Hubby and I went out for dinner a few days ago and we decided that we were in the mood for Mexican food. We rarely have a chance to have it as there are no Mexican restaurants in our neighborhood.
We went to Carlos & Pepes in downtown Montreal. We were seated right away (which I love), and got the complimentary nacho chips and salsa. I have been there before and the salsa was mildly spicy and flavorful. This time is was sweet and flavorless. It was quite disappointing.
As usual, I ordered a strawberry daiquiri (non-alcoholic as I was driving), Mexican restos are the only places that you can get a decent daiquiri or margarita. It was delicious, but too big! I was unable to finish it :(
I ordered the roasted vegetable quesadillas and hubby ordered the beef chimichanga. They both came with a green salad and Mexican rice. The plates are huge! The vegetables in my quesadilla were not roasted. There was no char on them and they were very moist. The rest of the meal was enjoyable. Hubby enjoyed his chimichanga. It was flavored properly. He was unable to finish it though as he does not have my appetite and the plates are huge.
They would do well to reduce the portion size a little and reduce the prices in accordance. They would have a lot less waste and save money on the take-out packages.
Here is the website, if you want to check it out: http://www.carlosandpepes.com/en/
Until next time!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Resto Review: Aristo
At the bottom of our street is a small restaurant. We often order take-out from this place. The food is always good, hot and reasonably prices. Three of my favorite things when it comes to food :)
In this instance, we decided to walk down there for my mother's b-day. We were six people and we did make reservations. They are more of a take-out place, then a sit down diner. But on this day, we should have called ahead. They were packed! This is great for them, but I was not happy as we could not sit together. Luckily, a couple of people left and we were able to move a couple of tables together before we ordered.
I decided to order my usual: the pork souvlaki pita plate. I love Greek food. It was perfectly cooked and I ate the whole thing as usual. If I did not like, then I would not keep ordering it, now would I? Hubby was not as lucky. He ordered the pizza-ghetti, but he got the all-dressed pizza. The pizza was very good as usual, but he was pissed because he did not get what he ordered. To be fair, our waitress had a head cold and left for home after serving us our meals. But, because of this error, hubby has boycotted them for a little while.
We will go back to them as they are down the street from us. But for now, they will lose our business due to this mistake.
Until next time!
In this instance, we decided to walk down there for my mother's b-day. We were six people and we did make reservations. They are more of a take-out place, then a sit down diner. But on this day, we should have called ahead. They were packed! This is great for them, but I was not happy as we could not sit together. Luckily, a couple of people left and we were able to move a couple of tables together before we ordered.
I decided to order my usual: the pork souvlaki pita plate. I love Greek food. It was perfectly cooked and I ate the whole thing as usual. If I did not like, then I would not keep ordering it, now would I? Hubby was not as lucky. He ordered the pizza-ghetti, but he got the all-dressed pizza. The pizza was very good as usual, but he was pissed because he did not get what he ordered. To be fair, our waitress had a head cold and left for home after serving us our meals. But, because of this error, hubby has boycotted them for a little while.
We will go back to them as they are down the street from us. But for now, they will lose our business due to this mistake.
Until next time!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Book Review: Caleb
I got a bunch of books for Christmas! I have been busy plowing through them :) I finished reading "Caleb" by Sarah McCarty. It is the first book in her paranormal western series called "The Shadow Wranglers". There are four books in the series (so far), each one about a different brother in the Johnson clan.
The series starts with Caleb, the eldest brother in a family of vampires. He was turned about 250 years ago and has not completely adjusted to the modern world, especially modern women. The woman that he is attracted to is attacked by werewolves, and he attacks them to defend her. He is injured and she manages to bring him to his ranch. This is where all the action takes place.
The story starts out well. It has all the elements that I enjoy in a paranormal romance. There is a strong chemistry between the main characters, the dialogue is witty, and there is humor. The story itself lags after the heroine brings Caleb to the ranch. Which is barely a third of the way into the book. Every time something happens, in order to shut her up, he has sex with her. I like sex in my books as much as the next person, but this was a little overboard. You lose track of the story and all the various details that she throws in during the sex scenes. And, she throws in a lot of details , without any warming (or foreshadowing) at all. It is very distracting.
I will probably reads the rest of the series, but I will wait until the rest of the books come out in mass market paperback format, they are not worth buying in trade paperback format.
Here is the link for her website if you want to check it out: http://www.sarahmccarty.net/
Until next time!
The series starts with Caleb, the eldest brother in a family of vampires. He was turned about 250 years ago and has not completely adjusted to the modern world, especially modern women. The woman that he is attracted to is attacked by werewolves, and he attacks them to defend her. He is injured and she manages to bring him to his ranch. This is where all the action takes place.
The story starts out well. It has all the elements that I enjoy in a paranormal romance. There is a strong chemistry between the main characters, the dialogue is witty, and there is humor. The story itself lags after the heroine brings Caleb to the ranch. Which is barely a third of the way into the book. Every time something happens, in order to shut her up, he has sex with her. I like sex in my books as much as the next person, but this was a little overboard. You lose track of the story and all the various details that she throws in during the sex scenes. And, she throws in a lot of details , without any warming (or foreshadowing) at all. It is very distracting.
I will probably reads the rest of the series, but I will wait until the rest of the books come out in mass market paperback format, they are not worth buying in trade paperback format.
Here is the link for her website if you want to check it out: http://www.sarahmccarty.net/
Until next time!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Book Review: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Once again my sister has introduced me to a new writer. I just finished reading "Kitty and the Midnight Hour" by Carrie Vaughn. I read it in a day. It is a fun, quick read, but well written.
The story is about a DJ that accidentally starts a talk radio show for the supernatural community in Denver. She herself is a werewolf going through an identity crisis, which causes mayhem in her pack. Throw in a conspiracy, a serial killer and a bounty hunter and you have an entertaining read.
The plot is dense with characters. You can feel that the author wanted the characters to go in one direction, but they themselves took her in another one. Luckily, she managed to rein them in and create a cohesive story. The novel is well plotted and the dialog flows properly and is believable (not stilted like some authors).
This is the first book in the series, and I can tell you that I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
If you want to check out her website site, here it is: http://www.carrievaughn.com/
Until next time!
The story is about a DJ that accidentally starts a talk radio show for the supernatural community in Denver. She herself is a werewolf going through an identity crisis, which causes mayhem in her pack. Throw in a conspiracy, a serial killer and a bounty hunter and you have an entertaining read.
The plot is dense with characters. You can feel that the author wanted the characters to go in one direction, but they themselves took her in another one. Luckily, she managed to rein them in and create a cohesive story. The novel is well plotted and the dialog flows properly and is believable (not stilted like some authors).
This is the first book in the series, and I can tell you that I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
If you want to check out her website site, here it is: http://www.carrievaughn.com/
Until next time!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Waste Not, Want Not
If there is something that I hate in the kitchen, it is waste. It drives me nuts! Some would say that it is a short drive :) The one way that I have to combat that problem is a recipe website. I use it when I have leftover products from a previous recipe. This is my secret weapon.
The website is www.allrecipes.com. If you go to the top of the page, you will see an ingredients headings. This is the most perfect search engine. Type in the ingredient (or ingredients) that you want to use and you can type in the ingredient (or ingredients) that you do not want to use. This is the perfect site to find recipes for ingredients that you do not use everyday. You will need to read a few recipes before finding the perfect one. Be patient and take your time. It is worth the search!
It will also give you ideas for other recipes and meal planning. A good tool for those of us who are unimaginative or lazy. You have no excuse for a boring dinner party ever again.
Just a note of warning, these are recipes from home chefs. I have done some recipes that were beautiful and have been saved in my personal recipe book. And, there are others that are not good at all. But, it is all a matter of taste, so try them, change them and enjoy them. For certain ingredients, you will want to try a variety of spellings, for example broccoli is spelled a couple of different ways. The site is American, so use the term ground beef as supposed to minced meat.
It is fun to experiment with food, so have fun and enjoy!
Until next time!
The website is www.allrecipes.com. If you go to the top of the page, you will see an ingredients headings. This is the most perfect search engine. Type in the ingredient (or ingredients) that you want to use and you can type in the ingredient (or ingredients) that you do not want to use. This is the perfect site to find recipes for ingredients that you do not use everyday. You will need to read a few recipes before finding the perfect one. Be patient and take your time. It is worth the search!
It will also give you ideas for other recipes and meal planning. A good tool for those of us who are unimaginative or lazy. You have no excuse for a boring dinner party ever again.
Just a note of warning, these are recipes from home chefs. I have done some recipes that were beautiful and have been saved in my personal recipe book. And, there are others that are not good at all. But, it is all a matter of taste, so try them, change them and enjoy them. For certain ingredients, you will want to try a variety of spellings, for example broccoli is spelled a couple of different ways. The site is American, so use the term ground beef as supposed to minced meat.
It is fun to experiment with food, so have fun and enjoy!
Until next time!
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