I was raised on TexMex food. This means I find other regional Mexican foods to be unhomelike. The food may be very good, as this was, but it's not what I consider Mexican food to be. My mother's saying is, "Never have Mexican food outside of Texas." She's often been proven right.
In this case, though, the food was excellent, if a bit on the California side of Mexican. I had the tacos, which weren't too spicy. The sangria was very fruity tasting, as sangria should be, and served nearly ice cold. Andreas had the huge burrito at the bottom. He wasn't able to finish it. Living overseas, one forgets how large American portions are.
I have completed the last round robin I've signed up for now. This is Cathy L's block for the midnight fantasy garden. It was pretty full when I got it, with the mushrooms on the lower right the only large unstitched space. I find high contrast figural fabrics like that one hard to embellish. They've already got a story! What I ended up doing was highlighting some of the mushrooms and then doing the same for the flowers on the bottom. It's on its way home to her now. I hope she likes it.
I'm getting this done slowly. Still working on the white background, and also on the yellow vine and leaves on the lower left.
This is the last of the butterflies and dragonflies blocks in the round robin. It's Arlene's, and I think she picked lovely colors for her block. There wasn't much room left, so I ended up filling in little odds and ends.
One caterpillar, one butterfly, and one dragonfly later, the piece is on its way home.
We visited Florine, Saint, and their daughter Alexandra during home leave. It was such a hardship, as they live in Destin, Florida. Surprisingly, this was my first visit to the state.
Second night there, we walked to McGuire's Irish Pub. The place was packed and noisy, but the food was delicious. They had a loaf of dark wheat bread with honey butter for the table. My plate and some others came with unremarkable salad. Andreas had the sausage plate, which had four different kinds of sausage. He couldn't finish it all, but each had a distinct flavor. I had prime rib, a huge slab of meat which I shared around. The asparagus was mine, too. Asparagus was well cooked but not overcooked, and obviously steamed, as it should be. Prime rib was flavorful, juicy, and not very fatty. Saint had the barbecued ribs. Normally, I don't like pork ribs, but these were an exception. They have a smoker that they use to cook them, and the difference was noticeable. Florine had the chicken pot pie. We walked around Destin's small harbor afterwards to let dinner digest and to look at the water. A very wonderful ending to a wonderful day.
Fourteen parts done, and only a few more left to go!
On our way to Florida, we stopped for lunch at a McAlister's Deli just past Jackson, Mississippi. It'd been ten years or so since we'd stepped foot in one, and I believe that's a pretty good amount of time between. This is a chain throughout at least the southern US, and, frankly, it's not very good. The food is obviously precooked and nothing seems fresh. Andreas had soup in a bread bowl and half an Italian sandwich. I had a French dip. Not even the pickle spears were crisp! It'll be another ten years before we stop in at another one of these...
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