Sunday - Eggs, Mags, and Legs

Today was one of those Sundays I live for and also help contribute to my "old lady" reputation.  I wouldn't change it for the world.

I spent about two hours stretching out my legs with various yoga poses while reading the newest edition of Elle magazine.  Elle was a fantastic touch, as I wasn't even expecting it when I made an impromtu run to the grocery store. In addition, there was a four episode marathon of one of my guilty pleasures - Most Eligible Dallas.  The rain has been pouring all day and was accompanied by some phenomenal thunder claps this morning.  Of course that means my blinds are open so I can enjoy the drizzle, and I am wearing my most comfortable lounging clothes.

Even better, tonight, Pan Am and Desparate Housewives are on.  Score!

I also have been enjoying an awesome menu of food - fresh juicy peaches for breakfast, turmeric scrambled eggs for lunch, and asparagus with a vinaigrette dipping sauce tentatively planned for dinner. 

Last night we went out to Matador for a friend's birthday dinner.  Matador is a Tex-Mex restaurant and tequila bar -- you have to be 21 just to eat dinner there.

The inside is really beautifully decorated and the lighting is dim -- really great atmosphere.  We were able to eat outside, which was surprising for October.  Yes, it was a tiny bit chilly, but not uncomfortable.

I ordered two different margaritas - cucumber-jalapeno and tamarind.  The tamarind didn't taste much different than a normal margarita...I was expecting some sort of exotic flavor.  However, it did have a cinnamon and sugar rim instead of a salt rim, which was delicious.  The cucumber-jalapeno margarita was spicy, but didn't taste like cucumber at all.  I was pleased with myself for being adventurous, but neither is the kind of unique drink I would want to order again.  Also, both margaritas were $8 each, and after drinking two quickly, I barely even had a buzz.  Definitely not a cheap drink if you are looking to get drunk.

For dinner, I got the Braised Pork Sandwich.  To start with, I was really excited they let me order extra cilantro (restaurants always get bonus points for indulging that wish).  Also, the bun was absolutely fantastic - perfect fluffy texture, wonderful crust, and good size.  However, the sandwich was composed of chunks of meat - I was expecting more of a shredded type meat and the heft of the chunks made it difficult to keep them in the sandwich. 

Another thing I didn't like was that the sandwich wasn't pre-assembled.  I felt like I was wrestling the sandwich as I tried to add the lettuce and tomato.  Even odder was it didn't have ANY of the mayonaise already applied.  I was a bit confused about how to proceed, but ended up making it work.  I had to squish the sandwich down, and my fellow dinner mates commented on how difficult the sandwich looked to eat.  However, my fries were delicious and the chipotle mayo was very tasty.  AND, once I was able to eat the sandwich, it was great.

Overall, the price of the food at Matador is reasonable - my sandwich was $8.95, salads were around $7.50 (fairly small for a dinner salad), enchiladas/fajitas were around$14, and appetizers were $7 or $8.   Everyone's display was beautiful and everyone seemed to enjoy their food.  Thinking of your other choices for Mexican food, this is the classiest and doesn't seem to cost much, if any, more.  Coupled with the great atmosphere, this is definitely a place I would want to go again (but I probably won't opt for the sandwich).  If you are looking to save money, walk somewhere like Bittercreek or Red Feather beforehand, and get a few drinks there.  

You also get chips and salsa with your food (of course!) and this was the first restaurant table salsa I have had that actually has a bit of a kick to it.  The chips were very fresh and nicely salted.

None of us had room for dessert (my sandwich actually kept me stuffed for hours) but the desserts sounded out of this world yummy.  They have Coconut Flan, Banana Crown (a banana filled fried pastry),  Chocolate Decadence (a cake served with ice cream and pineapple rum caramel) and some fancy ice creams/sorbets.  I would definitely go for the Coconut Flan -- I LOVE FLAN!! All the desserts range from $5-$6.

Finally, the service aspect.  Our waitress was one of the best waitresses I have ever had, and yes, I made sure to tell her repeatedly how wonderful we thought she was.  She was friendly, funny, fast, and eager to get us whatever we needed.  She was everything you could want in a waitress.  I was also only drinking water at the bar, and the bartender made sure to fill it up as soon as it got a little low.  I really appreciated that -- sometimes if you aren't paying for anything at the bar, service can be less than stellar.

*I took all the pictures from the Matador website because the dim lighting made photos difficult, so don't give me any credit for the photography!