Restaurant Review: Cantina Laredo

Due to paling around with some somewhat-swanky people, I’ve had the opportunity to go to the Gulch’s most trendy Mexican hot spot a few times, Cantina Laredo.  For the non-Nashvillians, who may not even know what “the Gulch” is, it’s a trendy spot in downtown Nashville with lots of condos, restaurants, and bars. 

Here’s my short and sweet restaurant review:  This place is way over-hyped.  Their home made salsa is quite good, but their guacamole, which is what they are supposedly known for, is bland, and their food is too.  I’ve eaten there twice, and both times I was seriously underwhelmed.  The group I ate with the last time all came out complaining about how bland their entrees were, so I was glad that it wasn’t just me who felt this way.

 

I’m not one to be downtown at the see-and-be-seen times these days, so I’ve heard that Cantina Laredo is one of those places that trendy hipsters and downtown dwellers go, so I would guess if you stick to the chips and salsa and margaritas you might be alright, although when I went this summer, I tried one of their signature margaritas, and it was nothing special either.

So if you’re around the area looking for great Mexican food, skip Cantina Laredo.  Try Rosepepper Cantina, or TacoMamacita.  Nashvillians, help me out, what other legitimately good Mexican food is out there?

Baking Day

After a brief hiatus from blogging, I've got plenty to post.  First up:  Baking Day.

 
On Saturday, mom, Laura & I spent ALL DAY in the kitchen making all kinds of Christmas cookies.  Every time mom lamented about how long she personally had been in the kitchen... 8 a.m., 7, 6:30 a.m.,  the time got earlier and earlier.  She has a flair for the dramatic- I don't know where on earth I get it from.

Here's me and B modeling our matching Elf aprons from St. Nick
 

Rolling out sugar cookies with Grandma B

Laura & I rolling out the Oreo truffles.  (Thank you Emily Borders- we still make these every year thanks to you!)

 

Look at this mess!  These are all our supplies.

Chef Laura making George's grandmother's spice cookie recipe.

Spice cookies and peanut butter cookies

 

A sampling of the finished product:  painted sugar cookies, spice cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate caramels, lemon bars, chocolate chip cookie bars, 7 layer cookies, pecan tartlets, Grandma Huber's sugar cookies (these were made last week), iced sugar cookies, Oreo truffles.  (not pictured:  chocolate covered pretzels.  We ran out of time before my choir concert and didn't make that many so I couldn't bear to part with any of them!). 

This plate went to my coworkers today and was gone in bout 15 minutes.  Another tray is going to daycare tomorrow, where, after doing the same thing last year, some of the ladies there have asked mom and me for an entire year when we're going to bake again!  They are going to be so excited, I think. 

I know I personally started in the kitchen around 9 a.m. on Saturday, and after my choir concert, I was back in the kitchen cleaning up til almost 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night.  It was well worth it though.  I'm a good sous chef if I do say so myself.  And you know what they say:  the family that bakes together stays gets fat together!

It's not easy bein' Green

I wish had some grandiose epiphany anecdote to explain my recent adoption of the vegetarian diet, but I don't.  Really, it's been a long time coming, ever since I read Skinny Bitch a few years ago, and since I've slowly but surely been paying closer attention to what I put in my body.  I also have this weird abhorrence for eating food that looks like the animal from whence it came that has gotten worse the older I get, so my enjoyment of meat has been dwindling for several years.  About a month ago I finally decided I would take the plunge and see what all the fuss was about with a vegetarian diet.  Here are a few things I have noticed so far:

 

1. Bonus number one, I am eating way more fruits and vegetables.  I mean, you have to replace the meat with something, right?

 

2.  My taste buds have changed, and since I've made a conscious effort to eat more fruits and veggies, a pleasant bonus is that I have discovered some new fruits and vegetables that I didn't used to care for, I tried again, and realized suddenly that I now like them. (Cucumbers and Blueberries are two)

 

3.  I am also eating less carbs (read: no bread for the non-existent sandwiches),  so this is also a plus, but as a result of eating less carbs, I am also getting hungrier sooner.  Let's face it, a salad just does not stick to the ole ribs for long!

 

4.  Just being honest- how many overweight vegetarians do you know?  I have put back on some weight in the last year, and I want to get back into my skinny jeans, and I figured this new eating regime might help jump-start that.

 

5.  This is something I'm passionate about:  Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in this country, and kids form their eating habits for the rest of their lives in their early years (read:  Bradley's age).  So if I model good eating habits for him now, and he is exposed to good-for-him foods now before he has any idea what Coca-Cola is, he's way more likely to continue those healthy eating habits into adulthood.

 

6.  Eating more healthy is a trend that tends to be circular.  If I eat healthy foods during the day, I'm less likely to binge on junk food.  I don't crave it as much, or if I do, I'm able to keep the cravings in check by eating only small portions of whatever it is, or else I remind myself how well I've eaten today, and that I don't want to blow it.

7.  One negative is that I have noticed a HUGE DROP in my energy level.  Not enough protein or iron?  I started iron supplements a week ago, so now I'm waiting to see if I notice a difference.  I cannot keep going to bed at 9 o'clock.  Something's gotta give.

 

So now the question of the hour:  What the heck am I supposed to bring for lunch every day?  This has been one of my biggest challenges so far.  (Well, that, and trying to wrap my head around the fact that if I keep this up, I might never eat my beloved chicken fingers ever again).  My fall-back has always been turkey sandwiches, but now 2 slices of bread with mustard and cheese and no turkey is just not an appealing lunch choice.  

 

At any rate, I have been surprised to learn of so many closet fellow vegetarians coming out of the wood works to support me in my endeavor and offer up recipe ideas.  To those who have suggested I try quinoa... I'm a weenie, and I've been too scared to try it, but I promise I will!

 

All up in the Mustard

That's right.  I'm all up in the mustard, and I can't catch up!  So here is my catch-all summer blog with some pictures to document the events that will never get talked about otherwise:

During our trip to Lawrenceburg at the end of May, I sprang for a Coke in a glass bottle at Argo's family's fruit market.  It's amazing to me how much better the beverage tastes in a bottle!

A Coke & a smile

Buzz Lightyear and "Woody" watching tv together one morning... and yep, Bradley has the same, sleepy wonky eyes as I do before he fully wakes up :)

This kid could have run around and played at the play place, but all he wanted to do was sit on Ronald McDonald's lap.  I've had to rescue Bradley from the tops of indoor play spaces on more than one occasion, so if all he wants to do is chat up RM, I'm fine with that.

I took Bradley to my work picnic, a Sounds game, at the beginning of June.  We watched none of the game.  He talked to a few of the baseball players, had me chasing him all over the stadium, and picked out this foam finger from the gift shop.

Proof that we were actually there, even though we saw no baseball game!

Did I mention it's been blazing hot this summer?  To cool off, Bradley plays in his slip-and-slide.

My porcelain-skinned smiling boy

Ah yes, the classic "Roar!!!!!"

The Touch-A-Truck event at Pinkerton Park in Franklin.  Bradley enjoyed seeing the semi truck, and climbing into the fire truck.  He did not enjoy the garbage truck that honked its horn and made loud noises.  Actually, to be honest, he cried.  I thought boys were supposed to like trucks- what the heck??

Eating the Fruit By the Foot that Aunt Missy sent home with him.  B was asleep on the way home, and the second we woke up when pulling in the driveway, Bradley asked if he could have his FBTF that he knew she had sent back for him!  Bradley, of course, had never had FBTF, and so he tried to put the entire thing in his mouth, wrapper and all, when we were in Evansville.  He also consumed massive quantities of cheese balls.  Thanks, M&M for remembering how much he enjoyed the cheese balls last summer, and for personally making it your quest to introduce him to every junk food known to man :)

Throwing his new football, a belated birthday present from M&M.  He's also wearing the adorable T-shirt I got for Bradley on Etsy for his birthday party.

Getting braver with the water on the slip-and-slide.  Seriously- when we began our S&S adventures this summer, I could only have the water spraying up about 2 inches.  For the most part, Bradley is an extremely cautious child.  It takes him a while to warm up to new things, and while it can be a little off-putting at times, I'm praying that cautious nature continues through the teenage years.

Finally, I was able to convince him that getting wet is fun!  Yay, we finally like the slip & slide!

More to come... and one of these days, I'll get back to blogging on a regular basis.

The Sandy Bottom Girls

A couple of weeks ago Bradley spent a week with his Grandma Ann and Dad in Florida, so Laura and I spent the week at the beach, trying to enjoy our first ever vacation with just us sisters.  College roomie Stephanie came down for the week too, so Laura and Steph did a good job of distracting me from what was a very long week for me.  I am glad Bradley had time with his Grandma and dad, but this was our first experience with visitation, and I missed B like crazy, having never been away from him for that long before. 

Ready for the road trip

Sacked out with Buzz Lightyear

I've decided to recap the events of the week and mainly the beach and cuisine of the week in this post because this post is gonna be way too long as it is.  Stay tuned for a "Behind the Music" look at the random events of the week...

Now I love the beach, but it was very surreal being back in Florida as a vacationer because everywhere we went I had some sort of negative association with a place.  It took me most of the week before I could relax enough to enjoy myself.  The first night Laura and I went and got sushi at a great place called the Slippery Mermaid.  For this DIVA who doesn't eat fish or seafood of any kind really, I love that I can get a chicken teriaki roll or a steak roll besides a veggie roll that any sushi place will have.

Sunday morning, I got to go to church at my old church, Midway Baptist, which was bittersweet.  I do love and miss the people there and Brother Dennis.  After church I zipped over to pick up Steph, and then the Sandy Bottom Girls hit the beach!

Steph stole some kid's bucket and made sandcastles

We dubbed ourselves the Sandy Bottom Girls because there was a beach store down the road called Sandy Bottoms that we stopped in for supplies.  Furthermore,  the waves were so strong at the beach all week that we each suffered sandy bottoms more than once, and we also thought it sounded similar to the "O Brother Where Art Thou," Soggy Bottom Boys. 

I have never seen so many crabs at the beach- they were everywhere!

 

Sunday night we went to Flounder's in Pensacola Beach to eat so-so food, hear the band Lektrik Mullet and watch old people dance!  This was a highlight of the week for sure.  See the upcoming Behind the Music Beach Post, coming soon, complete with video footage of said old people dancing!

2/3 of the former Sugar Shack residents, waiting on their table

Stephanie at Flounder's- a note to future Flounders patrons- according to both Steph and Laura, do NOT order the crab stuffed Flounder au gratin. 

Sipping nice cool beverages- can you see the family resemblance?

 

Watching drunk old people dance makes us smile!

Nicknames from the UK years: Steppie & Da
Laura, our photographer, was kind enough to get our yacht pictured in the background!

 

Pretty much all we did was eat, sleep, go to the beach (and have sno cones, of course).  Steph and I were content with this routine.  Laura on the other hand was a little irritable by day 4 or 5.  She was a trooper though for my sake!

Another stolen bucket leads to the Queen's castle (Steph's) and the carriage houses for the two stepsisters!

 

Laura playing in the waves

 

How does that Zac Brown Band song go? I got my toes in the sand... or something like that!

More crabs!  I was obsessed with watching them.

At one point, one popped up near my beach chair. "Look at my new friend," I exclaimed happily. "What's his name?" Asked Steph. "Stephanie," I replied without missing a beat.

We all partook in the relaxing beach past time of reading. I finally finished my book on kids food allergies, and then flew through my Tori Spelling book, and several magazines. I wished I had packed another novel by day 4 when I ran out of stuff to read!Along with crabs, I have never in all my years, seen so many seashells at the beach.  Steph was the ultimate sheller, and found all of these in one afternoon!

Along with crabs, I have never in all my years, seen so many seashells at the beach.  Steph was the ultimate sheller, and found all of these in one afternoon!

Our sandcastle masterpiece- it's all about creating a base for height and presentation!

Laura with one of her many grotesque seafood buckets. 

(Yes, I have a thing with food that looks like the actual animal you're consuming.) This was at the Beach Monkey. And yes, Laura got crabs. That joke, along with "That's what she said," was worn out!

Wednesday we went down to the Navarre Pier, newly re-opened last year, which is now the longest pier in the Gulf of New Mexico. We were thinking about fishing, but after observing the stoic seamen, and the skill necessary for casting our lines that high up without snaring a tourist, we gave up the dream!

Laura, walking down the pier

While we didn't fish, we did see plenty of fish, a few dolphins, and my very first sea turtle. What can I say? I'm a Delta Zeta for life, and our mascot is the turtle. I was beyond thrilled to see the large amphibian swimming in the wild, and highly disappointed he didn't resurface so I could snap a picture.

Navarre beach from the pier.

 

After our sightseeing at the pier, we had lunch at the pier bar right there on the ocean.  Laura and I each had cheeseburgers, and oh my gosh, they were so tasty!  By this day, Laura decided it was acceptable to not eat seafood for every meal.  I decided this a long time ago when I vowed not to eat seafood ever. 

The Sandy Bottom Girls

 

As a belated Father's day present for dad since we were in Florida, Laura & I took a picture together in the requisite beach attire of khaki and white (totally impromptu, I might add), developed a good one, and purchased a beachy frame to give to dad when we got back.

Steph and I picked on each other all week, and it certainly helped me to keep laughing.  Steph dubbed me the "drill sergeant" for apparently forcing her to maintain a strenuous pace on our beach walks!

 

To Helenback's Again for pizza on our last night with Steph

Mmmmm, I could eat this whole thing!

After pizza, we splurged for some ice cream at the Twist.  I got some mocha-chocolatey creation, and Laura & Steph got variations of banana ice cream with frozen chocolate bananas. 

The upside of dropping Steph off at the airport at the butt crack of dawn Thursday morning:

On Friday, it actually rained that morning, so Laura & I drove over to the outlet mall. I scored several new clothes for Bradley, and a cute one-piece at the Gap for 6 bucks! On our way back, we were looking for a place to eat, and simultaneously suggested the Hog's Breath Saloon. Practically every place we ate we dined outdoors, and can I just say, I think this is one of life's simple pleasures?! You'd think in Florida it would be too hot to eat outside, but there was always a breeze blowing to make things pleasant.

I'm hungry just looking at this- it was a fantastic Southwestern Chicken Sandwich with avacado, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and bacon (which make everything more delicious) and a spicy mayo sauce. Hands down, the best thing I ate all week.

We also ate at the East Bay Crabhouse during the week, where I did actually order sauteed tilapia, and devoured it since it neither looked nor tasted like fish, and we visited my old favorite restaurant in Navarre, the Cactus Flower Cafe, and had some amazing Mexican food that rivaled the above sandwich and fries.  We definitely ate well this week!

Mine.

It was the weirdest thing- we didn't see any seagulls until our last day, and then, they only appeared because a school of fish had drifted close to the beach, and were visibly jumping out of the water. The birds migrated over appropriately.

 

Saturday morning, we said goodbye to the beach, and hello to Bradley! He was a cranky worn out mess, but I didn't care! We stopped in Alabama on the way home at aunt Peggy's for lunch and to see our cousin Heather, her husband Bob, and kids Ana and Larkin. Bradley ran around playing with his cousins for a while and worked out some of his pent-up energy!

Aunt Peggy pulling B around in the wagon

At this point, it was very late in the afternoon, and Bradley had yet to take a nap, so he wasn't exactly cooperative when it came time for pictures, so this is the best one I got of him and Peggy. He fell asleep soon after getting back on the road though.

At this point, it was very late in the afternoon, and Bradley had yet to take a nap, so he wasn't exactly cooperative when it came time for pictures, so this is the best one I got of him and Peggy.  He fell asleep soon after getting back on the road though. 

If you have made it this far reading/skimming/only looking at the pictures, and you are not my mother, then I commend you.  It was a long week, and we are glad to be home, although not happy to be back at work, and I am certainly missing the lazy days at the beach.  I'll be looking for takers for next summer because I doubt Laura will ever go with me to the beach again!  Seven days on the beach for her was about four days too many!  We took a tough situation, and made the best of it, and for that, I am so thankful for friends & family like Laura and Steph. 

Next up:  the Beach: BTM...