On Second Thought...

Last week, I inadvertently re-visited the two restaurants over in Antioch that are both in that little strip mall by the mini-golf place, PS Noodle Pot and Los Rosales. I hope these guys like each other, because they'll likely be connected for a while--they even got a combo review in the Nashville Scene.

I met a friend for lunch at PS Noodle Pot and opted for noodles this time instead of getting a rice dish. I ordered the "pineapple curry" which tasted suspiciously like massaman. The curry was good, but I have no idea if there's any fish base in it. I certainly hope not, but since I didn't realize what I was ordering, I didn't ask. It's in the "vegetarian" section of the menu, but a lot of people seem to think that fish broth is vegetarian (fyi--it's not). Regardless, the taste was good, but it was a bit heavy on the pineapple for my taste (I can't eat too much pineapple at a time--not good for the ol' tummy) and I was glad I could get it over noodles. The big disappointment, though was being told that there was not a vegetarian spring or egg roll to go with my lunch (on my first visit, I was able to get one). Frankly, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have a vegetarian lunch special served with a non-vegetarian egg roll. I think all the rolls should be vegetarian; most meat-eaters I know wouldn't know the difference and if they did, wouldn't care. My friend was happy to take it with her along with her other leftovers (portions are generous).

Another evening, the Significant Omnivore and I headed back over to Los Rosales for dinner. I was able to convince him to get a vegetarian dish this time so we could share. He (okay, I) ordered the chile relleno, which is something I've never had because you never know if you're going to get a hot pepper or a mild one. This one was mid-range, but I discovered that the chile relleno is just not my thing. The SO liked it quite a bit.

For my entree--what can I say--I ordered the stuffed avocadoes again. But I swear that next time I'll try the squash. They were as good as before but without help from the SO, I wasn't able to finish them. The Scene's reviewer was right. But they were so very good. The SO got an order of guacamole (so nice to see freshly-made guacamole somewhere other than my kitchen) which is why he didn't help me with my dinner. Their guac is just the way I like it--chunky and with tomato. And these guys are experts at choosing good avocadoes.

A real highlight of the meal was the tortilla soup. I haven't had tortilla soup in about ten years because it's often made with a chicken stock base. At Los Rosales, they don't take flavor shortcuts, so this soup was veg-friendly and delicious. I ate every drop. The SO thought the soup was a tad on the salty side, but I thought it was great.

And even though we were quite full, we couldn't help but order a new dessert, flaming mangoes. I love mango, but I don't care to ever buy one to eat at home. Slicing up a mango is just too maddening a process for me. So given the opportunity to eat mango that someone else has toiled over, I'll take it. They place the mango slices on a dish with Grand Marnier and set it afire. If you let it burn long enough, you get the taste without the alcohol. So I blew it out quickly, of course. Grand Marnier is my favorite liquer, so this dessert was just perfect for me. Delicious.

While we were finishing up dinner, the owner of the restaurant came by to chat with us (as he'd done on our previous visit). The difference is that this time, he recognized me. He thanked me for the nice review I gave his restaurant previously, but as the SO and I explained, it wasn't hard to think of good things to say about this place. It's really so nice to have a place that serves really good Mexican (not Tex Mex) cuisine, particularly with high quality ingredients. Really, it's the kind of food I'd prepare myself if I had a cache of wonderful recipes. You can tell that the ingredients are thoughtfully and carefully selected.

We had a nice conversation about the restaurant and the recipes as well as some of the things he's been working on for dessert and at the bar. He was kind enough to share some Agavero, an amazing blue agave tequila. I don't generally like tequila, but this was no average margarita mixer. It's very smooth, the kind you sip carefully. Needless to say, you don't shoot it and it doesn't make you wince. It was a nice way to end a meal. A digestif, if you will.

Next time, though I swear I'll have the squash. I promise to branch out. And I think PS Noodle Pot will need to be a dinner choice and likely just pad thai (which I hope I can get without egg). No need to branch out there.