis and an early dinner before our weekly sorority meeting. (Just kidding we don't go to sorority meetings we go to Bible Study on Wednesdays). 

Sidenote: It was so hot outside and I was so dehydrated I was actually planning in my head what I would do if I needed to pass out or frantically beg for water. I was scanning for garden hoses in the neighborhood and was THISCLOSE to running into someone's front yard and turning on the hose. 

Moving on....

The nail salon is next to Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette, and I've been jonesing to go. I browsed the menu on my iPhone and was STOKED. We snagged an outdoor patio table (mostly because I was still in workout clothes and was embarrassed to be in public looking like a sweat monster). And ordered cocktails. 

Kelsey ordered "The Neoclassical" and I opted for a glass of Montepulciano. So far so good. Until her drink came. It tasted like water. She sent it back and got a glass of what I was having. 

We decided to split the deviled eggs topped with fried oysters, and then contemplated entrees. I asked the waitress how the tuna salad sandwich was because I was in a sandwich mood, and she said "well I hate everything that has mayo in it so I definitely wouldn't order it." Well... I hate it when people tell me their own opinion about food assuming I'm going to hate it too. So as an act of defiance, I ordered the tuna salad sandwich. Because I'm not afraid of mayo, and I'm not afraid to do what I want. Kelsey went for the tuna tartare and a side of brussel sprouts. This was only after she asked the waitress which tuna tartare dish she preferred and she said "the other one" and Kelsey asked "why?" and she said "because of avocado"....errrrr. ok? So Kelsey also defiantly ordered her original dish. We do what we want up in here. 

deviled eggs & fried oyster

So the eggs were delightful. Would totally order again. And then my sad excuse for a tuna salad sammie came out. 

1.) IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EAT. Why? Because they put 12 lbs. of lettuce, bacon (which I WILL say was delicious) and tomato and tuna on AN ENGLISH MUFFIN. English muffins are BARELY big enough to support an egg for an egg benedict. So that's the first big problem I have. 

2.) If you have a mayonnaise fetish, this is for you. Otherwise, GROSS. I mean, I will eat mayo when it's needed, but this was like runny mayo soup on lettuce with tiny tiny pieces of tuna. I basically ordered a jar of mayo with 1/4 can of tuna. The tuna was barely noticeable. Tuna salad is supposed to not be swimming in mayo. And then on top of that, they smothered one side of the tiny English muffin with another type of aioli mayo. 

I will admit I felt a bit sheepish since the waitress warned me, but under NO circumstance is this acceptable. There was literally no way you could eat this thing except to take it all apart, spoon the mayo soup in your mouth, eat the muffin, and then eat the bacon. I ate the bacon and left everything else. 

Drippy tuna salad and half a head of lettuce make NOT a tuna salad sammie. 

I am not a whiner. But this was just not ok. When the waitress asked how everything was, I said "errrrr I mean I'm not going to eat this anymore" and then the manager came out, and then it got awkward but I'm sorry. No, I'm actually not sorry. They comped my sammie (which was nice considering I ate 1/16 of it) and we paid and left. 

Needless to say, I was underwhelmed. I will DEFINITELY give this place another chance as I'm sure there are tastier items on the menu, but the tuna soup was not ok. I literally felt grossed out the rest of the night. I have never had anything against mayo, but this was overload. 

So, Sizzlers, please tell me you've had better experiences at this place. I want to love it, and I will go again, but maybe after I cleanse my palate of the mayo overdose. That being said, Happy Thirsty Thursday, pour yo'self something nice this evening, and buckle your seatbelts for FRIDAY!!

peacelove&saynotomayo

Double side not: Saveur Mag just posted some tuna recipes that look delightful Note the non-soupy textures!!! 

Thirsty Thursday. 21 & Up Por Favor

Hola Sizzlers! It has been an eventful morning; it downpoured and rained cats and dogs (luckily I got to wear my Hunter Wellies to work...I work in marketing...Wellies are acceptable.) Then I rushed into the office to work on a new project only to find that the other half of the creative dept. was filming some sort of commercial/ad/something....at the row where I sit. An hour later I finally got to sit and work. RAR. 

As I stared out the window waiting for my desk to be evacuated by the person wearing a straw hat and floaties (don't even ask!) I was trying to think happy thoughts. Naturally, after thinking about puppies and beaches, I thought how nice a glass of wine might taste later on this evening. 

Before you do anything, click here, play this song, and read along. You're welcome. 

Red Red Wiiiiiiine. (& Champers) Girl's night out at Provisions. 

It's no secret I love me some red wine. My penchant for wine has followed an interesting path; starting with the magnums of Rosé and Moscato that I started with in college (gag!) and then I got real classy and only sipped Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. Then the white wine phase died. To the day, I can only handly maybe one glass of crisp white wine with a full meal, otherwise count me out. 

It's alllll about the red, amigos. Once I started, I couldn't stop. Throw in my little jaunt to Italy 2 summers ago, and it's fair to say I'm a budding connoisseur. 

So, in the spirit of Thirsty Thursday, and the fact that Easter is upon us and it's a custom in the Sizzle Household to indulge in a glass or two (or maybe more, who knows) during the Easter feast, I shall be showering you with some of my favorites. Now, for my beer drinkers, I even saved a spot for you. I love beer, but we'll save that for another post! Maybe I'll even go wild and do a hard liquor post... But for now, we shall indulge in the delightful world of the red. 

DISCLAIMER: I try to keep these all on a reasonable budget. It's always nice to splurge, but when you also have a taste for J.Crew and shoes....well...yeah. 

A delightful Cabernet Franc.

I tried this wine with a dear friend who used to slang wine here in Houston, and she was spot on with this recommendation. It's sexy (because it's French) and has a rich, dark and spicy element. Click here for more in depth reviews. 

Merlot

Ok, fine. I'll be honest. I really was drawn to the label first, but I really do love Independent Producers. They give good wine. This Washington wine is not too sweet in the way of Merlot, and was super smooth and delightful. Click here for more info. 

I'm a huge fan of Pinot Noirs and red blends, and this bottle was great for the price. It has a very full flavor, but doesn't punch you in the tastebuds. A great wine to pair with a meal instead of just on its own. 

GO BUY THIS NOW BEFORE I DRINK IT ALLLLL.

Now for one of my current favorites. THIS.IS.AMAZING. I tried this wine initially at Dolce Vita over pizza and a Caprese, and was really impressed. I went to Central Meerkat a few days later and found it for an incredible price. I keep it in my house all the time now. This earthy Italian is cultivated in volcanic soil so you get some great mineral notes (which I love!) and apparently the volcanic soil lends itself to health benefits? SURE. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. More info here. 

Dark & Fruity

I had a glass of this a Paulie's recently and was very impressed. Dark and violety, and just lovely all over. Very well priced and very well reviewed. 

Ciao amore

This is another great Italian. VERY well priced, and very tasty. It's so good someone at Forbes decided to write about it. Read it here. 

How could you not like it? It has an OWL on it!!

And now for my beer drinkers. Half of the allure of this beer was that it was illegal to sell in Texas, but in the last 6 months or so (maybe even longer) it's been making it's way in! (legally!) Central Meerkat has it and Paulie's has been selling some too. I first tasted it over fresh gulf oysters in NOLA, so the experience was just insane. It's a white beer with citrus notes and I can't get enough. Just be careful because too many of these can HURT the next day. Not that I know from experience. Just what I heard. 

And there you have it my friends. The inaugural Thirsty Thursday. So finish your work, go home, and pour yourself a little something. Because TheSizzle told you so; you definitely deserve it!

Cheers, Chin Chin, Salut, Santé, 1,2,3, DRINK (like in college)