Mexican and Tex-Mex

2016 Summer Getaway | Day 2

August 11, 2016 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

When we were about to head out the door for breakfast, Scruffy asked me which place we had agreed on. After walking for a good few minutes, I realized I told him the wrong one. We walked back to the one we originally wanted to go to which was literally down the street from where we were staying. Whoops.

Moore Coffee Shop
1930 2nd Ave
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 883-7044
http://moorecoffeeshop.com

The Hazelnut Latte was originally mine but he found his Nutella Latte too sweet, masking the coffee flavour so we ended up switching.

I snapped this picture in my story asking people if the Nutella Latte was a monkey or an onion face. And one of the responses I got was hilarious.

Rosanna coincidentally had the same dilemma. What’s even funnier is that she wrote potato when she meant onion and excused herself because she might be drunk already.

He chose a sweet approach of Strawberry Blueberry Shortcake Waffle which was airy and crispy. I stole a lot of his delicious blueberries. Mmm …

I was a little hesitant to order the Monte Cristo Waffle because the cheese scared me a bit. But I’m glad I did because it was delicious, savory waffle to counter Scruffy’s sweet one.

I secretly wished we went back the next day for some more waffles.

As we were walking, we saw another weed shop but this one looked simpler on the outside to where you could think it’s a fitness place.

Have a Heart | Seattle, Washington | Mural with Mellie Dee & Scruffy

Scruffy & I in front of the mural

We saw a giant mural of a rolled up joint and the bouncer told us that many people come in to snap a picture with it and we could do the same if we wanted to … so we did. Thanks, Bouncer Dude!

Seattle Aquarium
1483 Alaskan Way
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 386-4300
http://seattleaquarium.org

One of the main things Scruffy wanted to do was to go to the Seattle Aquarium and so we did! There were a lot of people there that day. Kids were running wild everywhere you turned which made it difficult to get around and see things.

It was pretty neat to see so many different species that live in the ocean especially the otters. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in any other aquariums I’ve been too. I can watch them tumble around for hours if I could.

I even found Nemo searching for his daddy.

Scruffy & his telescope

After a long while at the aquarium, we put a quarter in a telescope. He spent his time on that thing, mostly looking at the mountains. I wish we had time to go over to there and hike. Sigh … one day.

We were going to sit by a bar with a Space Needle view but somehow ended back up at the Public Market Center. Luckily enough, we ran into the

Gum Wall
1428 Post Alley
Seattle, Washington 98101

I felt unclean being in that unsanitary alley but loved looking at all the different graffiti. Scruffy kept rushing me though since we wanted to hit many sushi happy hours.

When we got back to our AirBnB, this little marijuana leaf was sitting on the hallway floor. It’s so legal that you actually get to see the leaves?!

We then took an Uber to our next destination and it wasn’t until way after that we realized that we didn’t stick our own gum on the wall.

Flying Fish
300 Westlake Ave N
Seattle, Washington 98109
(206) 728-8595
http://flyingfishseattle.com

We ordered six Fresh Oyster on Half Shell | $1 and six Large Green Mussels on Half Shell | $0.88. They had rules to where you have to order a minimum of six per order of each type with a limit of two dozen of each type per person.

They were both equally delicious, but I’ve never had mussels prepared this way so it drew me in more. Scruffy on the other hand loved the oysters more.

These are by far one of the best Truffle Fries [French truffle sea salt] | $6 I’ve ever eaten and Scruffy was nice enough to let me eat a majority of them.

When it came time to decide if we wanted to order more food, especially since we were going to other sushi places, I contemplated really hard on ordering more fries.

But we stuck with oysters because you can’t get such amazingness down south like that.

As we were walking to our next destination, we were able to see the Space Needle from afar. It was then that Scruffy decided going there might actually be worthwhile to look out into the horizon so we decided after all of our sushi eating, we would head out there to see if we can get tickets.

Umi Sake House
2230 1st Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 374-8717
http://umisakehouse.com

Free | Edamame is the best edamame but we didn’t want to fill up on them so we only ate a few of these bad boys.

We ordered a Beer and Sake. It’s fancier up here to where they aren’t big fans of sake bombs so we literally took sake shots and downed the beer as a chaser. Not the same but it was still fun.

He would only let me order one Tuna Sashimi | $8 order to try and see if it’s good and boy was it good! Keep in mind these are happy hour prices.

Look how thick the slices are! Back home they would cut them really thin and make us pay $10! And oh my goodness … they melt in your mouth! I could eat this every day!

He was craving Calamari, which is weird to me that anyone would be craving that but he got what he wanted. After eating the sashimi, all I could think about was that and craved only that so he had to finish the majority up himself.

He also really wanted a Spider Roll which was only okay. I mean, why you would get anything else but raw fish at this restaurant is beyond me!

He finally agreed and let me order Albacore Sashimi and Salmon Sashimi both $8/type. He liked the albacore more whereas I liked the salmon more. But we both agreed the tuna was the best. Just looking at this while I write this post makes my mouth water.

We went back to our AirBnB to change and put down our backpack since we had time until our reservations. Everywhere you turn, there’s graffiti and it’s actually kind of relaxing to see.

Shiro’s
2401 2nd Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 443-9844
http://shiros.com

They didn’t have happy hour but it was one of the top places for sushi so Scruffy made reservations here which I’m thankful for because it was SO FREAKING GOOD! And because when we looked out the window, we saw a lot of people waiting to get in due to the fact that it is a small location.

We ordered more Beer and Sake shot and chaser style. I loved that their little cups have their logo on it!

I was surprised that Scruffy actually liked the Rainbow Poke [Assortment of seafood with our original sauce] | $9.50. Poke, forever.

Geso Kara-age [deep fried squid legs] | $6.50 weren’t as big of a hit. He’s not a big fan of chewy things and the batter was just okay.

He ordered a King Crab Nigiri while I got a Sea Eel Nigiri and a Zuke Tuna Nigiri. Oh my goodness. The Zuke Tuna was amazing! It was my first time and sigh … take me back please.

I kept seeing people have fried shrimp heads and was curious because it wasn’t on the menu. We asked the waiter and he said it came with the Sweet Shrimp Nigiri. Two orders please!

Best. Thing. Ever. I’ve never had sweet shrimp and now all I want to do is eat it! The fried shrimp heads kind of freaked Scruffy out and kind of cringed when I ate the entire thing, eyeballs and all. But I love the fact that he’ll try anything once so I shared the non-eyeball part of it with him and he wasn’t a fan. Sigh … what a waste.

We walked over to the Space Needle to buy tickets but since we were late in purchasing, we had to book a later time which meant we had to wait.

Sport Restaurant & Bar
140 4th Ave N #130
Seattle, Washington 98109
(206) 404-7767
http://sportrestaurant.com

We walked over here for a beer while I sipped on water. I didn’t want to fill up on beer if we had a chance of eating yummy goodness!

My old friend, Carla, saw my Snapchat of the Ferris wheel and asked to meet up since she and Andrew, her husband, now lives in Seattle. We use to all hang out back in college, then Carla and I did one-on-ones after college.

Blue Water Taco Grill
515 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, Washington 98119
(206) 352-2407
http://bluewatertacogrill.com/

We agreed to meet up at the Armory, a Children’s Museum downstairs with different restaurants upstairs. When we got there, a lot of the places were closing and this was the only one opened. The boys grabbed a beer, Carla a margarita, and me water and we caught up and talked about random things until our 9:30 PM Space Needle appointment.

Space Needle
400 Broad St.
Seattle, Washington 98109
(206) 905-2100
http://spaceneedle.com

We were a little bummed we didn’t get to see it when the sky was lit but loved the wonderful burning sky. These pictures do not do it justice. He and I joked a lot throughout the trip whenever we see wonderful landscape that Bob Ross did a great job. haha

We stayed up there for a really long time … mostly taking in the view and trying to figure out how to take a picture of the background with us in it. There was a lot of fails and a okay-I-give-up-this-is-good-enough photo.

Some Random Bar
2604 1st Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
http://somerandombar.com

We were in search of food, like always. Scruffy ordered a beer and we realized their kitchen has just closed. But I still recommend this bar a lot. The lady that we spoke to was very nice especially when we asked if there were any bars around here with food and made conversation with us. She pointed us to our next and last destination of the night.

Buckley’s
2331 2nd Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 588-8879
http://buckleysseattle.com

Buckley’s Thai Sesame Ribs (3) [with sweet Thai chili sauce] | $6 was one of Scruffy’s most delicious food he’s had here, which to me is sad because they weren’t good at all. It was featured on Food Network’s “Best Bar Food” so, maybe my taste buds suck or maybe I have higher taste than bar food. haha

Tater Tots [with chipotle ranch; garlic optional] | $4 was one of the best things ever. We definitely did the garlic option and they did not skimp out on that. I kept trying to shove more garlic with his bites so our breaths would be equally disgusting.

Blackened Chicken Tacos (2) [with flour tortilla, pico de gallo, lettuce, shredded cheese, chipotle ranch on the side] | $6 was a local favourite but it wasn’t ours. We tried out best to down them because it was dry and not appetizing. Seattle locals, please come visit Houston for chicken tacos. They won’t disappoint like these did.

He loved the ribs so much, he ordered a second plate and made me help him eat them. And when we left the place, he took a billion pictures on his phone of the place because he wanted to remember the place where he got one of the best dishes he’s eaten.

Sigh … that boy.

We headed back to our AirBnB and called it a night since we had a long drive ahead of us the next day.

2016 Summer Getaway | Day 1

August 9, 2016 by Mellie Dee 4 Comments

On Tuesday, the 26th, Scruffy came to my house for dinner and to pick me up so I can sleep over since our flight was at 7:30 AM and his house was closer. The rain kept pouring down so we were worried about delays.

We woke up ~~bright and~~ early and tried our best to keep the noise down since everyone was still asleep. New place, new adventures, new memories. We were tired but excited about what’s to come.

He says that every time he flies early, he gets a taco from Pappasito’s so once we got through security, breakfast was served.

Two barbacoa, egg and cheese tacos, please.

Since rules state to come two hours before liftoff, we had a bit of waiting to do. Luckily, nature worked with us and made sure our departure was on time.

Me & Scruffy on our aircraft

While on the aircraft we tried to sleep, plan dinner, and got frustrated that we could not stream any of the shows we wanted to watch after paying eight dollars for WiFi. Ugh, waste. Thank goodness for previously loaded games on my iPad while Scruffy watched live telly on his iPhone.

We finally saw Mount Rainer (?) out of our window which meant we have arrived in Seattle!

Snow-capped mountains, I want to climb you.

Once we landed and retrieved our luggage, we called for an Uber. Uber at the Seattle airport is on point. Organized with designated places for pick up and drop off!

Our Uber driver dropped us off at our AirBnB, a super old building which made us felt as if we’d fall through the ground. They even have an old elevator system where it uses a hinged door and gate – creepy.

Our windows were all nailed shut from the outside which makes me wonder what happens during an emergency. One of our windows had a crack with a tube coming out for air conditioning.

We ran into a weed shop, Herban Legend, on the way to Pike Place Market. It still boggles my mind that weed is legal in some states.

Pike Place Market was filled with people. We totally forgot it was touristy, summer time which meant long lines everywhere.

We went to look at the ocean view and it was surprising how many people were just sitting there enjoying the sun.

A man stole bottles of Jack Daniel’s under his jacket, dropping them all to the floor when the cops caught him while another kid was sitting smoking pot.

As we searched for the famous chowder place, we got stuck inside the Public Market. There were little shops where artists sell their work on one end like jewlery and paintings.

On the other end were little food stands and the seafood market. The seafood was huge! I am jealous of everyone who gets this goodness all day, every day.

The chowder place was packed with a full line so we ended up at

Rub With Love Shack
2010 Western Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 436-0390
http://rubwithloveshack.com

Braised Pork Sandwich [pork rub, slow-cooked pork, roasted garlic aioli, swiss, pickled red oinion, romaine lettuce] | $10.50

We’re from Texas and should have known better and knew it was a mistake right when we saw it. We shared it and couldn’t even finish it since it was making us feel sick.

We walked around for a bit and somehow ended up at

The Fishermans Restaurant and Bar
1301 Alaskan Way
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 623-3500
http://thefishermansrestaurant.com

Scruffy ordered a beer and was given free Bread and Butter. Sourdough is his least favourite so he tried his best to eat a bit of it.

I ended up getting a Clam Chowder [Northwest recipe featuring hearty clams, tender vegetables, and sweet cream] | $6/cup

Clam chowder is one of my favourite soups in the world so I was in heaven.

Seattle Great Wheel
1301 Alaskan Way
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 623-8607
http://seattlegreatwheel.com

Since the Ferris wheel was right next to us, we decided to ride it for $14.90/person.

We were told we would go around three times but it ended up being a good six or so turns.

We didn’t complain though since we were able to snap some great pictures.

Look at this cool guy.

We walked around some stores before Scruffy saw the penny machine and got super excited. We ended up making a Space Needle one. Speaking of which, I still have and need to give it to him.

As we were walking, we saw this beautiful sight. I wouldn’t mind seeing this every day. Sigh. Take me back, please.

Ashy loves antiques so we walked into one to check it out. I was surprised to find vintage Playboys on sale! The ladies look like they were drawn.

We walked back to our AirBnb, changed for a fancy night, called an uber, and ended up at the

Ballard Beer Company
2050 NW Market St.
Seattle, Washington 98107
(206) 783-0179
http://ballardbeercompany.com

Scruffy & I with THE best grapefruit beer EVER

I got the Postdoc Grapefruit Kolsch and he got the Burdick IPA.

The grapefruit beer reminds me of grapefruit juice and I surprisingly loved it! I wish I could ship some back home. So light and refreshing.

We decided to hop to a bar that had appetizers since we were both hungry and ended up at

Kangaroo & Kiwi Pub
2026 NW Market St.
Seattle, Washington 98107
(206) 297-0507
http://kangarooandkiwi.com

I thought it was pretty cool that it’s from an old public library but sad that it means libraries are going out of style.

He ordered a beer and we both shared an Uluru Nachos [corn tortilla chips, melted cheese, black beans, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, & salsa fresca] | $5

We made them Aussie Style [top nachos with authentic Aussie-style seasoned ground beef] | $3.

We finally called an uber to take us to our dinner reservations at

Ray’s Boathouse
6049 Seaview Ave NW
Seattle, Washington 98107
(206) 789-3770
http://rays.com

Bread and Butter | free

Scruffy finished it all up. Him and his love for bread …

Puget Sound Mediterranean Mussels [smoked onion butter, herbs, red pepper] | $15

It was a Thai curry type sauce. Mmm … This was easily our favourite dish out of everything we ate at the restaurant. Scruffy even dipped his bread in the sauce because it was just that good.

Seafood Fregola Sarda Pasta [toasted pasta, Penn Cove mussels, Manila clams, Uli’s chorizo, salmon, whitefish, light cream, marinara sauce] | $26

We were both not a fan of this dish. Scruffy’s description is that it tasted like dog food. It was a big let down because fregola isn’t the type of pasta I thought it’ll be. And I agreed it didn’t taste well. I made sure to eat all the seafood though.

Dungeness Crab Cakes [summer squash + zucchini, jasmine rice, herbed lemon yogurt, red pepper coulis] | half $16

He ordered the half which was just right for him since we had nachos and appetizers beforehand and had already decided for light snacking later in the night. He liked his dish enough to finish the crab cakes.

After dinner, we took in the wonderful view while we waited for our Uber. Sigh, perfection … even though dinner wasn’t exactly perfect.

This place, though fancy, didn’t meet my expectations and since then, he and I decided to jump around restaurants and pick something small from each one to try out.

We were dropped off at our AirBnb to change into comfy clothes and pulled up Pokemon Go. Seattle is PokeStop city, guys!

As Scruffy looked up some bars around us with happy hour oysters we noticed that Yelp! had added a filter for “PokeStop Nearby.” All I can say is, wow …

Queen City Grill
2201 1st Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 443-0975
http://queencitygrill.com

This place showed up on Yelp! for happy hour oysters. It did disturb me a bit that there wasn’t much people around but we proceeded to order.

He ordered a Hefeweizen while I ordered a Bellini [peach puree married with bubbles] | $8

Six Oysters on the Half Shell | $2.25 each

We could taste the shell on some of them so he wasn’t a big fan of it.

Prawn Cocktail [chilled prawns with a classic cocktail sauce] | $7

Prawn is a different meaning up here, I guess, since it was more like little shrimp. Nothing too special.

We jumped ship to

Rabbit Hole
2222 2nd Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 956-4653
http://rabbitholeseattle.com

where he ordered a beer and we played two rounds of skeeball where we both won once and called it quits and moved over to

Wakefield Bar
2318 2nd Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 770-7824
http://wakefieldbar.com

They didn’t have any food though so we quickly left and oddly bumped into my old college friend, Patrick, on the street. He lived a few buildings down! Small world. I hadn’t seen him in over four years.

Rocco’s
2228 2nd Ave
Seattle, Washington 98121
(206) 448-2625
http://roccosseattle.com

We stopped here for to-go orders of pizza slices and headed back to his apartment for a quick catch up.

Pizza is always the best late night drunk food regardless of where you live.

Scruffy got a regular pepperoni while I opted for the veggie one. His definetly tasted better than mine but I enjoyed mine nonetheless. I wanted another slice the next night and I don’t even love pizza!

I’ve never tried watermelon wheat beer until that day. It tasted like a light watermelon juice.

After catching up, Scruffy and I bid our farewells and headed back to our AirBnB to recharge for the next day.

Pretty eventful first day if I do say so myself.

July Fourth Weekend

July 5, 2016 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

This weekend was pretty chill. Just how I like it! Since, you know, independence and shiet. I do what I want.

Friday, July 1st

I spent most of my morning/afternoon at Kung Fu Tea. It didn’t realize how long I was sitting there until the owner asked me if I wanted water. Whoops.

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Later that night, Michelle and I finally got to see one another. We met up at La Finca for dinner where we had a rude busboy. Then we headed to Ohh La La Bakery in the same shopping center where I blogged a little while catching up some more with her and playing with Snapchat filters. That went on for a good hour plus.

Me with Beyonce’s face

Saturday, July 2nd

Jamie was having a little birthday celebration with her family and invited me along. While we were waiting to leave, something came over me and I grabbed a guitar, looked up some chords, and jammed out. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that and it felt good.

We headed to Niko’s Niko’s for a late lunch where I ordered the Gyro Sandwich with oven potatoes. Meh on the potatoes. Scruffy’s fries were so much better. They ordered some desserts as well which was all too sweet for me. I surprisingly liked the Napoleon which is just Phyllo dough with cream.

After lunch, we headed to the Crazy Cat Escape Room for The Western Saloon Robbery. It was our first experience and we were not amused. We were able to escape two minutes before we were to fail. If the lady hadn’t given us clues every few minutes, we wouldn’t have gotten anything. She confessed that no one would be able to put a lot of the stuff together which translates to a poorly thought out escape room.

Scruffy and I have another one this coming Friday but with my family. I’m hoping it’ll be better since we’ll be doing a different room but I don’t have high hopes since it’s from the same company.

Ashy had bought Jamie a Coupe as a surprise but he had to hide it in Rami and Caitlin’s garage until the big reveal. So we all headed over there to “pick up” stuff and when the garage opened – SURPRISE! She started tearing up – I love when surprises go as planned. It was my first time seeing it in person and all that came to mind was that it looks like a bumper car.

Scruffy and I went to the store and got cocktail shrimp and ingredients to make sandwiches and jalapeno dip. We watched random things on the telly then he played video games as I napped before heading home.

Sunday, July 3rd

June, the parents, and I went to Crown Seafood Restaurant for dim sum with Grandma and Kenny. This place apparently opened earlier in the year and was getting a lot of customers. They do not taste like home, but it will have to suffice.

The rest of the day was just blog fixer uppers and watching movies and telly shows. Being lazy never felt so good. I bet Rizzo loved me being home almost the entire day.

Monday, July 4th

Sissy and BIL had just arrived back from their vacation so the parents, June, and I met up with them for some Katy Pho. I’m not a big fan of this place. If you want good pho that’s worth your money, go to Pho Saigon right across the street.

I headed to Scruffy’s for some shopping after lunch. We stopped by Carl’s Jr. so that he could have a bite before heading to Petco and Marshall’s. I finally found a purse (!!) while he found a belt, socks, and a neck cushion to be used on our upcoming vacation.

I had plans to work at the coffee shop after but ended up at Connie’s Fourth of July BBQ. The food was so dang good. I need to get a grill at home so I can do the same! I would grill ~~all day, every day~~ most of my meals if I could.

Scruffy, his Gma, and I went back to his house where he played video games with Blake while I finally sat down to fix up the blog. After Scruffy was done, we went downstairs and watched telly with his Gma while planning more of our vacation. I totally forgot we had to work the next day and on my drive home, I saw all the beautiful fireworks in the sky. It was gorgeous!

I hope you all had a great Fourth as well. Our next holiday is not until September for Labour Day. Thank goodness I have our vacation to look forward to.

Taqueria Data Point | San Antonio, Texas

November 14, 2011 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

On Friday night, Katrina and I went to

Taqueria Data Point
4063 Medical Dr.
San Antonio, TX 78229
(210) 615-3644

As you can see in that picture, they open until very late. They actually just expanded because there were so many customers coming in and their place was so dinky small.

I remember going here my freshman year but then never being able to find it until recently.

Chips & Salsa | free

Right when you sit down, the put it down on your table. Beware though. The salsa is muy caliente! (Is that the same word for spicy?) Their chips are very, very crispy and delicious.

Barbacoa To-Go [with 8 tortillas] | $9.99/lb

Pico de Gallo | $1.00

You get to chose if you want flour or corn tortillas. I went for the corn. If you’ve ever had barbacoa, and tried Data Point, you will know they have the best. It is very juicy and succulent. I had so much leftover as well.

It was so delicious, I went with Tammy and Jenny last night. They LOVE it and had a lot of leftovers as well.

Come here if you’re ever in San Antonio.

Though it looks very run down, it’s the best I’ve had in San Antonio. Their service is not very amazing because I always have to raise my hand to get a refill of anything.

Plus this time I ordered corn tortillas as usual and they ran out and only gave me three and hid flour tortillas underneath and didn’t even tell me. That = bad service. I actually forgot to give a tip as well … whoops.

Trudy’s and Amy’s Ice Cream | Austin, Texas

November 13, 2011 by Mellie Dee 4 Comments

During Halloween weekend, we had some adventures.

Me, Jenny, Tammy, Brian, Richard, Susan, Peter, Michelle, Wilson P., Long, and Steven all went to:

Trudy’s
409 West 30th Street
Austin, TX
(512) 477-2935
www.trudys.com

We had to split up with seating so I sat with Peter, Susan, and Michelle.

It comes with free chips and two different salsa dips. We had already eaten halfway until I realized I had to take a picture. Whoops!

Us four ate at least four times this if not more. It was that good!

Beef Fajita Ala Mexicana [tender beef fajita meat marinated in a soy-ginger spice blend and sautéed with onions, cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes and lime juice. Garnished with a small salad and sliced avocado. Served with Spanish rice, borracho beans and a choice of tortillas] | $12.50

I got a choice of corn tortillas. Omgosh … I about died. The meat was so juicy and succulent. I was very full. I wasn’t even halfway full. (Maybe it was the chips?) But I made sure to finish ALL the meat. Because it would be a waste if I didn’t.

******************

After we ate, Wilson P., Michelle, Steven, and I were heading back to the apartment and stopped by

Amy’s Ice Creams
1012 West 6th Street
Austin, TX
(512) 480-0673
www.amysicecreams.com

Irish Crème with a waffle cone and sprinkles | ~$5

I’ve never had ice cream with alcohol before so it was a good experience. I couldn’t taste the alcohol but Wilson P. and Michelle thinks it’s filled with it. Hmm …

This was what sparked my ice cream with sprinkles addiction with the last post I made. It was that good. Sadly Amy’s is the best ice cream place I’ve ever been.