Category Archives: Food

La Familia, Ft. Worth

Mexican food, is oh so good! This past weekend was fun filled with lots of “Texas” events but our first stop was dinner on Friday night at La Familia in Fort Worth. I had never been here before and knew absolutely nothing about the restaurant but quickly fell in love.

Reason #1: Get a margarita.

Why?

Because they light them on fire! Well, not literally. Whether you get one on the rocks or frozen, they will bring it out, place a sugar cube on your lime and poof! Up in flames! I’m not exactly sure “why” but it makes the presentation pretty awesome and who doesn’t like fire?! The margarita is perfectly made by the way!

Reason #2: Chips and Salsa

I’m going to admit, I’m a bit nervous at trying the salsa at some Mexican restaurants. More or less, I’m scared it’s going to be too spicy but I’ve found the diamond out of them all! This salsa was some of the freshest salsa I’ve ever had at a restaurant. The chips were crispy, fresh and non-oily. This just proves that La Familia stays true to their word that all items are made fresh daily. Who doesn’t like that?!

Reason #3: Atmosphere

Exposed brick (oh I love the exposed brick). Southwest decor. Black and white vintage photos. Need I say more?!

Reason #4: Food

I know I’ve already discussed the chips and salsa but the main course was delicious.

(Above) Veggie Quesadilla’s

(Below) Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (my order).

My meal was delicious and I couldn’t finish it. Plenty of food for a good price. My friend had the above order and it was agreed, you can’t go wrong!

If you are in the west, Fort Worth area and are looking for some good Mexican food. I would suggest swinging on over. I’m going to warn you, parking is a little tough but as soon as you find a spot, hopefully you will agree that it was worth it! Don’t forget to try a margarita!

Sweet Tea Recipe

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Sweet tea = hot tea + lots of sugar, poured over ice cubes and chilled.

Southerns will most likely find this post absurd but for others it could be informative.
Alright, so here it goes… in the South there is a beverage called Sweet Tea. (See description above.) I’ve come to learn that those from the South think sweet tea is both delicious and easy to make. I’s a necessity, like Dr. Pepper. To this Yankee, I will agree that it’s delicious, but not so easy to make. Until now.

The first lesson I received in sweet tea making was when I first moved here. I sat on a stool in our friends kitchen while he boiled water in a pot. Once it boiled, he threw in some tea bags then poured in sugar right out of the bag. Stirred until it was dissolved and then poured it over ice. “That easy! Can’t mess it up!” So when I finally tried it, it was not “That easy!”. My tea was bitter. It was awful. I didn’t give up! Apparently messing it up wasn’t that hard, haha!

Leah came along and showed me the ropes…. and it really is “That easy!”

Sweet Tea Recipe:

8 cups water
4 tea bags
1 cup sugar
Ice cubes

1. Boil 8 cups of water (pretty easy).
2. Once water is boiling, pour into pitcher and add 4 tea bags. Allow to sit for 3 minutes.
3. Remove tea bags and stir in 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, until dissolved.
4. Add ice until pitcher is full (I use a gallon pitcher).

Pour and enjoy or store in the fridge!

Random Trip: Austin

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If you know me, you would know that I have a hard time sitting still. So, it’s only easy to predict that if I don’t have anything planned on any given weekend, chances are I am planning a random trip, to a random destination for probably a random reason. This particular weekend, on Friday evening, I was planning a trip to Tishomingo, OK to check out Miranda Lambert’s store, The Pink Pistol. Before I went to bed, my plans had changed to go in a complete opposite direction!

I had an old friend from Vermont, who now lives in New Jersey, visiting New Jersey friends now living in Austin. Austin is only a three hour, easy drive. They offered up a couch to sleep on and a guaranteed good time and the plans were changed!

Saturday morning came along. I swung by the grocery store to hit up the ATM inside. How can you say no to a Girl Scout? This is not a good way to start a road trip….

Off I went. Highway 35 South.

This is one of the reasons I love Texas. I despise the city. I wish I didn’t live in such a populated area but I don’t really have a choice considering I need a paying job but there’s nothing more relaxing than driving out in the country and thankfully its not far away!

And drive anywhere on 35 isn’t a drive without stopping at the Czech Stop in West, TX.

When I finally got to Austin, I met up with an old friend, a couple awesome new friends and we headed out to 6th Street to watch some hockey and eat some dinner. We took the bus…. I can’t remember the last time I took public transportation somewhere. (Maybe D.C. in 2009… DFW isn’t really known for their public transit.) At one point, I actually knew where I was.. University of Texas (UT) Co-op Building for all of your UT paraphernalia needs!

And then we catch a glimpse of this building. The State Capital building. Seriously, one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve been in. Gorgeous!

We made our way to the restaurant / bar, grabbed some delicious nachos with brisket and soaked in some much needed hockey. Bill and I are wicked excited that hockey has started however our choice in teams do not agree. He’s a NJ Devils fan… the team that I despise. Go Habs!

I’m going to have to explain this one. Do you ever come across things that are in the shape of your state? Well my friend Meredith and I apparently have a thing for this, especially in the Vermont form…
Are we the only ones who do this?

6th Street was a ton of fun! I have zero pictures from the evening but if you’ve been to Beale Street in Memphis, it’s similar. Bar after bar after bar and live music is everywhere. The street is closed off, there are a ton of people but it’s a ton of fun. We even tried getting Bill to ride a mechanical bull but he just wouldn’t do it. I guess we’ll have to give him a few more drinks next time!

The next day we tried out a local BBQ place called Stiles Switch. I overheard someone say they’ve only been open for a year. The interior decor was my favorite! Rusty, vintage, exposed brick. All favorites here! The sign on the way out was also a favorite!

Food wise, my friends loved their ribs. I had a chopped brisket (as usual). I felt that the brisket was a little dry and there was a bit too much BBQ sauce mixed in but I guess I should’ve just went for the ribs!

I couldn’t stay long. I had a three hour drive to get started and I do love those drives. It clears your mind, there’s always good music playing. It’s just so relaxing. I even saw this guy on the way home and I think he was loving the drive as much as I was!