Live Mas

Please don't judge me. I just HAD to do it. Last year, I was fooling around online and stumbled across a blog post with a funny looking taco. I did a little research and found Taco Bell had a new taco with a Doritos shell. The only catch was that it was in limited locations. I did an informal Facebook poll on whether or not I should fly to New Mexico to try one. In the end, I realized I was being ridiculous.

So, imagine my delight when Taco Bell announced they were releasing the Doritos taco nationally. (Squeal!!!!) Well, at least that's was how I felt in the beginning. Then I started trying it to put it off. Was I really sure I'd like a Doritos taco? I didn't know anyone else who had tried it. Would it make me sick? Finally, I gathered my courage and found a friend to come along and hold back my hair if need be.

In true Taco Bell fashion there are two kinds of Doritos tacos, regular and taco supreme. I'm going to be honest, the regular taco wasn't bad. I haven't had a hard shell taco in years but this one tasted pretty standard. Oddly, I couldn't taste much of the Doritos flavor. Sadly, the taco supreme was a far less pleasant experience. I suspect the wetness from the sour cream and tomatoes enhanced the Doritos flavor. It was disgusting. I'm not sure what I expected, but I left there feeling very disappointed. On the upside, we took a couple of the tacos out with us later that night and they seemed to be popular with the bar folk. Why wasn't I surprised?

Why Say No, When You Can Just Say Yes?

A month ago I embarked on a low carb diet. Now, I firmly describe to the belief that if I want something I should just let myself have it. That is to say that I haven't been following the diet to the T. However, there are some things that I simply try to avoid.

Last week the only thing I wanted in the world was a cake donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles!

Nearly every one of my conversations had a mention of donuts in them. It began with bold "I really want a donut right now" statements and graduated to friends texting me with the haunting word "donut." By Friday, I'd had enough. I opened my eyes and new that within the next hour and a half I would have a donut in my hand. Now when a person is craving a donut, specifically a cake donut, there is only one option as far as I'm concerned.

"Well, hello Blue Dot Donuts! It's been a while. It's so nice to see you again." This is actually the conversation I had rolling in my head when I got there. I ordered two chocolate glazed donut holes, one cake donut with blueberry (yes that's right, I said blueberry) icing, a cake donut with chocolate icing and nut sprinkles, the pb&j donut (peanut butter icing with a berry jam filling) and two strawberry filled donuts. In my defense the strawberry filled donuts were for a friend who realized what I was up to and the others I ate over a course of five hours. It was the most satisfying part of my week. To improve on that my total was less than $5. Maybe next time I'll have the courage to try their Maple Long John with Bacon.

Nice Try

Once upon a time, there was a cute little restaurant on Magazine called Dominique's on Magazine. Last August, in what can only be called a soap opera worthy dustup, Dominique and his business partners decided to part ways. I'm not sure about everyone else, but it certainly set my tongue wagging. To top things off, Dominique announced that he was opening another restaurant with the same name just a few blocks away. Oh, Snap! A few short months later, Apolline emerged in the old Dominique's location with a new chef.

To be honest, I was torn about writing this review. The staff at Apolline are delightful. The ambiance is warm and comfortable. They have a Wednesday night special called Wine Down Wednesdays. Five dollar glass of wine? Yes, please. The issue I had with the restaurant was that I simply did not enjoy my meal.

I ordered the grilled flat iron steak. It came with white asparagus, chimichurri and a potato latke. Now I'm no fool. I am well aware of the fact that chimichurri is a very oily sauce. My complaint isn't with the food so much as the way the dish is imagined. My plate was drenched in oil. I am not exaggerating. There was so much oil that it ruined the rest of the meal. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Even when the dessert arrived, a delicious pumpkin ice cream I found myself still obsessing about the chimichurri.

I'm not by any means suggesting that Apolline is not a good restaurant. In fact, I'm sure I'll go back to visit them soon. It's the kind of place I would really want to see do well and I wish them the best of luck in that endeavour.