So, yeah, I’ve been neglecting the blog. Ack! I’m sorry. But, I PROMISE it won’t be for much longer and I’ve got LOTS of great content to come! In the meantime, please enjoy some more great info from the PNJ! http://m.pnj.com/entertainment/article?a=2011110070306&f=1298

The News Journal’s Kristen Foster writes about her favorite Pensacola Beach burgers. Check them out here. Surprisingly, I haven’t tried many of these! There is one glaring omission (I.M.H.O.) — the OTHER cheeseburger in Paradise, at the actual Paradise Bar & Grill, soundside. Perhaps not so gourmet, but yum. http://www.paradisebar-grill.com/menus.htm

Hey gang! Look up! See that new menu item? Pensacola Daily Restaurant Specials? Click it! It’s awesome! This was a great idea dreamed up by local foodie, Amber Rushing. We thank her for it! That is all.

Grillman & Anima had a taco party the other night and these were not your basic ingredients…different types of cheeses, special homemade salsas, Green Egg grilled meats…. I love how pretty all the ingredients look in their different bowls!

Yogini and I had a ladies night at the Wine Bar the other night and it was amazing! Such a nice atmosphere (despite the COMPLETELY unnecessary televisions they have going everywhere - that is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, I’m sure I’ll go on a rant in some later post so you have that to look forward to!) and their bottle prices are so great because they are also a wine and cheese shop. We had some dry champagne. Yum. The chef, Mari Josephs, has done such an amazing job on the menu! I love her!

We started with the Gourmet Cheese Plate and it was dynamite. The candied/spicy(ish) nuts are so good and so was the Gorgonzola Dolce — so mild & yummy!

We also had my personal favorite, the Rustic Baguette with Sundried Tomato Herb Spread. So. Good. I. Feel. Faint.

Check out their full menu here!

We recently purchased an iSi Twist & Sparkle Beverage Carbonating kit at reuseit.com (nice homepage graphics, huh?) and we are in LOVE! It’s so fun to have people over and twist the top and watch everyone’s reaction as it fizzes! It never gets old and it makes drinks taste so good! It’s also incredibly simple to use and easy to clean up and doesn’t have very many parts. Our favorite so far has been a dry Rose that with bubbles was even more crisp! Check out the video of how it works!

So! I was hosting our book club meeting last week and the theme was French. We try to make food that goes along with the book we’ve read, which in this case, was the beautifully written & just all-around fantastic Enough About Love by Herve Le Tellier —translated from the French — oo la la! But I digress.

ANYway, after passively mulling over what I might make for a few days (knowing NOTHING about French cooking - I haven’t even seen Julie & Julia), I suddenly found myself two hours from people arriving with no plan! But wait! Quiche! Quiche is French, right?! Okay! Foodgawker (man, I love this website) lead me to this recipe and I made it and it worked! I left out the mushrooms, but I totes used store-bought crust. I think the Greek yogurt makes it extra good. And it even looked pretty, which I’m pretty sure is v. v. French. Here is a shot from the next morning where I got to enjoy the leftovers for breakfast! Success? Oui!

I fear that putting words to how I feel about Cactus Flower may somehow cheapen it. It is so delicious, incredible, marvelous, life-changing that I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to live in the same town as two of these restaurant gems, each an equal(ish) distance from my house.

Before I lived here, when we would come to visit my future in-laws, I would dream about Cactus Flower in the days leading up to the trip and would insist on going there every time despite other suggestions (and I’m the new family member-to-be — bossypants!) and would lament the lack of it in my life for months after we’d left. When we made the decision to move here, that was one of the first thoughts that popped into my head. I will never be without it again. Ahem.

ANYway…

The ingredients are fresh, the tomatoes they put on the side of all the dishes are bursting with intense flavor, the chips and salsa are perfect and never-ending, the Santa Fe sauce — well, I could drink it. But I won’t, I won’t. Don’t worry. The other thing I love is the to-go containers are recycled and recyclable. I’ve never seen that in a restaurant ever. Even when I lived in Chicago!

And now, feast your eyes!

Why “finally”? We cannot EVER set foot in McGuire’s Irish Pub and actually sit down. Mind you, we’re not big on waiting, usually because we’ve taken forever to decide where to go and then we are STARVING by the time we get somewhere, and this place has a wait at all times. We always keep trying though and sure enough, this day, while there was a wait for tables, there were plenty of seats at the bar, so we saddled up! Our bartender was Shana and she was a delight. Bubbly and polite (woah! that rhymes!). She seems to really like her job!

We ordered a Gouda burger with grilled onions that was not as good as I remembered from my last visit to McGuire’s (whenever that was!). It was a little boring as far as flavor was concerned especially considering that this is a Pensacola burger institution. Not much more to report here. Meh.

Here we have an unexpectedly delicious Special Summer Salad with green apples, honey mustard dressing, chicken & candied pecans! And you remember my old trick about not dressing your entire salad, right? This was a great leftover item. Really everything at McGuire’s is because it’s all FREAKING HUGE. In kind-of a gross/unnecessary way. I mean, good-God, have you seen their nachos? Eeesh.

And before I wrap this up, I’d be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to air my feelings about the old ‘confusing men’s and women’s bathroom signs’ trick that makes McGuire’s famous. I mean, there are plenty of other famous things, the dollars, the beer - very good, those poor poor waitresses costumes—er, uniforms and the mugs. BUT! I have witnessed too many good-intentioned, very embarrassed people fall for this little stunt and I just don’t get it! Why? Really, I want someone to make me okay with it. Can you give me a good Pro speech? Ready? Go….

So, you’ll have to excuse the terrible photos on this post — I was sans the Hubby and his iPhone 4.

My good GF, Red, and I went to The Leisure Club the other night and it was AWESOME to the max! I hadn’t been that blown away by the food yet (and their prices are def higher than average), but this visit changed all that. Quarters and Yogini are in here just about everyday for espresso (the best in town, according to Q) and coffee (ditto here from Y), respectively. I’ve only been in the evenings (when they have live music and wine!) and my absolute favorite thing about TLC is the ambiance. It is so hip, it feels like you’ve walked off Palafox and into a New York cafe. Those juicy green chairs and the white tables and the lighting! Gasp! It’s soooo nice to be somewhere where they just get it so right. And of course, the artwork is fantastic, too.

Above is some of their lightly dressed coleslaw. Yum.

I got the Dagwood (such a great name! if you need a reference, go here) and I can’t remember everything I put on it, but Red said we should write it down it was so good. Guess that would have been a good idea! I know there was portabello, turkey, tomato and some other goodness grilled to perfection.

She got the Cuban and it was definitely an elevated version. Incredible, really. The flavors melded together perfectly.

Our waiter was Tyler, who is just so personable and easy going. He helped us pick wine and convinced me to change my sandwich bread so we could fit all my ingredients better (oink oink!).