After a successful work day, Ben and I decided to celebrate with a dinner out.  There aren’t many options for “fine dining” here in Amarillo, but we’ve  located a few of the better, locally owned restaurants.  I feel a bit guilty about already having dined at 2 of the nicer establishments.  Maybe we should have waited for an especially special occassion for a fancy dinner?   We should know where to take and where NOT to take guests.  Afterall, I have to get people to visit Amarillo a second time.  Second rate dinner doesn’t help to ensure second visits!  Therefore, I will make the excuse that I’m doing this for others, and a little bit for me.  Ok, so anyway…dinner.

Downtown Amarillo reminds me of downtown Waco.  It’s growing, and it has a lot of potential.  The older buildings are neat so I hope that more businesses decide to open there.  Zen 721 is downtown on “the strip” as one local put it.  It is an Asian inspired restaurant.  They serve sushi, but we didn’t try any tonight.  

We ordered the Rock Shrimp Tempura as an appetizer.  It was an impressive dish.  Not minimal in presentation.  I wish I’d taken a picture!  It looked like a fancy plate of chili cheese fries, but it tasted much better.  Tempura shrimp and green beans over a bed of spring mix drizzled with a spicy unidentifiable sauce, grated carrots garnished the top.  I first thought the carrots to be grated cheddar cheese, which made the cheese fry comparison even more convincing.  Thankfully, it was not cheese.  The tempura batter was crispy and the ratio of batter to shrimp and to green bean was nice.  Yummy and enough for 4…at least.

Ben ordered the pepper seared strip steak served with broccoli, sauteed mushrooms and scallions.  Served rare just like he’d asked, the steak was fanned beautifully on the plate and it was good.  The pepper was a strong and identifiable flavor, but not overpowering.  The vegetables were also nice, and didn’t seem to be drowned in butter, oil or sauce.  

I had the mahi mahi special; a seared mahi filet served a top mint Israeli cous cous and sauteed asparagus.  The menu claimed that this dish was drizzled with a coconut vanilla sauce, which intrigued me.  I could not taste either ingredient in the sauce, but the dish was delicious nonetheless.

The restuarant is long and narrow with tall ceilings.  There is a bar that seats maybe 15 people with a few tall tables near the front.  The dining area has roughly 10 tables, some seat 4 and others 2.  There is also a curtained off room near the back which is lounge-like containing a small red sofa and a round 8 top.  Nice for a private little evening with a group of friends.  The bar and dining area are separated by a tall screen wall making the dining room seem more intimate.  The decor and lighting is simple.  Nothing to distract from your meal or your company.  On a thursday night at 8 the place was almost full.  There was a table near us that was empty, but other than that it was well attended.  We did not have to wait for a table, so that was refreshing.

The CZ Rating is as follows, on a scale of 1-10-

Ambiance: 8

Food: 7

Service: 8

Ben and I went to Los Angles for Thanksgiving to be with his mom’s side of the family.  On Thursday we ate some delicious traditional Thanksgiving fare.  On Friday, instead of left-over turkey sandwiches, Ben’s uncle took us to Pizzeria Mozza to celebrate Ben’s law school graduation and birthday.  Our reservations were made 2 months prior to our lunch, and the only available times were 2:45 and 10 pm.  Just want to order out?  Well, plan ahead because you have to place to-go orders 24 hours in advance.  Needless to say, this place is popular and hard to get into.  So, yes, I felt pretty special and lucky to get the chance to eat here.

The restaurant is fairly small, intimate with high celings, clean red painted walls and simple lighting.  The tables are close together.  It reminded me of Europe where you sit at a long table, right next to people you’ve never seen before.  Our party of 6 sat at a round table.  Perfect for sharing pizza! 

We decided to order 4 different pizzas and share them.  Every pizza on the menu sounded wonderful.  Eventually we came to a group decision; 

1. Margherita with mozzarella, tomato & basil
2. Fennel sausage, panna, red onion & scallions
3. Coach farm goat cheese, leeks, scallions & bacon
4. Prosciutto di Parma, rucola, tomato & mozzarella

I started with an insalata mista that had a delicious house vinaigrette.   Ben discovered it was also a great dipping sauce for the breadsticks.  The pizzas came next!  My favorite was the goat cheese pizza.  The flavor and texture combinations made this pizza amazingly tasty.  The fennel sausage was also very good, as was the prosciutto.  But the goat cheese…I’m still having nightly cravings for it!  

Dessert.  I don’t always feel like eating dessert after a big meal.  I wasn’t really even in the mood for it at Mozza, but I will always be thankful for whoever decided to get dessert.  Again, we decided to get a few and share.  

1. Hot chocolate with toasted marshmallow & spiced ginger pigs
2. Caramel copetta with marshmallow sauce & Spanish salted peanuts
3. Banana gelato pie

I live in Waco.  There are not a whole lot of specialty food stores here.  Our HEB has a pretty good bulk food section, and they do have some gourmet items from time to time.  I usually find myself becoming a kid in a candy store when I go to Central Market or Whole Foods while visiting family in Austin.  My last food treasure was discovered not in Austin, but in Amarillo.  I know what you’re thinking, and I was thinking the same thing!  But yes, it is true.  I found a chocolate bar in Amarillo, Texas at the World Market there.  This chocolate bar is made by Vosges.  I’ve tried some of the more “normal” flavors from Vosges like Coconut Curry and I think I tried one with chiles in dark chocolate.  When I saw this flavor I knew it was fate.  Some friends and I have been debating on whether or not bacon can successfully be incorporated into desserts and confections.  I am of the opinion that salty bacon is a natural partner for sweetness.  Think about it.  Ever had your bacon and maple syrup mingle together at breakfast?  Delicious.  A friend of mine, however, was disgusted at the idea of carmelized bacon ice cream.  So I had to buy this to prove my point.  The exotic chocolate is called Mo’s Bacon Bar.

My husband and I tasted it last night, and thought it was great.  You can taste the bacon and the smokiness of the salt and bacon.  The creamy milk chocolate pairs wonderfully with the strong flavors.  The bacon is crunchy and, in my opinion, the right size for a chocolate bar.  Anything bigger would be overwhelming, and anything smaller wouldn’t make the texture difference as pleasing.

As with most of these fancy chocolates, I would not eat an entire bar at once.  A little square is all you need.  So, the cost of $6.99 isn’t as bad when it lasts you a week.  This is chocolate to be savored, not devoured.

Imagine my surprise as I walk to the checkout at Target (arms loaded with goodies since I refused to get a basket thinking that would keep me from over shopping…silly me) and I see a special on Hershey’s Kisses.  I approach the display and see the original Milk Chocolate Kisses, Milk Chocolate with Almonds and then I see it…new candy!  The heavens opened and angels sang from above.  I love new candy flavors and Hershey’s Kisses always seem to have something special surrounding every holiday.  But wait, it is August.  The last time I checked the First Day of School is no holiday and Labor Day doesn’t deserve a special edition candy.  They were…brace yourselves…HALLOWEEN CANDY!  Two months early.  What is this world coming to?  Nonetheless, I take a look at the new flavors.  One is Pumpkin Spice and the other is Candy Corn.  Intriguing.  This mysterious candy hooked me and impulse beat up will-power and common sense with one blow.  I bought them.

I love candy corn.  I will eat them until I am in a sugar induced coma.  A friend in college introduced me to the candy corn and peanut mix.  The sweet and salty combination aids in reducing my sugary sickness.  Enough about my love for a pretty disgusting candy…more about the Kisses.  The wrapping on the Kisses is cute.  Silver, orange and yellow just like a candy corn!  Ingenious.  I proceed to unwrap this little 4.5 gram wonder and the Kiss is also candy corn colored and layered!  Adorable.

I am a bit nervous about tasting this candy, so to postpone the inevitable I smell it first and then shove it in Ben’s face so that he can give me his opinion on whether or not to consume it.  It smells sickeningly sweet.  We agree on that.  Ben refused to try the Kiss because he truly hates candy corn.  I am a brave woman who enjoys a challenge, so I take a bite.  The texture is much different than a true candy corn; much creamier and softer.  The taste…definitely not candy corn.  Not like white chocolate either.  Kind of an artificial honey and butter flavor.  Not too great.  But, like other weird tasting foods, they draw me back for more.  I think this was partially due to the fact that I could not pin down their flavor.  It’s just so dang sugary.  Too sugary for my liking and not enough like my love, the original candy corn.  Are they bad enough to throw out?  Probably so.  Are they still in my pantry?  Yes, they are.

In line at the grocery store I spot a Snickers bar, a dark chocolate Snickers bar AND an almond Snickers.  We used to have a cat named Snickers, but that doesn’t have anything to do with this post.  I decided to get all 3 and conduct a little taste test.  Before beginning the tasting I tried to guess which one I would like the best or if they would just be too different to choose a favorite or if my palate was just not one to properly conduct and judge this kind of contest!  Then I realized…they are just Snickers and no one reads your blog ANYWAY!  So, the tasting began.  I had a glass of water on hand to cleanse my distinguishing palate between bites.  I take a bite of original Snickers taking time to savoy the flavors…very comforting and familiar.  Sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy.  Dark chocolate Snickers…different texture (harder chocolate shell) but similar insides.  The dark chocolate does make the flavors a little different, less sweet.  Here I go back and forth between original and dark a few times.  Then on to almond Snickers which has the least fat and calories of the three!  Oh, wait, it is also the smallest in net wt.  About 0.25 oz less.  Tricky.  Now I like this almond variation.  The nuts have a crunchier texture than the peanut and, lets face it, almonds are way more sophisticated a nut than the peanut…which is A LEGUME mind you!  The verdict is…Snickers Original!  Snickers almond is a close second and dark chocolate comes in third.  I hope you use this information the next time you find yourself standing in line at your local grocery store.

I drove to Austin for my sisters 22nd birthday.  With Sarah, no trip is complete without a stop at Whole Foods on Lamar.  I frequent the coffee bar at Whole Foods where a display case is always full of delicious looking cupcakes.  Now, these are not your simple frosted cupcakes.  On this Sunday afternoon the case boasted cupcakes that looked like apple pies, hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream sundaes…with a cherry on top!  I am usually just an observer of the cupcakes, but when Sarah and I went to pay for our coffees the guy at the check out (who had noticed us drooling on the display case) asked us which cupcake we were going to get…so we got one.  The precious cupcake traveled back to Round Rock and was dessert for Sarah and me.  Beautiful and impressive…yes.  Delicious…not so much.  It was edible (and I ate it) but not the moistest cake or the tastiest icing I’ve ever had.  The consistency of the cake was more like dry sweet cornbread, much like the cupcake I ate at Cupcake Cafe in New York…also beautiful and unpalatable.  I don’t think you have to sacrifice taste for beauty, but this cupcake did.

I have fond memories of eating bowls and bowls of sugary cereal as a kid.  My mom would always buy us healthy cereals most of the time.  However, on our birthday we would get to pick a birthday cereal.  This is when I would enjoy the wonders of Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Honey Combs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  There is something special about Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  It leaves your milk so absolutely cinnamon-sugary wonderful that drinking the milk from the bowl is just about as good as eating the cereal!  Anyway, with food prices going up, up and away I have been trying to buy more store brands.  Ben and I were at HEB a few weeks ago and I picked up a box of the generic brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch called Cinni-Mini Crunch.  As I place the box in the cart, Ben says “No, you can’t buy that.  It doesn’t taste the same.”  With a sigh and an eye roll I get the regular and more expensive Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  I’m at HEB a few days ago and I decide that I’m going to buy the Cinni-Mini Crunch despite Ben’s warning.  I ate a bowl of it yesterday morning and…Ben was right!  It looked the same and smelled the same, but upon the first square of cereal entering my mouth I could tell that it was not the General Mills cereal known as Curiously Cinnamon in the UK.  So, my husband was right and generic CTC is just not as tasty as the real thing.  Lesson learned.