Just a taste - or several

Back in Switzerland and behind on my blogging - as usual. We've recently returned from two weeks in the US, most of which we spent showing Dani and Steph as much of the "real" America as we could without either scarring them for life or convincing them to move... We did, saw, ate, and bought so much that, honestly, I'm just not sure where to start.

Which means - food. When all else fails, we start with food.

I'm just going to run through this in list format and will be back later to expand on the more memorable meals and activities - think of it as a "to-do-been-done" list. Or ignore this post and come back later for the meatier versions.

• Thursday Mr K and I arrive. Pick up rental car. Hit Chipotle. After Chipotle, Mr K goes back to hotel to pass out. I head to Falls Church to meet up with the amazing Asharah and see Amanda Palmer in concert. Go to bed at 2 AM after having been awake 30+ hours.
  

• Friday Dani and Steph arrive at Dulles from New Orleans. We pick them up, get them checked in and head to Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Cafe for margaritas and actual fajitas so they understand why we found the ones here so funny.

• Saturday we all head to the Mall to see some museums and monuments. We watched Dinosaurs 3-D IMAX. That night, we went to Texas de Brazil for a really spectacular dinner.

• Sunday Dani tries to recover from the spectacular meal. Steph helps. Mr K and I head to IHOP to brunch with our old gaming buddies. Dinnertime comes and Dani is still recovering. Steph joins us and some other friends for yummy dinner at an Irish Pub. Everyone else goes back to hotel while I head to IHOP for the second time that day to catch a late night (11-1 AM) dinner with my old boss.

• Monday everyone is recovered and it's time for some shopping - Leesburg Outlets. Pre-shopping sustenance provided by Panera Bread. Post-shopping recovery dinner care of Red Robin.

• Tuesday Dani and Steph sleep in while Mr K and I meet up with his coworkers for lunch. After lunch we return for Dani and Steph and head to air and space museum (Dulles version). Dinner Tuesday night is at a Japanese hibachi restaurant. Dani scores a 66% at aerial-shrimp-catching.

• Wednesday we breakfast at hotel and pile into the car to drive to York. Our luggage and the four of us just barely fit in our rented SUV. We arrive to hot pepperoni pizza, which we promptly destroy. We rest a short while and then pile back into cars to head to Reading for more fajitas and the Brian Setzer Holiday Extravaganza of Festive Ear Destruction (hee hee) courtesy of my dad - thanks dad! Great show but way louder than I expected. A holly jolly time was had by all.

• Thursday we woke up and skipped breakfast in preparation for the approaching Turduckengeddon. If you haven't tried one, do so - greatest turkey ever!

• Friday is spent in recovery. Leftovers for lunch and soup and salad for dinner.

• Saturday we polish off last of leftovers. dad shows us his fire trucks and ambulances (yay Super Truck!) Dani drives the Mustang and Steph drives the lawn tractor. Saturday night = Medieval Times - the most fun activity ever in the history of jousting-related mealtimes.

• Sunday Mr K and I head back to VA. We meet up with friends for "New Food Sunday" and I eat a tasty but complex sandwich involving a corn hoagie roll, smoked pork, lime crema, roasted peppers, jalapenos and cheese.

• Monday Dani and Steph head to New York. Mr K and I head to the dentist. Mr K retires to a bar for a short Happy Hour while I meet a friend for a super tasty Italian dinner. After dinner, I meet up with Mr K, who is continuing the short Happy Hour... for a couple more hours.

• Tuesday Mr K consumes some Gatorade, some Tylenol and a cheeseburger and is pronounced fit for duty, so we go shopping some more. We eat kebab at the Mall and we love it. Tuesday night we and another friend meet up with Papa C at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. we all wish Mama C could have been along. I eat a tasty pasta dish involving breaded chicken, pesto cream, prosciutto, and lemon-dressed arugula.

• Wednesday we wake up and pack, while continuing to eat my pasta dish from the night before. We pick up last minute items, mail packages, head to airport. Return rental car, check in, go through security. Drink. Buffalo chicken salad. Flight. Bulkhead seats - the galley light is bright.

• Thursday we land in Zurich. Eat Egg McMuffins. Grab groceries, catch train. Come home, snuggle cats, eat lunch. I pass out while Mr K unpacks.

Give or take a few more days for recovery and here we are!

That turned out much longer than I planned - I have a feeling there is much more writing to be done! What am I missing?

Swix-Mex

I haven't had much blog-worthy going on recently but that all changed last Friday, oh yes.

Last Friday we were invited to go for dinner at a new Tex-Mex restaurant in town. You might remember our last foray into Swissified Mexican food. Well, just over two years later, we were ready to try again and we were not let down.

The restaurant is located a short walk from our apartment and the first thing I noticed when we walked in was that it smelled wonderful. The next thing I noticed was that there were only four other people in the place despite it being eight on a Friday night. We went to our table and settled in. I got the giggles right away - on the table was a flyer advertising their Friday happy hour, which features "New York Hot Dogs" all-you-can-eat! The walls were painted a warm orange and decorated with "Californie," "Nouvelle Mexique," "Texas", "Kansas," and "Missouri" in beautiful olive-green painted text.

The real fun started with our drink order. Mr K and I introduced Steph to frozen margaritas when we kidnapped her from work a few weeks ago for a random happy hour. The waiter approached and asked what we would like for boissons. Before he even finished the question, Steph cries out "Margarita! Margarita!" The waiter furrowed his handsome brow in a look of confusion - a look we would be seeing much of that evening.

"No margaritas. Mojito? Caipirinha?" The waiter offered. That's right - the Tex-Mex place chose a Cuban cocktail and a Brazilian cocktail as their signature drinks...

We ladies opted for the mojitos while the boys drank bieres. Well, we tried to - a moment later we were informed there were no more mojitos...

While we looked over the menu, the waiter brought us two tiny plates holding 8-10 chips each and about a tablespoon of salsa. The most eye-catching items on the menu were the beef and pineapple fajitas (which I totally ordered) and the chicken fajitas with coconut and banana (which I totally considered). I was also particularly intrigued by the offering of chicken wings in the "Sandwichs" section. We tried to order the crazy chicken fajitas only to be told there was no chicken - and yet Steph's chicken chimichanga and Mr K's chicken burrito were available. Quelle cauchemar!

Overall, the food was pretty good in an entirely non-Tex-Mex way. A couple ingredients made me smile, including the use of yogurt sauce rather than sour cream. The fajitas were served with yogurt sauce, bitter greens, salsa and Parmesan cheese as well as both flour and corn tortillas.

Despite the oddity of the food, we all cleaned our plates. After dinner we went to the McDo for some sweets as the restaurant's dessert offerings weren't too enticing. While Steph and I enjoyed the Marron (chestnut) and Crumble Sundae (seriously swoon-worthy) Mr K and Dani opted for McFlurries, which Dani complimented with a cheeseburger.

With most meals, it's the company that makes it a memorable experience... this time it was the pineapple in the fajitas. Aiiee!

P.S. The company, of course, completely rocked as well.